Homemade Bierocks Recipe (Hamburger and Cabbage filled rolls) (2024)

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German bierocks (or Runzas) recipe

Bierocks are a classic german meal that consists of cabbage, onion, and beef all inside of a sweet roll. If you have never had homemade bierocks, you have never lived!

That might be a bit much, but seriously they are THAT good.

Homemade Bierocks Recipe (Hamburger and Cabbage filled rolls) (1)

Now, they are time-consuming to make, but don't let that stop you! I have easy to follow instructions to help you step by step.

What can you add to bierocks?

  • cheese
  • sauerkraut

What you need to make Bierocks:

Ingredients:

bierocks dough

  • 1 package active dry yeast
  • 2 ½ cups warm water
  • 1 cup milk
  • ½ cup salted butter (melted)
  • ½ cup granulated sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 10 cups all-purpose flour

bierocks filling

  • 2 pounds ground beef
  • 1 large onion
  • 4 cups cabbage
  • 2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoon pepper
  • 2 tablespoon butter
  • 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (optional)

How to make Bierocks

Bierocks dough

The first thing you will do is add yeast to your large mixing bowl. Then you will add in your warm water. Whisk these together for about 10 seconds and then let it set for 10 minutes until it looks frothy.

Homemade Bierocks Recipe (Hamburger and Cabbage filled rolls) (2)

You will want to microwave the milk for 20-30 seconds or until it feels warm. Also, you will want to melt your butter and then let it set. The key to a dough that rises properly is using warm temperatures of liquid ingredients. If it's too hot, it won't rise.

When the water and yeast are frothy, you will add in the warm milk and melted butter. Mix this for about a minute.

Homemade Bierocks Recipe (Hamburger and Cabbage filled rolls) (3)

Then, add in your sugar and eggs.

Homemade Bierocks Recipe (Hamburger and Cabbage filled rolls) (4)

After this has been mixed well, you will begin adding flour.

Homemade Bierocks Recipe (Hamburger and Cabbage filled rolls) (5)

Start by adding in 1 cup at a time. When the bierock dough starts getting thicker, switch to your dough hook. Keep adding in all the flour until you have used up the 10 cups.

Homemade Bierocks Recipe (Hamburger and Cabbage filled rolls) (6)

Then, you will want to scoop this dough out onto a floured surface and knead for 2 minutes.

Homemade Bierocks Recipe (Hamburger and Cabbage filled rolls) (7)

Kneading is when you grab the edge of the dough and fold in towards the center, pressing down. You then keep rotating the dough ball until it looks more uniform.

Form it into a ball and place it in a well-oiled bowl.

Homemade Bierocks Recipe (Hamburger and Cabbage filled rolls) (8)

Cover the dough, and let it rise in a warm location of your house for about 1 hour.

You can then work on the bierocks filling.

Bierocks Filling

Start by chopping up your onion and cabbage. You will want to place butter into a large frying pan and then add in the shredded onion and cabbage. Let this cook for 6-7 minutes stirring often.

Homemade Bierocks Recipe (Hamburger and Cabbage filled rolls) (9)

Next, you will want to cook your hamburger and then drain the grease.

Homemade Bierocks Recipe (Hamburger and Cabbage filled rolls) (10)

In a large mixing bowl, you will combine the hamburger, cabbage, onion, and salt and pepper. This will make a traditional bierock filling.

Homemade Bierocks Recipe (Hamburger and Cabbage filled rolls) (11)

What I like to do is also add in some shredded cheddard cheese! This step is certainly optional, but if you like cheese, I definitely recommend it.

You will mix all of this together.

Homemade Bierocks Recipe (Hamburger and Cabbage filled rolls) (12)

Assembling the Bierocks

When the dough has risen for the full 1 hour, you will then separate out the dough into 18 balls of dough. Roll them each out on a floured surface.

Homemade Bierocks Recipe (Hamburger and Cabbage filled rolls) (13)

Then you should pre-heat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

The next step is to scoop approximately ½ cup of the bierocks filling into the dough.

Homemade Bierocks Recipe (Hamburger and Cabbage filled rolls) (14)

Then fold the dough around the filling, pinching it closed.

