Guest Post: Bierochs with April Phillips
Jul 31st, 2009 by Marilyn
Still on vacation, but delighted to bring you this guest post from Coal Creek Farm’s April Phillips. I am fortunate to have met the real-life April and her sister, too, and can report that they both tower over me like power-blogging amazons, and now I know why – these hearty Bierochs run in their family. Thank you, April! I will try them, and hopefully grow brave, funny, and taller.
Making Bierochs, by April Phillips
I’ve been eating bierochs since I was a little kid. They were part of our school lunch program. Bierochs are a German-Russian food brought over by the Mennonites. A large group of Mennonites settled the plains of Kansas and many of their foods have lingered and rooted into the culture of Kansas. When I made these in Missouri nobody knew what the heck they were. Now that we’re back in Kansas, I say I’m making bierochs, and people ask me if I eat them with mustard, or plain?
I don’t ever remember having a side dish with bierochs. It doesn’t matter, because the bierochs steal the show, but I’ll put a salad or soup with them to round out the meal. Eating a bieroch reminds me of my childhood – the harvest festival that my small town hosted on the brick-paved Maine Street (really is Maine, not Main) every fall would host various booths, and somebody was always selling homemade bierochs. They were a trigger that harvest was done and fall had begun.
Now I have to make them every year. My husband and children start requesting them as soon as the colors on the trees start to change, and we reach into the back of the closet for our sweatshirts. Summer is still in full swing, but I’m starting to grow weary of the heat and the constant watering of the garden. I’m ready for the crisp air of fall, and the smell of fresh bread and beef coming out of my kitchen.
I know you’re going to ask me for a recipe. But I don’t follow a recipe, I just make them – follow along, and you can make them too. Get a big bag or can of sauerkraut. Rinse and drain, then set aside. Chop up a head of green cabbage…chop….chop….chop…
Combine the cabbage and sauerkraut in a large pot, add a bit of water, and put it on the stove to soften the cabbage. See all the liquid in the cabbage afters it’s cooked down? We need to drain that off before we mix it with the beef.
You’ll need meat for bierochs – this year I used our pork sausage and some ground beef. I make a lot of bierochs, so I used about 2 lbs of beef and 2 lbs of pork sausage. Brown it, drain it, set aside.
Chop a large yellow onion, saute in oil until tender and starting to caramelize…I like to taste the sweetness of the onions. Mix the onions with the meat.
Combine the cabbage and beef in a large pot and start to season. You can do just about anything you please – I like to add ground mustard, salt, pepper, cumin and garlic powder. Season to your liking, is what I say. In years past, I’ve added a packet of soup mix. You can add cheese, too. Ooh, I love Swiss cheese in a bieroch. This year I left out the cheese, because I have more people in the house that don’t like cheese….but next year, I’m adding cheese.
You can stop here, like I did, and store the mixture in the fridge to work on the dough the next day….or you can start the dough right now. Find a simple wheat or white bread/roll recipe – this year I made whole wheat dough and white dough. If I don’t feel like making the dough, then I buy frozen Rhodes rolls and use them the same way. Here’s the wheat dough after it has risen and is ready to shape.
I quartered the dough, then shaped the sections into logs. Cut the logs into smaller, 1 1/2 inch sections. Then cut those in half. Now the dough is the size I need. I’m thinking that buying the darn Rhodes rolls would be so much easier. But then what would I blog about?
Flatten the dough pieces, then stretch the dough – it needs to be big enough for a big scoop of meat and cabbage, but don’t break it. I use a large scoop, it’s probably 1/4 cup or maybe 2 tablespoon. Are you following me so far? This is how I cook people. It’s learn it, then do it. Put one scoop of cabbage/meat mixture onto the flattened dough.
Now draw up the edges. Start pinching together the dough until the entire mixture is completely encased in dough. Put it on a greased baking sheet and proceed to make 4,598 more. Making bierochs is a commitment. You can’t walk away. You have to be there, scooping, pinching, patting, stretching, scooping, pinching, patting, stretching. ARE YOU CHEF ENOUGH FOR IT!
