Making Pierogi

[GusRobin]

Every year I make pierogi (Polish dumplings), kielbasa, and golabki (stuffed cabbage)for Thanksgiving and Christmas. So I decided to do it this weekend. I got pics for some of the steps, but not all.

Basically you make dough, and some stuffing. For the stuffing I used mashed potatoes, with cheddar cheese and grilled chopped onions.

Here are the onions cooking.


I used a pasta maker to roll out the dough.


Last Christmas I got a pierogi maker. Basically you roll out the dough, lay it across the template, add the stuffing, add another layer of dough and use a rolling pin across the template. The sharp edges press the layers together and cut into shape. It can make 18 at a time if you cover the whole template with dough. But since I was using the pasta maker my dough wasn't wide enough to cover all 3 rows. So I did the 2 outer rows.
Here is a pic with one row with the stuffing added and the other with the stuffing and the top layer of dough.


Here is a pic after I rolled the template. In the bottom I removed the extra dough.


After you remove the excess dough, you just pop out the perfectly formed pierogi and don't have to hand press the edges.



Then you boil a pot of water. You throw in the pierogi and remove them when they rise to the top.



Since I am going to freeze them, I take them out and run them through a cold bath.


I then dry them off and put them on a rack. I use the racks from the Bradley. When I have a full rack I put the rack in the freezer.





After they are frozen, I take them out and off the rack. I usually put 6 each in a small zip lock vac seal bag. Then put the bags in a 2 gallon bag. Here they are bagged and tagged.



When its time to eat, just take some out, fry them up with some butter and onions and enjoy.

1 down, kielbasa and golabki to go.

[Saber 4]

Looks like you've got a good assembly line going, when we lived in the Detroit area years ago I always loved going over to Hamtramck to eat Pierogi, of course this was back when it was a Polish town.

[josbocc]

Gus,

Oh where, oh where, pray tell does one get a perogi maker?  Every year at hunting camp my buddy brings a couple of packages of his wife's homemade perogi.  (Rumor has it that you don't want to be anywhere near her kitchen when the manufacturing process is taking place, as she is not the happiest of people while trying to do this right).  My buddy sent me her recipe this year, and it seems as if getting the sealing right, is the key.  Looks like your little contraption solves that problem.

I have some cheeses, dehydrated mushrooms, and Canadian bacon that are destined for perogis.  If I can get my hands on that little bugger, I think my life might get a little easier.

FYI, my buddy's wife's recipe is very similar to yours, however, she places her perogis in a frying pan with a little butter for just a few seconds to coat them with the butter after they come out of the boiling water.
Jeff

[josbocc]

Never mind the "where."  Found it on Amazon.com.  Guess what Jeff will be asking for this Christmas  ;D ;D ;D

[pensrock]

Gus, I want to come to your house for Thanksgiving.  ;D
It looks great and I love pigs in the blanket, pierogi and keilbasa. What a great treat for the holidays. Nice work.

[TedEbear]

Is pierogi what the alien ordered at that restaurant in the movie Men in Black?  I'd never heard of it, now I know.  Looks delicious.