Bierocks (German Hamburger- and Cabbage-filled rolls)

FlemishMinx's Note:

This is a staple food in the small Kansas (primarily German-American) town where I was born, and is now a favorite at my house here in Belgium. The recipe comes from my Grandma Rosie. My mother uses a BOX OF HOT ROLL MIX for the roll portion, but as that is not available to me, I have included the hot roll recipe from the Better Homes and Gardens New Cook book. Your yield will depend on the size of rolls you make, but I would estimate about 15 to 20. Preparation time includes time for allowing dough to rise (estimated). Don't let the length of the recipe (or my assembly instructions) spook you, it is really very easy and the assembly is fun for kids, too ! In my opinion they are just as tasty cold as warm from the oven.

• Total Time: 2 hrs 30 mins
• Prep Time: 2 hrs
• Cook Time: 30 mins

Ingredients:

Yield: 15 Bierocks

FILLING INGREDIENTS

• 4 cups cabbage , cut fine
• ½ cup onion , cut fine
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 lb hamburger
• salt and pepper
• cayenne pepper (optional)

DOUGH INGREDIENTS

• 4 1⁄3; cups all-purpose flour
• 1 package active dry yeast
• 1 cup milk
• 1⁄3; cup sugar
• 1⁄3; cup butter
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs

Directions:

1. FILLING: In a large frying pan, cook the cabbage and onion together until the cabbage is completely softened and golden.
2. This process can be hastened by adding a half-cup of water (or so) and covering the pan, but eventually cook all the liquid off before proceeding.
3. Season with salt, pepper, and cayenne, if desired.
4. In a separate pan, brown the hamburger.
5. Season with salt, pepper, and cayenne, if desired.
6. Mix the cabbage/onion with the hamburger thoroughly.
7. You may complete this part of the recipe in advance,refrigerating until needed, or just before you are ready to assemble the rolls.
8. DOUGH: In a large mixing bowl combine 2 cups of the flour and the yeast.
9. In a saucepan heat milk, sugar, butter and salt just till warm (115-120 degrees F) and butter is almost melted; stir constantly.
10. Ad to flour mixture; add eggs.
11. Beat at low speed for 1/2 minute, then three minutes at high speed.
12. Stir in as much remaining flour as you can mix in with a spoon.
13. Turn out onto a floured surface.
14. Knead in enough remaining flour to make a moderately stiff dough that is smooth and elastic (6 to 8 minutes total).
15. Shape into a ball, and place in a greased bowl; turn once.
16. Cover and let rise in a warm place till double (about 1 hour).
17. Punch down and cover; let rest 10 minutes.
18. ASSEMBLY: Roll out the dough into a large rectangle, and a thickness of about 1/4 inch.
19. Cut into squares of 3 inches by 3 or 4 inches by 4.
20. By the spoonful, place some filling mixture into the center of each square, apportioning all of the mixture among the squares.
21. For each, bring the two opposite corner ends of the dough square up to meet one another, then do the same with remaining ends and pinch them (all 4) together with your fingers.
22. You will see that you now have open slits along the diagnals; pinch these together as well, making a seam of each.
23. Water on your fingertips will facilitate them staying"glued" together.
24. The end product should be a square with a seam running from each corner to the center where all four are joined.
25. Set the squares on a baking sheet (if you had trouble keeping the seams closed, you can flip them over so that the seams are against the baking sheet, thereby keeping all the filling in place and making a nicer presentation).
26. Let raise 30 minutes.
27. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 375 °F for 30 minutes or until golden brown.

Reviews

[lsouthwen]

I, too, am from a small Kansas town and grew up on bierocks. They are as common as hamburgers in our area. The only adjustment I made to the recipe is to use Rhodes frozen Texas size hot roll dough for the dough. Also, the bierocks that I am familiar with are round, not square. The filling is much like my mom's only we season ours a little more heavily with salt and pepper. They are so good on a cold winter night. Would also make a great Super Bowl party food for a crowd.

[SarasotaCook]

This isn't supposed to be a real spicy recipe, or tons of herbs. It is a true German recipe, so if you are familiar with it, they are perfect. I did use a store bought hot roll mix only because I had it on hand and it was getting old so I figured why not use it. I actually found this trying to use up my hot roll mix.

Perfect flavor. I did add one carrot, because my grandmother did and cooked the veggies in the meat dripping as my grandmother did. But exact recipe.

My grandmother served it with a horseradish cream sauce or mustard sauce. Probably more Americanized, but that is how we ate it.

[Donna M.]

Fabulous! We really enjoyed these. I used more onion (2 medium) and added 2 shredded carrots, some chopped fresh parsley and a full 2 teaspoons black pepper to the filling mix. Since I used a lot of black pepper, I omitted the cayenne. I used packaged shredded cabbage sold as slaw mix to save time. This recipe is going to be a regular at my house! Thanks.