As we continue on our journey through my family recipes we found the gem of all gems - the Kraut Brocks.
This recipe intrigued me - it seemed similar to a hand pie dish, but was clearly different. When I read the recipe I felt like I had had these before (remember some of these recipes are newly discovered to me). When I realized the "dish" I was thinking of was actually "Hot Pocket 'Side Shots' " I couldn't help but find amusement in the fact that my family (and others) had the niche on these delicious packages of delicious goodness before Hot Pockets were even invented!
I love researching my roots and genealogy - which means I also enjoy learning about where these recipe roots stem from. I believe this recipe may have been meant to be "Bierocks" and not "Brocks" (thank you phonics and Polish derived mid-western accents). So of course, I researched this dish!
The title is misleading in "Kraut" we initially thought "sauerkraut" however I came to learn that "kraut" directly on its own means herb. After some online research, I discovered "Bierock is a yeast dough pastry pocket sandwich with savory filling, originating in Eastern Europe, possibly in Russia. The dish is common among the Volga German community in the United States and Argentina. It was brought to the United States in the 1870s by German Russian Mennonite immigrants." My aunts and I loved this history lesson as the timeline is close to our family's immigration history.
I loved these hand held pockets of savory beef with the salt and umami from the cheese and slight texture provided by the fresh cabbage.
When I first read the recipe we were wondering - "Where is the seasoning!?" Another family recipe with just the basics - salt, pepper, and onion. :-) So of course, we added garlic - we couldn't help ourselves!
For this recipe you can either make your own bread dough or use a frozen / refrigerated one. My aunts used a delicious homemade sourdough bread and I needed a quick something simple so I chose to use a refrigerated French Bread dough.
First things first, we had to start our mis en place. Chopped up the onion, garlic, and thinly sliced the cabbage.
Because the ingredients will be encased in puffy golden brown blanket of dough, I felt the ingredients needed to be a little smaller stature in order to mix well and have a well rounded bite.
We begin the cooking adventure by sauteing the garlic, onion, and meat until the beef begins to lose it's red color.
While cooking the meat it is a perfect time to salt and pepper to taste preference.
When the hamburger meat has browned, add the shredded cabbage and continue cooking until the cabbage is soft. (I chose to add about 1/2 Tbs of butter to help cook everything down).
Once everything is cooked, remove from heat. Although the original recipe doesn't say it, we decided to let it cool a little bit just to ensure the inside of the dough doesn't get soggy from the warm filling.
"Take a fair sized piece of bread dough" whatever that means! For me at least I guestimated the amount of dough and decided to split the dough into six equal pieces.
Once you have your pieces of dough pat into a circle or square, then put a Tablespoon of filling in the center and fold the sides and ends over, closing up the bierock. I decided to use the same technique that is used when closing up dim sum dumplings.
Once closed up, place the folded side down on a baking sheet. By setting the "sealed" side down, it will help keep the bierocks filling from escaping their pod of dough.
Bake until golden brown and cooked through. Once they were out of the oven, I felt a little bit of butter love was needed to help add a little extra flavor.
As I mentioned, after making these they seemed so familiar. But my memory had an ooey gooey cheese burger type center where these tasted classic, clean, and delicious. I love this recipe and whether one decides to use homemade dough or make it semi-homemade while you are getting crafty in the kitchen, I am excited to play around with the filling for this recipe!
Who knows - maybe one day you will be reading about a multitude of trial and error in new trials of fun fillings for this delectable masterpiece.
Next Episode: Spinach Roll
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ORIGINAL RECIPE:
KRAUT BROCKS
Ingredients:
1 -2 lbs of hamburger (depending on how many you want to make)
1 medium sized onion diced
1medium to large finely shredded cabbage
salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
Saute hamburger and onion until the meat begins to loose its color. Add the shredded cabbage and continue cooking until the cabbage is soft.
Take a fair sized piece of bread dough and pat it into a circle or square.
Put a tablespoon of filling in the center and fold the sides and ends over, enclosing the filling. Place the folded side down in a baking pan.
Bake in a 350 degree oven until golden brown.
NOTE: Cousin K made these and used well drained sauerkraut. They were good too.
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