Bierock is a savory pastry filled with ground beef, onions, and cabbage. It originated in Eastern Europe and was brought to the US by German immigrants. The dough is a yeast bread and can be shaped in various ways. Seasonings like salt, pepper, and soy sauce are added to the filling.
A bierock is a type of baked savory pastry filled with ground or chopped beef, onions, and shredded cabbage. It is a traditional food originally from Eastern Europe and was brought to the United States in the 19th century by German immigrants. It is most common in the central plain states of Kansas and Nebraska, but can be found in other areas where German and Russian immigrants from the Volga River region have settled, such as Argentina. Like many traditional foods, the exact origin of bierock is unknown, and many alternative spellings and recipe variations exist.
Two main components make up every bierock. The first is the stuffing, which is minced or shredded meat cooked with onions and cabbage. The meat is often ground beef, but ground beef or a combination of the two is sometimes used. Some recipes may call for cooked, shredded meat, such as leftover roast. The other two main ingredients are chopped cabbage and onions, which are cooked with the ground beef, absorbing some of the fat as they cook. Some recipes also call for shredded carrots or other root vegetables, such as turnips.
Many people who eat bierock believe that the filling tends to be rather bland, and so some cooks alter the recipe to add more toppings. For this reason salt and pepper, cumin seeds, savory herbs, garlic, and soy sauce are common additions to bierock recipes, although other seasonings may also be used. The filling is fully cooked and assembled in advance and allowed to cool slightly before filling the bierocks.
The other major component is the dough, which, unlike the dough used for similar foods such as pâtés and pierogies, is not a pastry-like crust or dough-like shell but a yeast bread. Many variations are possible, and a bierock can be shaped in nearly any way the cook desires. Some traditional shapes are round like a hamburger bun, elongated like a small loaf of bread, and half circles or crescents.
The dough can be a traditional white yeast bread but is often an egg-rich dough like that used for sweet rolls. This type of dough isn’t as sweet as a cinnamon roll or dessert pastry, but it is mildly sweet and often made with copious amounts of butter and eggs.
Building a bierock involves rolling out a small piece of dough once it has risen into a circular, square or rectangular shape, topping with filling, and pulling the edges up and pinching them together. To keep the bierocks together while cooking, they are placed seam side down on a baking sheet. Most recipes call for the bierocks to rest a bit so the dough can rise slightly before baking. They are often brushed with egg or melted butter.
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