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

      What is the difference between a bierock and a 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 are the ingredients for cabbage rolls? ›

      Combine ground beef, cooked rice, egg, milk, onion, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Spoon about 2 tablespoons of mixture onto each cabbage leaf. Bring one end of the cabbage leaf over the mixture, rolling and tucking in the ends to prevent filling from falling out; arrange rolls in a single layer in the slow cooker.

      Do you cook cabbage rolls before freezing them? ›

      If you're freezing the Cabbage Rolls, cook for the first 2 hours, cool, then freeze. Reheat at 350° for one hour, or longer if they're still frozen. Serve with mashed potatoes if desired.

      What does bierock mean in English? ›

      /biəɹɒk/ /bɪɹɑːk/ Bierock. 1. a German-inspired pastry filled with ground meat, onions, and cabbage, baked until golden.

      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 nationality is a bierock? ›

      Bierock is a yeast dough pastry pocket sandwich with savory filling, originating in Russia. The dish is common among the Volga German community in the United States and Argentina. It was brought to the United States in the 1870s by German Russian Mennonite immigrants.

      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.

      Why is my cabbage tough on my cabbage rolls? ›

      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 happens if you don't blanch cabbage before freezing? ›

      Once it's washed and cut up, cabbage can be frozen, but for longer-term storage, it's best to blanch it first. Blanched cabbage can be frozen for up to nine months, while unblanched cabbage will only keep for one to two months.

      Can cabbage rolls be left out overnight? ›

      The USDA says food that has been left out of the fridge for more than two hours should be thrown away. At room temperature, bacteria grows incredibly fast and can make you sick. Reheating something that has been sitting at room temperature for longer than two hours won't be safe from bacteria.

      Are bierocks German or Russian? ›

      Bierocks spread throughout Europe as a popular choice for working families. Eventually, German Russian Mennonites introduced them to the United States when they immigrated in the 1870s.

      What food is similar to bierocks? ›

      Pretty much every culture has some form of “meat/onion/cabbage wrapped in bread.” The Irish have Dingle pies, Germans have Bierocks, and Runza.

      What is another name for a bierock? ›

      Some liken it to an American Hot Pocket. But while some will staunchly say the sandwich is called a bierock, others will refer to it as a runza.

      What are bierocks called in Nebraska? ›

      In Kansas, the name Bierock stuck. In Nebraska, the singular form Krautrunza was shortened to Runza.

      Is runza Polish or German? ›

      Bierocks—pronounced bee-rock and also known as runzas—are a German/Eastern European roll that made its way to the American Midwest. They're similar to the Russian pirozhki, another popular European meat-stuffed pastry. They vary in shape, but the most popular ones are usually round or rectangular.

      Is runza just a Nebraska thing? ›

      A midwest thing since 1949

      We started in Lincoln, Nebraska, then expanded throughout the state and into some neighboring states. To keep it fresh, we choose not to go national.

      Are there only runzas in Nebraska? ›

      Founded in 1949 by Sally Everett, the chain began its expansion under Sally's son Donald Everett Sr. in 1966, and started franchising restaurants in 1979. As of November 2020, there are eighty-six Runza restaurants operating: eighty in Nebraska, two in Iowa, two in Colorado, and one in Kansas.

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