Fried Meat-filled Buns (pirozhki)
Why I Love This Recipe
I've been making these for my family for years, but not that often, until...using a bread machine has taken most of the work out of preparing the dough. Great with soup. My family can't get enough of these...
Ingredients You'll Need
For Dough:
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. sugar
3 eggs
1/4 cup canola oil
1 cup milk
1/4 cup warm water
1 pkgs. dry yeast (2 1/2 tsp.)
Directions
Place all ingredients in a bread machine and select "Dough" Cycle. Depending on your flour, you may have to adjust the amounts of liquid and flour...it should be smooth, elastic and easy to handle.
When done, punch dough down. Let rest several minutes, then pinch off ping pong ball size pieces of dough. Roll pieces out thinly, making about a 3 1/2 to 4 inch circle, and place a heaping spoonful of filling in the center. Lightly flour your work surface and rolling pin to prevent sticking.
Bring sides of dough together and pinch closed. Place on a floured pan, seam side down and continue rolling and filling remaining dough.
For meat filling:
Cook about 2 lbs. of beef chuck in simmering water flavored with a bay leaf, a few peppercorns and salt. When meat is tender, remove and allow to cool. You can also prepare a favorite beef soup and remove the meat to use as your filling.
Cut an onion into pieces and grind together with pieces of the cooked meat. This can be done with a meat grinder or food processor. I use an old-fashioned meat grinder.
Add salt and pepper to taste. If meat is dry, add some of the beef broth to moisten it. Add a heaping spoonful of chopped parsely to your meat. Use this meat to fill the pirozhki buns.
To fry buns:
Heat oil in a heavy skillet (about 1-2 inches deep) to approx. 375 degrees F. Fry buns in small batches, turning once to brown both sides to a golden medium brown. Adjust your heat to prevent buns from browning too quickly. Drain on paper towels. Can be served warm (best) or cold. Reheat in oven, if desired. Makes about 25 buns.
