Real Polish Meat-filled Pierogi {Pierogi z Mięsem}

Anna

8 years ago

69 / 100

Real Polish Meat-filled Pierogi {Pierogi z Mięsem}

Today’s post is by my daughter Hanna, age 11.

Pierogi are a Polish tradition for Christmas (Wigilia) but we like to eat them year-round. There are different varieties of pierogi. My personal favorites are meat-filled pierogi (mięsne) and potato + cheese pierogi (ruskie). Some of the other fillings are sauerkraut + mushroom and even fruit (strawberries, blueberries, etc.)!

The ones that I love to make (and eat) the most, are the meat ones. It can be fun to shape the meat into little balls or ovals. I remember making pierogi with my mom ever since I was little. I wasn’t good at it at first, but once I started doing it more, I got a lot better at shaping them. I love to take the excess dough and make fun shapes out of it. Sometimes if I was lucky, a piece of dough snuck into my mouth.

The dough plays a very important role, obviously! It covers the entire thing and keeps the filling inside! Another important part is the boiling. Even though a simple step, it is a very important one too. Let your water heat up, and when it starts to boil slightly, add salt and about a spoonful of oil. When you think you have made enough pierogi, (see my mom’s recipe below) put them into the water once at a boil. Be sure to stir lightly after putting in, to ensure that they don’t stick together. After they all float to the top, take them out to cool. Once cooled, but still warm, butter up a pan and fry them until golden on both sides. Finally, serve.

And now my favorite part, eating the pierogi!

Smacznego!

Hanna

Real Polish Meat-filled pierogi Real Polish Meat-filled pierogi

Meat Pierogi {Pierogi z Mięsem}

Yields: 100 dumplings
Prep Time: 1.5 hours
Cook Time: 5 minutes

Ingredients

FILLING:
4 lbs / 2 kg of beef chuck and pork roast
Salt and papper
Garlic powder
2 c / 500 ml of broth from cooking meat (or beef broth)
1 large onion
2 tbsp + 4 tbsp of butter
1 tsp of salt
1 ¼ tsp of freshly ground pepper
1 tbsp of marjoram
3 garlic cloves
DOUGH:
6 c / 750 g of all-purpose flour
2 eggs
2 tsp of salt
2 ½ c / 600 ml of warm water

Instructions

Wash and dry meat. Sprinkle lightly with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Cook in 350°F / 180°C oven until cooked through. Take out and set aside to cool, remembering to reserve broth from cooking.
In the meantime, chop the onion and sauté in 2 tablespoons of butter.
Once meat cools, cube and put through a meat grinder with the smallest grinding plate.
To ground meat, add broth from roasting (about 2 cups; if not enough broth was produced, add water or boxed broth), sautéed onion, melted butter (4 tablespoons), salt, pepper, marjoram, and minced garlic.
Mix well. Taste. Add salt, if needed. Set aside.
To make dough, add whisked eggs and salt to flour. Start adding water and combining to form dough. Knead until smooth (about 3 minutes).
Put a large pot full of salted water on to boil. Add a splash of oil, to prevent sticking.
In batches, roll out dough to about ⅛ of an inch / 2 millimeter thickness. With a glass, cut out circles. Fill each circle with about a 1 ½ teaspoons of filling (or more if you'd like), close each dumpling and press edges with a fork to seal.
Drop into boiling water, turn heat down to low and, with a spoon, lightly stir off the bottom, to prevent sticking. Water should only be slightly simmering (not rolling boil). When all pierogi float to the top, they are done. Remove from pot and spread on a large surface to cool (not touching), or serve topped with sautéed onion.