Homemade Bierocks Recipe (Hamburger and Cabbage filled rolls) (15)

Then place it on a cookie sheet with parchment paper, seam side down.

Homemade Bierocks Recipe (Hamburger and Cabbage filled rolls) (16)

You will then bake these bierocks for 30 minutes. Make sure to rotate the pan half-way through cooking time.

Another optional, but equally tasty thing you can do is brush the tops with melted butter!

This recipe make approximately 18 bierocks.

Homemade Bierocks Recipe (Hamburger and Cabbage filled rolls) (18)

4.88 from 8 votes

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Homemade Bierocks Recipe

Bierocks are a famous German dish consisting of ground hamburger, cabbage, and onion all encased in a sweet bread roll. The combination is amazing!

CourseMain Course

CuisineAmerican, German

Keywordbierocks

Prep Time 25 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Let the dough rise for 1 hour

Total Time 45 minutes

Servings 18 bierocks

Author Joanna Stephens

Ingredients

Ingredients:

    Bierocks Dough

    • 1packageactive dry yeast
    • 2 ½cupswarm water
    • 1 cupmilk
    • ½cupsalted buttermelted
    • ½ cupgranulated sugar
    • 2eggs
    • 10cupsall-purpose flour

    Bierocks Filling

    • 2tablespoonbutter
    • 1onion
    • 4cupsshredded cabbage
    • 2poundsground beef
    • 2teaspoonsalt
    • 2teaspoonpepper
    • 2cups shredded cheddar cheeseoptional

    Instructions

    Directions:

      Bierocks Dough

      1. The first thing you will do is add yeast to your large mixing bowl. Then you will add in your warm water. Whisk these together for about 10 seconds and then let it sit for 10 minutes until it looks frothy.

      2. Then you will want to microwave the milk for 20-30 seconds or until it feels warm. Also, you will want to melt your butter and then let it set.

      3. When the water and yeast are frothy, you will add in the warm milk and melted butter. Mix this for about a minute.

      4. Then, add in your sugar and eggs. After this has been mixed well, you will begin adding flour.

      5. Start by adding in 1 cup at a time. When the bierock dough starts getting thicker, switch to your dough hook. Keep adding in all the flour until you have used up the 10 cups.

      6. Then, you will want to scoop this dough out onto a floured surface and knead for 2 minutes. Form it into a ball and place it in a well-oiled bowl.

      7. Cover the dough, and let it rise in a warm location of your house for about 1 hour.

        You can then work on the bierocks filling.

      Bierocks Filling

      1. Start by chopping up your onion and cabbage. You will want to place butter into a large frying pan and then add in the shredded onion and cabbage. Let this cook for 6-7 minutes stirring often.

      2. Next, you will want to cook your hamburger and then drain the grease.

      3. In a large mixing bowl, you will combine the hamburger, cabbage, onion, and salt and pepper. This will make a traditional bierock filling.

      4. What I like to do is also add in some shredded cheddar cheese! This step is certainly optional, but if you like cheese, I definitely recommend it. You will mix all of this together.

      Assembling the Bierocks

      1. When the dough has risen for the full 1 hour, you will then separate out the dough into 18 balls of dough. Roll them each out on a floured surface.

      2. Then, pre-heat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

        Next, scoop approximately ½ cup of the bierocks filling into the dough. Then fold the dough around the filling, pinching it closed.

      3. Then place it on a cookie sheet with parchment paper, seam side down. You will then bake these bierocks for 30 minutes. Make sure to rotate the pan half-way through cooking time.

      4. Another optional, but equally tasty thing you can do is brush the tops with melted butter!

      Homemade Bierocks Recipe (Hamburger and Cabbage filled rolls) (2024)

      FAQs

      Why are my stuffed cabbage rolls tough? ›

      If your cooked cabbage is tough, it's likely because the cabbage is not cooked through yet. Continue to cook the rolls until they're tender. It's also important to make sure you let the rolls rest after they're finished baking.

      What is bierocks made of? ›

      The filling is a basic mix of onion, ground beef and cabbage which can be made more complicated by the addition of different cheese blends, condiments and seasonings like caraway seeds. Bierock is similar to both pirogi/pirozhki of Russian cuisine and börek of Turkish cuisine.

