Bierock

bierock are meat-filled pastries originally from eastern europe. the mennonite settlers brought the bierock to america from somewhere in germany or russia. traditionally they're stuffed with ground beef, cabbage, and onion. first thing was to make the stuffing. we browned some onion, mushrooms, and cabbage in a little grapeseed oil then cooked until reduced by nearly half before adding a little flour and water. now for the beef; leftover ground sirloin, chuck, and skirt from the burgers. the key to sautéing ground beef and not ending up with firm pebbles of dry and chewy meat is to use a panade. a panade is a paste made from milk and bread and it coats the meat with a layer of gel that keeps the meat moist much like fat. we used chicken broth instead of milk.

next the dough. now if you've never had a bierock let me tell you what one of the best things about a bierock is. picture this: beefy, savory mixture rich with onion and cabbage and the juice from the beef. now picture it interacting with the pastry; having trouble picturing that? let me help. that rich and moist stuffing mingles with the inside of the pastry pocket by dissolving the cooked bread into rich paste-like doughy goodness (imagine the inside of your sourdough bowl after you've devoured the clam chowder). the dough has a secret ingredient that enhances the special liquid bread interface

mashed potatoes!

one excited bierock maker

next we divied up the dough...

rolled them into thin circles about 9" in diameter, stuffed them with about 3/4 cup of stuffing, and placed them on a greased baking sheet. we also gave them a little egg/water brush.

about 45 minutes later and we had this

you see that really dark caramelized fond on the pan. i'm not going to even attempt to describe how earth-shatteringly delicious it is. so here's me not attempting.

my happy bierock maker was quite pleased with the outcome.

as she should have been. they were very enjoyable, just as good as the ones we get in kansas.

these ones have the same stuffing with cheddar

meanwhile, Bosley was practicing napping.

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