Sauerkraut Pierogi Filling Recipes

Steps:

• 1. FOR THE SAUERKRAUT FILLING: Note: You can fry your onions and bacon ahead of time.
• 2. I bought the type of sauerkraut that you find in a jar, so first drain it and then rinse the sauerkraut well in warm water, squeeze it dry, and chop it up finely.
• 3. Cook the onion or shallot in fat or shortening until tender and the flavors are blended.
• 4. Add the sour cream to the sauerkraut, season with salt and pepper.
• 5. Cook in a saucepan on low for 15 minutes until the sauerkraut is tender. Do not over cook this!
• 6. Chill in the fridge until cold and then fill the perogies.
• 7. FOR THE PEROGIES
• 8. Put the flour, butter and salt into the food processor with the lid on and turn on the machine. Put the water through the feeding tube in a stream. Let this process until a ball of dough is formed. Let the dough sit for a half hour and it will be easier to work with. I put mine in a plastic bag on the counter.
• 9. Once the dough has set and the sauerkraut is chilled roll out the dough and use a 4" round cookie cutter to cut out your perogies. Fill each being careful not to get any on the edges. Seal shut tightly.
• 10. Place the perogies on a floured surface so they won't stick. Cover with a tea towel.
• 11. Drop the perogies into a large pot of boiling water. When they float up to the surface they are done. Don't put too many in the pot at once, maybe 6 at the most, otherwise this will cool your water down too much.
• 12. Melt some butter and put it into the bottom of an oven proof dish and add your first layer of perogies I use a 9x13" casserole dish. I layer the perogies with fried bacon and onions and more butter. These stick easily so make sure you have enough butter on them.
• 13. Place in the oven and keep warm until you're ready to eat. I love a dollop of sour cream on the side.
• 14. Enjoy!

Steps:

• In a large skillet, heat oil over a medium flame. Add onions and mushrooms, and cook until tender but not brown. Stir in sauerkraut, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper. Cook for 6 to 10 minutes. Remove from heat, and stir in 2 tablespoons sour cream.

Steps:

• Sauerkraut Filling: Rinse the sauerkraut well in warm water, squeeze dry, and chop very fine.
• Cook the onion in the fat or shortening until tender.
• Add the sauerkraut and cream.
• Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Cook over low heat for 15 minutes or until sauerkraut is tender and the flavors blend.
• Do not over cook.
• Chill thoroughly.
• Mix the flour with the salt in a deep bowl.
• Add the egg, oil and water to make a medium soft dough.
• Knead on a floured board until the dough is smooth.
• Caution: Too much kneading will toughen the dough.
• Divide the dough into 2 parts.
• Cover and let stand for at least 10 minutes.
• Prepare the filling.
• The filling should be thick enough to hold its shape.
• Roll the dough quite thin on a floured board.
• Cut rounds with a large biscuit cutter, or as most old-world grandmothers did, with the open end of a glass.
• Put the round in the palm of your hand.
• Place a spoonful of filling in it, fold over to form a half circle and press the edges together with the fingers.
• The edges should be free of filling.
• Be sure the edges are sealed well to prevent the filling from running out.
• Place the pierogi on a floured board or tea towel and then cover with another tea towel to prevent them from drying out.
• COOKING: Drop a few pierogies into a large quantity of rapidly boiling salted water.
• Do not attempt to cook too many at a time.
• Stir VERY gently with a wooden spoon to separate them and to prevent them from sticking to the bottom of the pot.
• Continue boiling for 3-4 minutes.
• The cooling period will depend upon the size you made it, the thickness of the dough and the filling.
• Pierogies will be ready when they are puffed.
• Remove them with a perforated spoon or skimmer to a colander and drain thoroughly.
• Place in a deep dish, sprinkle generously with melted butter to prevent them from sticking.
• Cover and keep them hot until all are cooked.
• Serve in a large dish without piling or crowding them.
• Top with melted butter- chopped crisp bacon and/or chopped onions lightly browned in butter.
• REHEATING: One of the great things about pierogies, is that they can be made in large quantities, refrigerated, frozen and reheated without lost of quality.
• Many prefer reheated pierogies as compared to freshly boiled ones.
• To re-heat, you can 1) pan fry pierogies in butter or bacon fat until they are light in color or 2) heat the pierogies in the top of a double boiler or in the oven until they are hot and plump or 3) deep fry them.

Steps:

• Fry meat to desired doneness and set aside.
• Mix remaining filling ingredients and fry for about five minutes.
• Combine mixture with meat and refrigerate until ready to assemble pierogi.
• Combine the ingredients listed under dough and knead until well blended (dough should be somewhat dry and about the consistency of play-doh, you can knead in more flour if needed).
• Twist off workable portions of dough and roll out very thin on a floured surface.
• Using a glass with a thin lip and a diameter of about 3.
• 5 inches, dip lip of glass in flour and cut circles out of the dough.
• Place about 2 tsp filling in the center of each dough circle.
• Moisten outer edges with water and fold dough over to close.
• Seal edges by pressing gently with the back of a fork or pinching together with your fingers.
• Cook 12 pierogi at a time, reducing heat to a gentle boil; boil, stirring occasionally to keep from sticking to the bottom, until pierogi float to the surface (about 5 minutes).
• Rinse in cold water, then drizzle melted butter or vegetable oil over dough to keep from sticking.
• Repeat with remaining pierogi.
• At this point you can serve them warm, freeze them for later use, deep fry them until golden brown or pan fry them in butter with onions over medium heat, lightly browning both sides before serving.