Bake those babies for 12-15 minutes in a 350 degree oven and watch your family love you, and then watch as they hate you because you are going to make them eat bierochs at every meal. For the next eight weeks.
Mmmmm. So good.
I always learn something new here at Simmer Till Done. April, your bierochs look like perfect hand held snacks, street food, delicious. Thanks for sharing.
Marilyn, thanks for letting me hijack your blog while your away. I’d love to see your version of these.
Yum, those look like great party (finger) food.
I remember this post when it originally aired over at April Showers.
My first teaching job was in central Kansas in an area settled by German and Czech immigrants, and they served bierochs in the school cafeteria. I miss those days.
I’m glad I had a chance to revisit this post, April.
thanks,
muddy
April,
I grew up having these, too! My grandfather was German and he was, well, a cabbage farmer! Except that we don’t call them bierochs, we call them Kraut Burgers. A while back we had a friend over that hails from somewhere in the midwest (almost everyone in Alaska if from somewhere else, except, of course all the children that are born here to the people from somewhere else-but that has nothing to do with the food at hand) and I made Kraut Burgers for dinner. His response to the meal, or at least the way I heard it was “I haven’t had Beer Rocks in forever; I love these!” Thanks for enlightening this visual person! Beer Rocks, indeed!
Love these! If I give you my address will you send me some? Pretty please?
I grew up with these, too, on the plains of eastern Colorado. They were the favorite meal of all the school lunches! Perhaps we had dropped the Russian-German-whatever roots… they were called cabbage pockets.
They may have been tasty, but I still can’t get that smell out of my nose.
I can’t spend too long commenting here, April, because I have to go tell my sister, Marion, that there are Mennonite recipes to be had. For many more years than I care to recall, the word “Mennonite” was a magic word for us, even though I cannot really tell you why. We just loved the way it sounded. Kids latch on to things, you know. So she will want to make these I am certain. I loved this story, and learning more about you this way. Thanks.
April, those sound fantastic! I too am a sucker for Amish/Mennonite foods. I long for a simple life like that! The reason I live in my old house is because of the movie ‘Witness’. Funny but true.
I will absolutely be making these!
How fun to be a guest blogger!
I am a Kansas Mennonite, although now I live in the high desert in New Mexico, where no one…seriously, NO one…has much appreciation for hearty german-russian fare. (Although, the chili around here is amazing, and don’t get me started on the shredded beef enchiladas they can turn out down here.) It makes me happy to know that someone else besides us is making these and loving them! Every try verenika or chicken borscht? How about New Year’s Cookies? Now that’s some good Menno cooking!
The area of Ohio where we used to live was very German, so I was familiar with bierochs before I came to Kansas. I really need to try making these sometime because they are sooooo tasty.
Thanks for bringing the Beer Rocks, April. You and I are going to make them – and I might even measure a few things. You don’t mind, do you?
Also, welcome to: Wendy, MamaGeph, Jayme, Sarah Sue, and Jenni in KS. April’s taken her very special self back to Coal Creek – but come back and visit us at Simmer any time.
April, I learned to make bierochs many years ago although the woman that showed me how didn’t use sauerkraut – and she’s from Kansas. We love the little darlings and we like them with mustard or plain – either way. I can’t wait for fall! And thanks for steering me toward this blog. I’ll be back.
Check out the recipes at mennonitegirlscancook.blogspot. Oklahoma doesn’t have many Mennonites, but every year I go to the craft show at Hillsboro, KS and the food booths there are a smorgasbord of German/Mennonite cooking at its best. Can’t wait for the third Saturday in September to roll around!!
Just found your website through April’s blog. I’m also a mennonite with grandparents coming from Russia to Paraguay in 1930. I’ve never heard of This recipe before, but i’m going to try it!!! I was going to post a link to mennonitegirlscancook.com but Dorabee just did:) Hugs from Paraguay, Brenda
April,
My mouth is watering…can’t wait to make these Mennonite “empanadas.