If you grew up in Kansas or one of our neighboring states you are most likely familiar with Bierocks or otherwise known as Runzas in our northern neighboring state of Nebraska. They are one of my favorites. I’m a big fan of cabbage. You can always find them at our County Fairs here in the sunflower state. Growing up they were always on the school cafeteria menu. Heck, even our High School Juniors usually have them for sale for a prom fund raiser every year in our small town. They are said to have been brought over by German Russian Mennonite immigrants. The wives would create these delicious stuffed rolls and deliver them to their men who were working the crops.
I recently shared the above picture on Facebook and was surprised on how regional of a dish this seems to be. Many people were asking for the recipe so here is my best shot. I usually just create as I go. Over the years of making them I have tinkered with the recipe. I used to add mustard to the mix but have removed that over time. This version has become the family favorite.
Ingredients
For Filling:
- 3 lb. ground beef
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 3 small garlic cloves, finely minced
- 3 tbsp. butter, cut up
- ½ cup water
- 2 tsp. Beef Bone concentrate (image below).
- 2 tsp. Chicken Bone concentrate (image below).
- 2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tsp. White vinegar
- 1+ tsp. black pepper (to taste)
- 1 + tsp. regular table salt (to taste)
- ½ tsp of Morton’s seasoning blend (image below).
- ½ + tsp. Garlic powder (to taste)
- 1 head cabbage chopped
- 1 tsp. brown sugar
- 2 ½ cups (a couple Tblsp. per roll) of shredded mozzarella or cheese blend of your choice, optional.
- *One 3 lb. bag of 36 Rhodes Frozen Dinner Rolls (2 rolls will make one Bierock). You can also use the Texas rolls which are larger and you’ll only need to use one per bierock. Or if all you have is a loaf of their frozen bread dough that will work too cutting each loaf into 8 slices.
- 1 stick butter, melted
Instructions
*The night before, place frozen rolls in sprayed glass pans and wrap each tightly with plastic wrap that is also sprayed. Place into fridge to thaw overnight.
When you are ready to start cooking your filling pull the rolls out of the fridge so they can finish doubling in size while you start cooking your filling. Preheat oven to 350°F.
In a large frying pan, brown ground beef and onion until done, breaking up into small pieces. Drain any excess grease if necessary. Place ground beef back into your skillet and add garlic, and sauté 1 minute longer.
Add butter, water, both bone broths, worcestershire, vinegar, black pepper, salt, garlic powder and Morton’s blend. Add shredded cabbage stirring well to mix. Cook over medium-low heat, covered, stirring occasionally, until cabbage is very tender. Should take 15 – 20 minutes. During the last 5 minutes, add brown sugar stirring well and remove from heat. You can make this ahead of time and hold for 1 – 2 days.
Spray 2 baking sheets with non-stick spray.
Grab two rolls and keep the rest wrapped so they don’t dry out. Combining two rolls pressing out the dough kind of like making a pizza into a 5-6 inch round circles or rectangles or whatever shape you are capable of pulling off. Spreading them on a dry counter can help with this. Oil or flour will make it impossible so keep your counter clean. Try to make edges thinner so you don’t end up with a big clump of bread in the center once they are baked.
Place about 2 tablespoons of shredded cheese in the center, then top with a generous scoop ( about ⅓-½ cup) of the meat mixture. You don’t want your rolls understuffed. Bring up the sides, a bit at a time, pulling up and over the top, overlapping with each pull. Kind of like if you were making a Chinese dumpling. Pinch a little to seal, and place seam side down onto your prepared baking pan. Brush with melted butter. Continue with rest of rolls.
When 6 are filled and ready to go: Cover the prepared bierocks with plastic wrap or a clean lint free kitchen towel and let them proof (rise) for about 20-30 minutes. Bake for 25 – 30 minutes or until golden brown. Make sure the bottom is done. Nobody likes a soggy bottom. Place on a cooling rack. Brush with melted butter if desired. Bake next tray when the first one are done. I usually use the first sheet pan for the last batch. You can crowd them more tightly if you like, but I don’t like them to touch and they do expand being a yeast dough.
Serve with your favorite side such as fries, chips, or a cucumber onion salad. I like to dip mine into a little yellow mustard and ketchup on the side. Most in my family eat them plain while others are known to enjoy them with spicy brown mustard.
We prefer to reheat leftovers in the oven wrapped in foil until warm. You can individually wrap these and store them in the freezer for a later meal as well.
Have you ever had or made Bierock’s? If so how does your recipe differ? Please let me know if you have any questions on this recipe. Are you considering trying to make these? Let us know how they turn out.
✌️♥️🙏,
Nick & Christina
