German Bierachs Appetizer Recipes

Steps:

• Heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Stir in ground beef, and cook until crumbly and no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Stir in chopped onion, and cook until the onion has softened and turned translucent, about 5 minutes more. Add the chopped cabbage; cook and stir until the cabbage has softened, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, then spread the mixture onto a baking sheet to cool until cool enough to handle.
• Once the mixture has cooled, flatten a dinner roll, and place several tablespoons of the cabbage mixture in the center. Pull the edges of the dough over the filling and pinch to seal. Repeat with remaining dough and filling.
• Heat the oil in a deep-fryer or electric skillet to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Fry bierocks a few at a time in the preheated oil on both sides until golden brown, 5 to 7 minutes; drain on paper towels.

Steps:

• Dough: In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes. Mix in milk, sugar, margarine, eggs, salt, baking powder, and 1/2 of the flour. Beat until smooth; add shortening and remaining flour until dough pulls together. Place in oiled bowl. Cover and let rise for 1 hour. Filling: In a large skillet, brown hamburger and sausage together. Drain, saving drippings in the skillet, and set aside. Add the 2 tablespoons olive oil. Saute onion, garlic, salt, lemon pepper, and mustard for 1 to 2 minutes. Add the cup of water, cabbage, and meat mixture. Simmer 30 minutes. Drain any excess fluid. Cool until lukewarm-about the same time it takes the dough to rise. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a cookie sheet with non-stick spray. Punch down dough and divide (20 pieces for appetizers; 10 pieces for entrees). Roll each piece of dough into a 1/8-1/4-inch thick square on a lightly floured surface and add filling (2 to 3 tablespoons for appetizers; 4 to 5 tablespoons for entrees). Fold corners to the center and pinch to seal edges. Place on prepared cookie sheet with pinched edges down. Let rise for 1 hour. If desired, brush dough with melted butter or egg wash (1 egg white with 2 tablespoons water). Bake in the preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden brown. Brush with butter (if not already done) and serve warm.

Steps:

• About 3-4 hours before you want to eat, take the rolls out of the freezer and place on a cookie sheet that has been lightly sprayed with non stick cooking spray. Place the rolls flat side down. Important: Take a sheet of plastic wrap and spray with non stick spray. Put the sprayed side over the rolls and cover completely so air does dry out the bread roll dough as it thaws. (Your rolls will be ruined if you don't do this.) Let sit at room temperature for about 3 hours or until rolls are soft. When your rolls are almost thawed, brown hamburger in a skillet, adding sauerkraut and cheese in about equal proportions. Salt and pepper generously. Let this cool - it can be made ahead and refrigerated or even frozen for another time if you have more than you need. Note: The filling needs to be dry - so you might need to strain this in a collander. If you have a lot of liquid in it (from the saukerkraut juice or hamburger), the water will make the dough goopy when you go to fill your rolls. When rolls are thawed and soft, take a roll and flatten it with your fingers, stretching it out in your hands almost to the size of the palm of your hand. Don't get too fussy about this - just stretch it in your hand. Place a heaping tablespoon of filling in the roll (as much as you can while still having some dough to pull together and make a pouch), pinching and pulling the sides of the dough around the filling to create a little "bag." Place the stuffed roll seam side down on the cookie sheet. When all rolls are filled, bake them at the heat setting and time suggested on the dinner roll package. Usually, this is about 350°F for 15 to 20 minutes. These are great with chili or for football game snacks.

Steps:

• For dough, in a large bowl, combine 4 cups of flour, yeast, sugar and salt; mix well and set aside. , In a saucepan, heat water, milk and butter just until butter melts. Remove from heat and cool to 120°-130°. Combine with flour mixture; add eggs. Using an electric mixer, blend at low speed until moistened then beat at medium speed for 3 minutes. By hand, gradually stir in enough remaining flour to make a firm dough. , Knead on a floured surface about 10 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour. Punch dough down; let rise again until almost doubled. , Meanwhile, for the filling, brown beef with onion, salt and pepper; drain. Mix together with cabbage; set aside. Divide the dough into fourths. Roll each piece into a 15x10-in. rectangle. Cut into 5-inch squares. Spoon 1/3 to 1/2 cup filling onto each square. Bring the four corners up over the filling; pinch together to seal. Repeat with remaining dough and filling. Place on greased baking sheets. , Bake at 375° for 30 minutes or until brown.

Steps:

• Brown the ground beef in a pan with the onion and garlic and season with salt and pepper. Add the cabbage to the ground beef mixture.
• Cover and simmer for about 15 minutes until the cabbage is limp.
• Add grated cheese to your liking and set aside to cool until just warm. Taste and season again if necessary.
• Pre-heat the oven to 170 degrees C or 350 degrees F.
• Separate the dough into 2 pieces and roll out each into a 12-inch circle.
• Cut each circle into 6 wedges. Using a spoon, put a small amount of the ground beef mixture filling into the centre. Bring the three points of each wedge up to the centre and pinch to seal.
• Place Bierocks on a lightly greased baking sheet. If you like, mix egg white and water and brush the tops of the bierocks with mixture.
• Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until golden brown. Serve hot.

Steps:

• 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.