Homemade Sauerkraut Pierogies / Perogies - Old Fashioned Recipe

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photo by Jeff C. photo by Jeff C.
photo by Jeff C.
photo by Kitsune photo by Kitsune
photo by Chef Joey Z. photo by Chef Joey Z.
photo by Chef Joey Z. photo by Chef Joey Z.
photo by Mimi Bobeck photo by Mimi Bobeck
Ready In:
30mins
Ingredients:
10
Serves:
4
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ingredients

  • Sauerkraut Filling

  • 3 cups sauerkraut (or more)
  • 1 medium chopped onion
  • 4 tablespoons bacon fat (vegetable shortening can be substituted) or 4 tablespoons butter (vegetable shortening can be substituted)
  • 2 tablespoons sour cream
  • salt and pepper
  • Perogie

  • 2 12 cups flour
  • 12 teaspoon salt
  • 1 egg
  • 2 teaspoons oil
  • 34 cup warm water
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directions

  • Sauerkraut Filling: Rinse the sauerkraut well in warm water, squeeze dry, and chop very fine.
  • Cook the onion in the fat or shortening until tender.
  • Add the sauerkraut and cream.
  • Season to taste with salt and pepper.
  • Cook over low heat for 15 minutes or until sauerkraut is tender and the flavors blend.
  • Do not over cook.
  • Chill thoroughly.
  • Mix the flour with the salt in a deep bowl.
  • Add the egg, oil and water to make a medium soft dough.
  • Knead on a floured board until the dough is smooth.
  • Caution: Too much kneading will toughen the dough.
  • Divide the dough into 2 parts.
  • Cover and let stand for at least 10 minutes.
  • Prepare the filling.
  • The filling should be thick enough to hold its shape.
  • Roll the dough quite thin on a floured board.
  • Cut rounds with a large biscuit cutter, or as most old-world grandmothers did, with the open end of a glass.
  • Put the round in the palm of your hand.
  • Place a spoonful of filling in it, fold over to form a half circle and press the edges together with the fingers.
  • The edges should be free of filling.
  • Be sure the edges are sealed well to prevent the filling from running out.
  • Place the pierogi on a floured board or tea towel and then cover with another tea towel to prevent them from drying out.
  • COOKING: Drop a few pierogies into a large quantity of rapidly boiling salted water.
  • Do not attempt to cook too many at a time.
  • Stir VERY gently with a wooden spoon to separate them and to prevent them from sticking to the bottom of the pot.
  • Continue boiling for 3-4 minutes.
  • The cooling period will depend upon the size you made it, the thickness of the dough and the filling.
  • Pierogies will be ready when they are puffed.
  • Remove them with a perforated spoon or skimmer to a colander and drain thoroughly.
  • Place in a deep dish, sprinkle generously with melted butter to prevent them from sticking.
  • Cover and keep them hot until all are cooked.
  • Serve in a large dish without piling or crowding them.
  • Top with melted butter- chopped crisp bacon and/or chopped onions lightly browned in butter.
  • REHEATING: One of the great things about pierogies, is that they can be made in large quantities, refrigerated, frozen and reheated without lost of quality.
  • Many prefer reheated pierogies as compared to freshly boiled ones.
  • To re-heat, you can 1) pan fry pierogies in butter or bacon fat until they are light in color or 2) heat the pierogies in the top of a double boiler or in the oven until they are hot and plump or 3) deep fry them.

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Reviews

  1. 10/07- I also used the dough recipe and it was great. Just like my Grandma used to make. My filling is potatoes (mashed with no milk or butter) sauerkraut, bacon and onion all mixed together. I also boil my pierogies and then fry them in butter afterwards until golden brown. My family likes frying them in butter and onion and then dipping them in sourcream. Thanks for the great dough recipe. Just a variation of what you can fill them with. 07/20/2011 - These freeze really well after making them do not cook at all and place in the freezer on a cookie sheet until fully frozen and then place in ziploc bag....To cook pull out of freezer and put in boiling water til floating and then fry in butter.
     
  2. These were very nice. My mother made these all the time when I was growing up, but never put sour cream in the filling. I used butter, and also added a dash of ground caraway seeds to the filling, it's what we always did in our Hungarian house!
     
  3. We love these!! I'm not sure I should post my rating here, because I didn't use this filling, but I think it deserves 5 stars just for the dough! I used my pasta roller and it turned out amazing! The first batch I hand rolled and I didn't seem to get it thin enough.After that, I only used 2/3cup of water so that it would go through the rollers. I used the potato/cheddar filling and my daughter said it tasted just like the frozen ones I usually buy. Apparently this was a compliment because everyone loved them. Eventually we got an assembly line going and cranked out 3 batches. Thanks!
     
  4. Try sauteing the sauerkraut in some rendered salt pork for a more traditional flavor. Awesome!
     
  5. These were very good. I grew up on the frozen variety, and these were definitely better. The dough was a bit sticky to start but did work out fine. I used mashed potato for the filling and finished it off by pan frying with chopped cabbage. I got about 2 dozen peirogies out of it. Used a standard mason jar lid as a cutter. Will absolutely make again and freeze; no more store bought for me!
     
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Tweaks

  1. The cooling period should read cooking period.
     

RECIPE SUBMITTED BY

Very busy nanny/au pair, working for a very rich and snooty family, in a very large home, in a very snooty village. Just in case my employer comes here, please don't ask where I am from, or I'll be sacked like the last nanny was. ;-) I take care of 4 gorgeous, and darling kids. 3 girls and a boy. The boy is the youngest (and my favorite). They are great children, very, very active. (Hyper) I love to cook. I guess that's a given, why else would I be here. Part of my job is also to prepare meals for the family. The more they like my food, the longer I get to stay. (just a little joke) On my day off, I usually go out to the cinema or some dance clubs with the other au pairs in this town. That's about it I think.
 
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