Recipe #177: Bierocks

The other day, I was looking for a good recipe for burger (which you can see became #176), but as I was looking, stumbled across something called a bierock (or, runza).  This beef, onion, and cabbage-filled dough treat was apparently created by the Russians, adopted by the Germans, and brought to America.  Intrigued by both the ingredients and the German history, I had to try it.  Sort of a high-quality Hot Pocket...

SO, as usual, I hunted for a good recipe.  Most of them involved using dough (made from scratch, or frozen), but then I found a recipe that used crescent rolls.  It had good reviews, so I happily bought the ingredients listed.

Fast forward to tonight.  It dawned on me VERY quickly that the one pound of ground beef, whole onion, and half a head of cabbage would absolutely in no way fit into ONE tube of crescent rolls, no matter how I tried.  Miffed, I sent Nick to the store at the end of our street to pick up more crescent rolls.  How could I have been so stupid?  Immediately I became skeptical of the rest of the recipe.

Then there was the issue with the super vague instructions, which left me fighting with really thin sheets of raw dough and how to assemble the giant mess this was becoming.  Nick returned victorious (he HATES shopping) with more dough for me, and I promptly sent him away in case I felt like having a melt-down.  I don't deal well with all-out recipe disasters, especially if it was something I was really looking forward to making.... and ESPECIALLY if I'm already hungry.

I made a huge messy lump of a... something.... it looked horrible.  Tried another way- only marginally better. Eventually, I just decided to use the scored triangles in the dough and just put a little meat into each triangle and roll it up like a regular crescent roll.  This was proving to be more aesthetically pleasing, and I could feel my blood pressure return to normal.

I put them in the oven and hoped for the best.  The results were actually surprisingly good.  The buttery rolls went well with the beef, onion, and cabbage, and Nick went back for seconds (always a good sign).  Since I made them into little rolls instead of something the size of a Hot Pocket, we agreed they might make better appetizers than a whole meal, but we're both fat dumb and happy now.  Crisis averted.

Just a tip:  if you find a recipe on a website that's made up of users posting recipes rather than, say, Food Network or something sponsored, read it carefully and also read the reviews.  Not every one will be a culinary masterpiece if followed exactly.

So here are some pictures, followed by MY version of the recipe, which, I promise, will result in some cute little rolls with tasty filling.

As you can see on the right, it took a bit before I decided to just make them into small rolls.  Nick ate the two big disasters, though.  They all taste the same- I'm just picky about making them LOOK pretty for my blog!

Delicious result.  Looks like a proper mini bierock!

1 lb. ground beef
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 tsp. salt (more or less, to taste)
1/2 head cabbage
3-4 tubes refrigerated Crescent rolls

Brown beef with onion and garlic; drain. Thinly slice the cabbage, as you would for cole slaw. Add it to the drained beef.  Heat through and allow the cabbage to soften a little.  Season with salt, to taste.
Using crescent roll dough, place about 1 tablespoon of the mixture on the wide end of the scored triangle, then roll towards the narrow end, bringing the wide corners in and pinching to seal as much as possible.
Place pinched side down on greased baking sheet.
Bake at 375°F for 15-20 minutes, or until brown.