Cooking With Kids--Bierocks

            Making dinner in our house is kinda like treading water in quicksand.  The more you struggle the quicker you sink.  Children always make things harder, although I don’t think I’ve ever laughed harder than I did tonight.  And with the exception of the 10 minutes it took me to pick some dough out of Logan's hair I would say it was time well spent!

            On the menu for this evening was Bierocks (my children pronounce it earwax); a good, wholesome, German staple.  We are not German but sometimes we like to eat like we are.  It’s basically like a meat and cabbage turnover.  Anyway, I’m in the kitchen trying to brown the beef and roll out the dough and the whole time I have three wild Indians circling around me like the moons around Jupiter (I mixed my metaphors, I know.  But work with me here.).  I tried shooing them from the room.  I tried ordering them to leave.  I threatened to send them to their rooms for the remainder of their childhood and even succeeded in banishing them to said rooms for approximately 12 seconds but finally I gave up and enlisted their help. 

            Needless to say my kitchen is now covered in sautéed cabbage; my Dachshund is thanking God for the motherland now that he has a very full tummy of bierocks filling, and I have the most lopsided, half-empty bierocks I’ve ever made. Ahh, kids.... 

Bierocks (Meat Turnovers)

4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, divided
1/2 cup sugar
2 (.25 ounce) packages active dry yeast
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup shortening
2 eggs

1 pound lean ground beef
2 small onions, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
4 cups chopped cabbage or a 14 oz bag of shredded coleslaw mix
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

In a large mixing bowl, place 1 3/4 cups flour, sugar, yeast, and salt. Heat milk, water, and shortening to 120-130 degrees F. Pour over flour mixture; add the eggs. Beat with an electric mixer on low until blended. Beat 3 additional minutes on high. Stir in the remaining flour; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place dough in a greased bowl; cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.

While the dough proofs, brown beef, onions, and garlic in a large skillet. Add the cabbage, Worcestershire sauce, salt, and pepper; cook until cabbage is wilted. Punch dough down; roll into twelve 6-inch squares. Top each square with 1/3 cup meat mixture. Fold into triangles. Pinch edges tightly to seal, and place on greased baking sheets. Bake at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes or until golden brown.

 

Notes: I have often used frozen bread dough loaves instead of making my own and if I’m really strapped for time (and energy) I’ve used two tubes of Pillsbury Crusty French Bread.  Simply unroll, flatten, and divide each tube into 8 squares with a pizza cutter. (The bierocks end up squares rather than triangles.)

For the cabbage, I always substitute one 14-ounce bag of shredded coleslaw mix. Who really has time to chop cabbage?  This makes it extra cabbage-y, but I like it that way and I like the crunch of the carrots.  When using the coleslaw there is always extra filling, which I promptly devour, by itself, as the bierocks are baking. 

Bierocks freeze and microwave beautifully!

Is it dinnertime yet?  From Left:  Logan, Myriam, and Porter

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