Since a couple people requested this recipe I thought I would post it in its own thread where it would be easy to find. For those who did not read the other thread, my BIL said these were the best pierogi he ever had, even better than Moms! What a compliment!
For 4 1/2 dozen pierogi you need 1 head of cabbage and two recipes of pasta dough. I make the dough in my Kitchen Aide and I always make multiple batches after almost burning out a motor on an old 5 quart machine making a double batch. I made 9 dozen for Easter. The pasta dough is a combination of about 12 different recipes that I have seen, heard, or tried over the years. The filling is based on my MIL's recipe with generous tweaks.
Pasta Dough
3 1/2 cups flour, plus extra for rolling
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup cold water
1 egg
up to 1 cup water (I usually use between 1/4 and 1/2)
1 1/2 Tbsp butter, melted
Place the flour and salt in mixing bowl. Put on flat beater. Mix for a few seconds. In a measuring cup mix the 1/2 cup cold water and egg and beat with a fork until combined. Stir in the melted butter. While KA is running on speed 2 slowly pour in water, egg, butter mixture. After that is absorbed, slowly start adding the extra water to make a moist dough. The pasta dough should feel wet, but you do no want to use all the water. I used between 1/4 and 1/2 cup of the water in the batches I made for Easter. At this point remove the flat beater and put on the dough hook. Knead at slow speed (Speed 1) for a few minutes until the dough has no lumps and feels smooth and silky. You can add more flour or water a Tbsp at a time as needed to get the right consistency. The dough should cling to the hook; it should not lie in the bottom of the bowl. Remove dough from the bowl and knead by hand on a lightly floured surface about 10 times.
After kneading, wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate. The dough will be easier to roll if you make it the day before and refrigerate over night, but you want to chill it for at least four hours.
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Kneading the dough.
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Dough ready to be wrapped.
1 medium head cabbage
1 very meaty cube salt pork (I use Hormel)
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper
Note: all measurements are approximate since I never measure when I make the filling, but I think these are about right. I use a wok and a stir fry pan to make this. The cabbage shrinks a lot while cooking.
After cleaning, coring, and cutting the cabbage into quarters, shred the cabbage (about 1/4" shreds). I just use my santoku knife but you could use your food processor. Remove the skin and the layer of fat under the skin on the salt pork; you don't want too much fat. Cut it into 1/2' thick slices and fry in the wok to render some of the fat. Remove the salt pork from the pan and put the cabbage in. Mix the cabbage well to coat it with fat. Lay the salt pork over the top of the cabbage and cover tightly. Cook over low heat, stirring occasionally for about 2 hours. Add the soy and pepper and mix in. Continue to cook for another hour or more until the cabbage is very soft. You will want to taste and see if you need to adjust the seasonings. When the cabbage is very soft, remove and discard the salt pork. Refrigerate the filling until cold if stuffing pierogi, at least 4 hours or overnight.
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Trimmed salt pork.
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Starting to cook cabbage.
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Cabbage almost done cooking.
To assemble the pierogi:
I used the big pierogi maker to assemble mine, or you can make them one at a time. To use a pierogi maker, divide one batch of dough into three pieces. Roll each piece out to cover the pierogi maker, it should be quite thin. Place sheet over the maker, add about 1 Tbsp filling to each pierogi, place the second sheet over the filling, and roll over with rolling pin to seal the pierogi. By hand, break off a walnut size piece of dough. Roll into a circle, should be fairly thin. Place a Tbsp of filling slightly off center. Fold dough in half, fold the edge up (like you were sealing a parchment envelope) and press along the fold to be sure you have a good seal.
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Shaped pierogi.
To cook: in a large Dutch oven or stock pot. Fill pot with water up to 3 or 4 inches from the top and bring to a boil. Drop the pierogi, one by one into the boiling water. Cook for 5 to 6 minutes and remove. I lay mine out on cookie sheet to cool. Make sure they do not touch or they will stick.
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Cooked pierogi, ready to eat or store.
To store: To store in fridge, pack into containers placing waxed paper between each layer to prevent sticking. To freeze, lay on parchment paper on cookie sheets and place sheets in freezer until pierogi are frozen. Remove from sheets and place in bags or containers. Or you can freeze individual servings in plastic bags or containers, but if not individually frozen first they will stick together.
Wow! That seems really long. I have been making them so long it seems like a really easy process until I try to explain it. I hope you enjoy these if you decide to try them. The cabbage is good on its own as a side dish to polish sausage or pork, and the pasta is good cut into noodles and boiled. You may also save time by making the filling and dough, cutting the dough into noodles, cooking the noodles, and then stirring thrm into the cabbage. We call this "Lazy Pierogi".
Joanne
Terrapots
bubbeskitchen
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