When I was a kid, we didn’t live far from the Bridgford Bread manufacturing plant. Their yellow and red bags were a staple of my childhood. I can remember my mom making both cinnamon rolls and beerocks (or bierocks) from their frozen bread dough.
What the heck is a beerock? A beerock/bierock is essentially a beef and cabbage hand pie or turnover, Russian/German in origin, and not unlike a piroshky. I don’t make them often, but when cabbage turns up in my CSA box in the winter, it’s almost the first thing I think of making and they’re great football food.
They’re dead simple, it’s just a matter of cooking up the filling and wrapping them up into little bundles. What takes time is waiting for the dough to thaw in the fridge. We can’t get the Bridgford dough up here in the Pacific Northwest, so I used Rhodes Frozen White Bread – it works just as well. I make mine a bit smaller than the recipe calls for — cutting the rolled out dough into 8 slices (well, more or less, I’m not known for being great at rolling dough into circles). I will tell you though that once you pinch them shut, they shouldn’t pop open as a couple of mine did, but at least now you can see the filling a bit.
As a kid, I dipped them in ketchup, but it’s not 100% necessary. If you add enough Worcestershire, it’ll have enough of a salty, vinegary kick not to need it. In addition to upping the Worcestershire sauce, I also brush them with an egg wash for a nice little shine. Grated carrot also makes a nice addition. And finally, if you’re vegetarian, crimini mushrooms would also work well in place of the ground beef.
Incidentally, if you’re ever in Seattle, the piroshky/pierogi at Piroshky Bakery at Pike Place are purty darn good. Or if you just need some filling inspiration for your beerocks, check out their menu.
Beerocks: Beef and Cabbage Turnovers
Ingredients
- 2 loaves frozen white bread dough, thawed (or two 1 lb. rounds of pizza dough)
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1/2 t. salt
- 1/2 t. black pepper
- 1 small head cabbage, chopped (green or savoy)
- 3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 2 teaspoons caraway seeds
- 1 egg
- 1 T. water
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a skillet, brown ground beef, onion, and garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Add cabbage, Worcestershire sauce and caraway seeds. Cook until cabbage is wilted. Drain any liquid from filling mixture.
Lightly flour your board and roll each loaf into a 12-inch circle.
Using a pizza wheel, cut each circle into 8 wedges. Put 2-3 T. of filling onto center of each wedge, dividing equally. Pull the three points of each wedge up to the center and pinch to seal. Arrange Beerocks on baking sheets.
Make an egg wash with the egg and water and brush the bierocks on all sides. Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown.
Refrigerate if not eating immediately. Warm for 30 seconds in a microwave to reheat.
