Using Your Food Storage: Bierocks

I was making one of our family favorites for dinner tonight when inspiration struck. This delectable specialty of Chez Harried Homemaker could be easily turned into a food storage recipe. My family will definitely be down with this whole food storage business if it can include bierocks.

What is a bierock? Unless you are from my part of the country, chances are you have no clue. A bierock, pronounced "beer rock", is a specialty here on the Plains. It was brought over by German immigrants and basically consists of meat and cabbage wrapped in bread dough and baked. It is absolutely delicious and total comfort food. What better type of food to serve than comfort food when you need to use your food storage?

I have to admit that I didn't really use many food storage items when I cooked these today, but I'm sure that you could easily substitute them in this recipe with fabulous results. This is not a fussy recipe! Next time I make bierocks, I'll definitely give it a whirl.

First you make the filling. You cook ground beef and onions together and then stir in some shredded cabbage. I'm a lazy bum and I actually used bagged coleslaw mix. I stirred in a couple of cups of the preshredded cabbage and carrots, let it wilt a bit, and then seasoned it with salt and pepper. Season it well! Add garlic powder or seasoning salt if that floats your boat. Then you set the mixture aside to cool in the fridge.

Then I made the bread dough. It is a simple yeast bread recipe. After an hour of rising time, it was doubled in size and ready for action. Now for the sort-of-but-not-really-tricky part: shaping the bierocks.

I divided the dough in half and rolled each part thin-ish. I scored the dough with a knife to make portions that are approximately 3 inches square.

You put about 1/4 c. of the filling in the center of each dough square.

Then you press two opposite corners of the square together like so.

Then repeat with the other two corners.

Seal all the edges carefully and PRESTO! You've made a bierock! Place your bierock (seam side down) on a greased baking sheet.

Repeat with all the remaining dough.

Bake for a mere 15 minutes and prepare for the lusciousness. The short baking time would be a boon if and when you need to conserve fuel.

I like to eat my bierocks with nothing more than a dab of mustard. Hubby Dear grew up eating them with mustard, ketchup, and mozzarella cheese sprinkled on top. (That's probably because his mother doesn't season her filling very well and you need all that extra mumbo jumbo. But you didn't hear that from me.)

So how could you convert this to a food storage recipe?





Instead of chopped onion, use dehydrated chopped onion, rehydrated.

Instead of ground turkey or beef, use home canned ground beef, rehydrated freeze-dried beef crumbles or TVP.

Instead of milk, use dried Milk, reconstituted according to the package directions.
                                                           
Instead of plain vegetable oil, use whatever you you have. I used the extra virgin olive oil that I store. You could also melt shortening to use in this recipe if that's what you have on hand.
                                                           
Instead of fresh eggs, use dry powdered eggs, reconstituted.

Instead of bread flour, you could substitute all purpose flour. It will work OK, but will make the bread slightly less chewy. You could also add  1 t. of vital wheat gluten for every cup of all purpose flour. That would approximate bread flour. You probably could easily substitute freshly ground whole wheat flour for half of the regular flour without any issue.
                                                            
Instead of finely shredded cabbage, use home grown cabbage from your verdant  garden.  :)  OK, this is the tricky one. Lacking  said verdant garden, you could try dehydrated or freeze-dried shredded potatoes, reconstituted mashed potatoes, or whatever canned vegetables you have on hand. I bet sauerkraut would work if that's something you have on hand. Use whatever you think would taste good with bread and beef.
 
Give bierocks a whirl!  
                                                                                                             
                                                            

BIEROCKS, originally published in Cooking Light

Filling:

1/4 cup chopped onion
1/2 pound ground beef or turkey
2 cups finely shredded cabbage
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt

Dough:

1/4 cup sugar
1 package dry yeast (about 2 1/4 teaspoons)
1/2 cup warm water (100° to 110°)
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
4 cups bread flour, divided

To prepare filling, cook the onion and beef until meat is browned, stirring to crumble. Add cabbage; cook until cabbage wilts, stirring constantly. Stir in pepper and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Cover and chill.

To prepare dough, dissolve sugar and yeast in warm water in a large bowl; let stand 5 minutes. Stir in milk, oil, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and eggs. Add 3 1/2 cups flour to yeast mixture, and stir to form a soft dough. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic (about 8 minutes); add enough of the remaining flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, to prevent dough from sticking to hands (dough will feel tacky).
(I used my stand mixer with dough hook instead of doing this by hand.)

Place dough in a large bowl coated with cooking spray, turning to coat top. Cover and let rise in a warm place (85°), free from drafts, 1 hour or until doubled in size. Punch dough down; cover and let rest 5 minutes.

Divide dough in half. Roll each half into a 10 1/2 x 7-inch rectangle on a lightly floured surface. Cut each rectangle into 6 (3 1/2-inch) squares. Working with 1 portion at a time (cover remaining dough to keep from drying), spoon about 1/4 cup filling into center of each portion, and bring 2 opposite corners to center, pinching points to seal. Bring remaining 2 corners to center, pinching points to seal. Pinch 4 edges together to seal. Place the bierocks, seam sides down, on a large baking sheet covered with parchment paper. Cover and let rise for 20 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375°.

Uncover bierocks. Bake at 375° for 15 minutes or until bierocks are browned on the bottom and sound hollow when tapped. Remove bierocks from pan, and cool on wire racks. Yield: 12 servings (serving size: 1 bierock)

Note: To freeze, cool completely, and wrap individually in foil. Place wrapped bierocks in a heavy-duty zip-top plastic bag; freeze for up to 3 months. To reheat, thaw in the refrigerator. Place foil-wrapped bierocks in a preheated 350° oven for 15 minutes.