Bierocks (German Hamburger- and Cabbage-filled rolls)

"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."
 
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photo by Elizabeth T. photo by Elizabeth T.
photo by Elizabeth T.
photo by movingforward55 photo by movingforward55
photo by Liz P. photo by Liz P.
photo by Lenny H. photo by Lenny H.
photo by scottant photo by scottant
Ready In:
2hrs 30mins
Ingredients:
13
Yields:
15 Bierocks
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ingredients

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directions

  • FILLING: In a large frying pan, cook the cabbage and onion together until the cabbage is completely softened and golden.
  • 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.
  • Season with salt, pepper, and cayenne, if desired.
  • In a separate pan, brown the hamburger.
  • Season with salt, pepper, and cayenne, if desired.
  • Mix the cabbage/onion with the hamburger thoroughly.
  • You may complete this part of the recipe in advance,refrigerating until needed, or just before you are ready to assemble the rolls.
  • DOUGH: In a large mixing bowl combine 2 cups of the flour and the yeast.
  • In a saucepan heat milk, sugar, butter and salt just till warm (115-120 degrees F) and butter is almost melted; stir constantly.
  • Ad to flour mixture; add eggs.
  • Beat at low speed for 1/2 minute, then three minutes at high speed.
  • Stir in as much remaining flour as you can mix in with a spoon.
  • Turn out onto a floured surface.
  • Knead in enough remaining flour to make a moderately stiff dough that is smooth and elastic (6 to 8 minutes total).
  • Shape into a ball, and place in a greased bowl; turn once.
  • Cover and let rise in a warm place till double (about 1 hour).
  • Punch down and cover; let rest 10 minutes.
  • ASSEMBLY: Roll out the dough into a large rectangle, and a thickness of about 1/4 inch.
  • Cut into squares of 3 inches by 3 or 4 inches by 4.
  • By the spoonful, place some filling mixture into the center of each square, apportioning all of the mixture among the squares.
  • 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.
  • You will see that you now have open slits along the diagnals; pinch these together as well, making a seam of each.
  • Water on your fingertips will facilitate them staying"glued" together.
  • The end product should be a square with a seam running from each corner to the center where all four are joined.
  • 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).
  • Let raise 30 minutes.
  • Bake in a pre-heated oven at 375 °F for 30 minutes or until golden brown.

Questions & Replies

  1. How much is "1 package of dry yeast"? Yeast comes in different sized packages as well as in jars.
     
  2. Can these be frozen?
     
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Reviews

  1. 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.
     
  2. 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.<br/><br/>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.<br/><br/>My grandmother served it with a horseradish cream sauce or mustard sauce. Probably more Americanized, but that is how we ate it.
     
  3. I'm from NW Kansas and was really surprised to see all the Kansas reviews! I've made these a few times now and they are great! Well worth the effort. If you're not eating them all right away, wrap in foil, freeze and re-heat as needed for a quick meal or snack. Make sure you season the filling enough or they can be bland.
     
  4. I too am from Kansas and grew up with this fabulous food I got my grandmothers recipe but we use Rhodes frozen dough balls to save time I have introduced many people to these and they love them something so simple and good
     
  5. I made these for Oktoberfest this year but changed it up a bit. Instead of making dough (the idea is terrifying to me) I bought the Pillsbury puff pastry sheets which worked AWESOME. I definitely recommend that if you're not a dough person. I also bought the bagged "coleslaw mix" (I forget who makes it, but it's with the lettuce in the produce section). Everything tasted great, and they were even good cold the next day. I tried re-heating them in the microwave later that night but that didn't work out. Oh well! Thanks for a great recipe-- even my Italian family loved them.
     
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Tweaks

  1. As young mom in my mid 20 I found myself with a hankering for this beloved recipe served in my High School lunch room. So I did my best to put together my best guess of what I thought should be in them. I pretty much nailed it and I did use the classic bread dough recipe from my Betty Crocker Cookbook. A few years later I found frozen Bridgford Ready Dough and saved myself tons of time. Probably in my early 30s I decided to jazz them up by including 1/2lb of Jimmy Dean Sausage, 2 onions instead of 1, quite a bit more freshly ground black pepper and some shredded sharp cheddar cheese. My family loved the changes and so do my friends from years ago back in Kansas. Being the Texan that I am I always end up with more filling than dough and have found that it is great in a pita pocket!
     
  2. I also grew up in Kansas, and about once a year I get nostalgic for Bierocks. I make mine using Pamela's gluten free bread mix for the dough, which is simply because I am gluten intolerant. For the filling, I add Caraway Seed in addition to the salt/pepper, which was typically used in my small town.
     
  3. I am from Kansas as well.... my grandmother has been making my favorite meal for as long as I can remember... I've been making them based off of what I've learned from my grandmother.... being a single mother myself... I've discovered that Pillsbury Crescent sheets are amazing! They're not as heavy as the traditional dough used, and taste amazing!!!
     
  4. I used Rhodes frozen rolls and added some Worcestershire Sauce to the filling. Yummy!
     
  5. Tjese were really good and the dough was awesome. I used Hot Jimmy Dean sausage instead of hamburger to give it a little extra spice. I also sprayed the tops with butter flavored Pam and sprinkled with garlic salt - yumm.<br/><br/>Just made these again. I rolled out very thin so had lots of leftover dough. I rolled the leftovers out fairly thin and fried in hot butter flavored crisco, drained on paper towel and shook in a bag with sugar and cinnamon. Not very healthy, but very tasty.
     

RECIPE SUBMITTED BY

I am an American married to a Belgian, and have lived in Belgium since December 1999. Cooking is my major hobby. I'm also an avid reader, but I have difficulty finding the time. I love to travel. Since moving to Europe I've been lucky enough to have had the opportunity to go a couple of times per year to Paris, as well as having visited London, Rome, Florence, Naples, Amsterdam, and of course Brussels and Antwerp. I've seen at least parts of most regions of France, as well as parts of Germany, Austria, a great deal of Switzerland, Slovenia, Croatia, Luxembourg, and Monaco. I'm absolutely in love with the Bay of Naples and Sorrento coast areas of Italy, which my husband and I recently re-visited on a trip that included Rome, Puglia, Umbria and Marche. I'm still looking forward to Ireland, Spain, Portugal, the Czech Republic . . . the list is too long ! One of the bonuses of travel is getting to taste the local cuisine, and afterward trying to figure out how to duplicate it at home. I think cooking is one of the nicest things a person can do for someone they love (including themself!) I had to submit a picture with me and my cat, Sophie, as she insists on sitting in my lap when I'm sitting at the computer. If you are wondering what all that stuff hanging on the wall behind us in the photo is, it is just a small part of my husband's military medal collection. He was appalled by my posting this picture-- Our study is the messiest room in our house (thank god!)
 
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