Best Old World Pierogis Recipes

THE CLASSIC PIEROGI (POTATO AND CHEESE)

Steps:

• Cook potatoes in salty water until you can easily pierce them with a fork. Drain water from cooked potatoes. Mash them with some warm milk and butter. Mix in cheese.
• Whisk eggs with sour cream and milk until you get an even texture.
• To the liquid ingredients, add in flour and salt.
• Knead the dough by hand or by using a standing mixer. Allow dough to rest for 10 minutes once fully kneaded and elastic.
• Roll out the dough on a well floured surface. Cut circles out of the dough using a cookie cutter or a floured glass cup.
• One by one, spoon filling into dough dough. Fold the dough over to create a quesadilla or empanada shape. Pinch edges together with your fingers to seal the filling inside.
• Flour the surface where you plan to place pierogi. Note: You can freeze the pierogi at this point and save them for later.
• Bring 3 quarts of water to a boil. One by one, add pierogi into the boiling water. Once they float to the top (10-15 minutes into the cooking), they are fully cooked.
• In a buttered pan, sauté onion to a golden brown. Add pierogi to pan. Fry sides of pierogi to a golden brown.

OLD WORLD PIEROGIS

Steps:

• Mix together the dry ingredients and incorporate the beaten eggs, sour cream and butter. Mix with fingers until well blended. Put into covered round bowl and drizzle with the bacon fat or olive oil, flipping the dough in the bowl to coat the outside with the oil.....let the dough rest for at least 15 minutes.
• Mash the potatoes with a fork and incorporate the cottage cheese, mixing well. Saute the green onion and the carrots in a little butter....remove from heat and add to the potato mixture. Add the rest of the seasoning and mix well.....form little mounds of the mixture using a teaspoon. You should have approximately 18 to 22 mounds......the dough recipe makes about 18 pierogis so you may have to make 2 batches of dough.....you may want to make another filling anyway to fill the rest of the pierogis...good to have a variety...you can fill with Bavarian sauerkraut with mushrooms and onions ...or you can fill with various types of ground meats and seasonings or various veggies chopped fine.....set the mounds aside and roll out the dough on a floured surface kneading it lightly before doing so. You will roll it out to an 18 inch circle. Make an oval form out of cardboard or paper that is 5 inches by 3 inches....move the form around the dough circle and cut out the shapes with a plastic knife.....set all the ovals aside.....when you are finished making all the ovals you can fill them and fold the dough over, crimping the edges with a fork dipped in flour.....you may first want to press the edges gently with your fingers......set these filled pierogis on a plate till all are finished. Take a medium sized chicken fryer or kettle and fill half way with water and add 1T. of salt....bring this to a rolling boil.....drop in about 6 pierogis and boil for about 2 minutes or till they float to the top....remove with a slotted spoon and place on a platter until they are all boiled.....take a cast iron skillet or heavy frying pan and melt some butter in the bottom.....(about 1 T.)...place the boiled pierogis in the hot buttery pan and brown them on both sides.....serve hot with sour cream. If you like add some sliced onions in the pan and brown them along with the pierogis.

HOMEMADE SAUERKRAUT PIEROGIES / PEROGIES - OLD FASHIONED RECIPE

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.