Post by Glen Carman aka Delmonico on Sept 5, 2017 22:48:47 GMT -6
Runza/Bierock
This dish has many names, locally it is called a runza and came into the area with the Germans from Russia (Volga Deutsche) in the 1870’s. As made locally it is rectangular in shape, the bierock of Kansas is round, but despite the many variations due to family recipes they are the same dish other names include pirozhki, pirok, fleischkuche or even cabbage roll, these name reflect the region the people who brought the recipe came from. The variations of this dish are many, but most seen involve ground or chopped beef, cabbage and onions with salt and pepper. Period would have used chopped beef most times and kraut instead of cabbage when cabbage was out of season.
Almost every culture has a similar dish where a meat/fruit/vegtable filling is wrapped around a dough and cooked, examples is the Welsh/Cornish pastie, the Spanish Empanada, the Asian Egg/Spring Rolls, and the Meso American Tamale as well as others, this being food that working people could take to work and eat out of hand. The modern microwavable Hot Pocket and Pop Tart are just modern premade versions of the same thing.
One big difference between many of these recipes is the amount of sugar used in the dough; most modern recipes use less sugar than the older recipes. One problem with Nebraska style runzas in dutch oven is their traditional rectangular shape does dot fit well in the round dutch ovens, the round Kansas style bierock will fit better in dutch ovens, like most baking, the shallow dutch ovens work best.
The exact proportions of the meat, cabbage and onion vary with the “old family recipe” also, just like the dough, adjust it to your preference.
Depending on the size that one makes the product, this will make 10-12 and this will work best in two 14” shallow ovens.
Dough
2 ½ cups warm water
2-6 teaspoons yeast or 1-3 packages yeast (1 package of yeast is 2 ¼ teaspoon)
2 tablespoons to ½ cup sugar
(I like about ¼ cup and I use brown sugar but white is fine)
1 teaspoon salt (optional)
2 tablespoons lard
7-9 cups all purpose flour
Mix the bread as one would any other bread and let rise till double, (the time will depend on outdoor temp as well as the amount of yeast used).
Filling
1 1/2 lbs lean ground or finely chopped beef
1 chopped onion
1 medium head of cabbage chopped
Salt and pepper to taste some recipes call for white pepper.
Many of the older, handed down recipes call for the filling to be steamed, including the meat, I agree with this, so in a 12” deep oven put the meat and about a ½’ of water, set the oven on a small bed of coals and bring to fast simmer, add the cabbage and onion on top and cover, letting simmer with out running dry till the cabbage starts to wilt, stir the meat into the cabbage and cover, opening and stirring every few minutes till the meat, onions are well cooked.
Roll the dough out in rectangles or circles depending on how you want to shape the finished product; divide the dough and filling in your mind and work to the goal of making the proportions come out exact.
Fold the edges together and seal, then place the bun in the dutch oven (with a stove and oven just place on a cookie sheet) with the folded side down. Let rise again till the dough is doubled and bake in a medium hot oven (350F-400F). they are done when they are golden brown on top, Time will be 20-30 minutes depending on oven tempature. Brush the bun with melted butter when done, if desired.
This dish has many names, locally it is called a runza and came into the area with the Germans from Russia (Volga Deutsche) in the 1870’s. As made locally it is rectangular in shape, the bierock of Kansas is round, but despite the many variations due to family recipes they are the same dish other names include pirozhki, pirok, fleischkuche or even cabbage roll, these name reflect the region the people who brought the recipe came from. The variations of this dish are many, but most seen involve ground or chopped beef, cabbage and onions with salt and pepper. Period would have used chopped beef most times and kraut instead of cabbage when cabbage was out of season.
Almost every culture has a similar dish where a meat/fruit/vegtable filling is wrapped around a dough and cooked, examples is the Welsh/Cornish pastie, the Spanish Empanada, the Asian Egg/Spring Rolls, and the Meso American Tamale as well as others, this being food that working people could take to work and eat out of hand. The modern microwavable Hot Pocket and Pop Tart are just modern premade versions of the same thing.
One big difference between many of these recipes is the amount of sugar used in the dough; most modern recipes use less sugar than the older recipes. One problem with Nebraska style runzas in dutch oven is their traditional rectangular shape does dot fit well in the round dutch ovens, the round Kansas style bierock will fit better in dutch ovens, like most baking, the shallow dutch ovens work best.
The exact proportions of the meat, cabbage and onion vary with the “old family recipe” also, just like the dough, adjust it to your preference.
Depending on the size that one makes the product, this will make 10-12 and this will work best in two 14” shallow ovens.
Dough
2 ½ cups warm water
2-6 teaspoons yeast or 1-3 packages yeast (1 package of yeast is 2 ¼ teaspoon)
2 tablespoons to ½ cup sugar
(I like about ¼ cup and I use brown sugar but white is fine)
1 teaspoon salt (optional)
2 tablespoons lard
7-9 cups all purpose flour
Mix the bread as one would any other bread and let rise till double, (the time will depend on outdoor temp as well as the amount of yeast used).
Filling
1 1/2 lbs lean ground or finely chopped beef
1 chopped onion
1 medium head of cabbage chopped
Salt and pepper to taste some recipes call for white pepper.
Many of the older, handed down recipes call for the filling to be steamed, including the meat, I agree with this, so in a 12” deep oven put the meat and about a ½’ of water, set the oven on a small bed of coals and bring to fast simmer, add the cabbage and onion on top and cover, letting simmer with out running dry till the cabbage starts to wilt, stir the meat into the cabbage and cover, opening and stirring every few minutes till the meat, onions are well cooked.
Roll the dough out in rectangles or circles depending on how you want to shape the finished product; divide the dough and filling in your mind and work to the goal of making the proportions come out exact.
Fold the edges together and seal, then place the bun in the dutch oven (with a stove and oven just place on a cookie sheet) with the folded side down. Let rise again till the dough is doubled and bake in a medium hot oven (350F-400F). they are done when they are golden brown on top, Time will be 20-30 minutes depending on oven tempature. Brush the bun with melted butter when done, if desired.