      What is stuffed cabbage rolls made of? ›

      Cabbage rolls are a dish where tender cabbage leaves are wrapped around meat and rice filling, then baked in tomato sauce. Cabbage rolls are a staple in many Eastern European cuisines and recipes vary greatly.

      What are German cabbage rolls made of? ›

      Beef, Rice, and Vegetable Stuffing

      These cabbage rolls are stuffed with grass-fed beef, ground heritage pork, raw rice, and vegetables.

      What makes homemade rolls tough? ›

      Too much flour, or not the right kind, could be to blame. Dough made only from flour with a high or even average amount of protein (like bread flour or all-purpose flour) can become tough from overmixing. Protein gives bread structure in the form of gluten—the more you mix and move the dough, the more gluten you get.

      Is it better to freeze or boil cabbage for cabbage rolls? ›

      If you want to make stuffed cabbage leaves, you don't have to cook the leaves to make them pliable. It's a lot easier just to freeze the cabbage—an added benefit is it doesn't stink up your house.

      What is the difference between a bierock and an runza? ›

      A runza (also called a bierock, krautburger, or kraut pirok) is a yeast dough bread pocket with a filling consisting of beef, cabbage or sauerkraut, onions, and seasonings. Runzas can be baked into various shapes such as a half-moon, a rectangle, a round (bun), a square, or a triangle.

      What does runza mean in German? ›

      No one is sure where the name "runza" came from (perhaps for the Low German "runsa" which means “bun shape,” or the soft shape of a round belly), but in 1949, two descendents of one of those immigrant families, Sally Everett and her brother Alex Brening, opened the first Runza Drive Inn in Lincoln, Neb., serving the ...

      What state is famous for bierocks? ›

      Bierocks are a Kansas dish, and Kansans love them. But if they try to get them outside of the state (save Nebraska, where they're more commonly known as runzas) they'll likely be met with puzzled stares.

      Why is my cabbage tough on my cabbage rolls? ›

      If your cabbage rolls are too tough, it means that you have not cooked them long enough. My method to start with, letting the cabbage sit overnight, starts to get the cabbage nice and soft. But if they are still not soft enough after cooking, it means that you need to return them to the oven and cook for longer.

      What country is known for cabbage rolls? ›

      The cabbage roll is a staple in the Romanian cuisine with variations of the recipe and sizing depending on the region, typically taking up to 6 hours to cook. Traditionally made with pork, beef, bacon, rice, spices and aromatics, broiled in a tomato sauce and served with polenta, sour cream and spicy pickled peppers.

      What are Ukrainian cabbage rolls made of? ›

      Description. Ukrainian meat stuffed cabbage rolls. Made with sweet green cabbage, beef, pork, carrots, onions, tomatoes, rice, fresh dill/ parsley, spices.

      Why do people like cabbage rolls? ›

      The cabbage is pickled (most people used to pickle their own cabbages in large plastic barrels), which gives the roll a wonderful flavor, the sourness of the pickled cabbage complementing perfectly the richness of the filling.” The filling includes meat and rice, and on New Year's Day, it would have some sort of pork ...

      Why is my cabbage still tough after cooking? ›

      You're not cooking the right kind of cabbage

      If you do want to cook it, add a touch of acid like lemon juice or vinegar to lessen the effect. The Savoy cabbage can be used as a substitute for green cabbage, just keep in mind that its leaves are a bit more tender than that of other cabbages.

      What happens if you overcook cabbage? ›

      Unappetizing texture and flavor: Overcooking can cause cabbage to become mushy, slimy, and unappetizing. It can also cause the cabbage to lose its natural sweetness and become bitter. Increased gas production: Overcooking cabbage can make it more difficult to digest, leading to increased gas production and discomfort.

      Why is my cabbage head not firm? ›

      Inconsistent Watering:

      Winter staples like cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower need a steady water supply to thrive and form a plump, compact head. Inconsistent watering can disrupt the development process and lead to loose or underwhelming heads. Cabbage, in particular, is sensitive to water fluctuations.

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