Posted
by Megan Stuke
September 11, 2010 at 2:10 p.m.
Bierock-n-roll
Cabbage is really really good for you. Did you know that? I didn't. I thought it was probably kind of like lettuce - little roughage but not much in terms of vitamins and minerals. But cabbage is not only good roughage, it's full of B vitamins, vitamin C, calcium, antioxidants, and iron. Go cabbage!
Recently, I bought a head of the magical stuff to use in homemade eggrolls, but you know, the whole batch of eggrolls would only use like a quarter of the head of cabbage, so I needed to find other ways to use it up. The good news is that there are lots of fun things to make with cabbage. Also, cabbage will last a long time in your refrigerator, so you have time to make several meals out of it before you have to trash it. I hate trashing food. I hate trashing food like I hate hangnails and Lady Gaga.
This week I whipped up two cabbage-y feasts, and both can be made in under half an hour, which lately, for me, is requirement number one in a recipe. First I made bierocks. Or maybe I should call them Fauxrocks. Because my German grandmother would be turning over in her grave if she saw how I have bastardized the wonderful meat pocket of the homeland.
A bierock is basically a hot pocket. It's a bread casing around a meat filling. Traditionally, the meat filling is a mixture of ground beef, cabbage, onion, and seasonings. If you're doing things right, you'll make your own bread dough, and it's best if you use a smaller-than-usual amount of yeast because you want sort of a crispy outside.
But I don't have time on your basic weeknight to make dough, let it rise, yada yada. So I used crescent rolls. I'd be embarrassed about it, if the end result hadn't been so stinking yummy.
cheating with crescent rolls by meganstuke
Start by preheating your oven to whatever temperature the crescent roll package suggests. Mine was 415 degrees.
Then grease your cookie sheet. This might not be totally necessary since crescent rolls are very buttery on their own, but I didn't want to risk them sticking. I used butter. I couldn't help myself. But cooking spray would be good too.
Unroll your crescent rolls and press them into rectangles. There are eight crescent rolls in a package, which equals four rectangles, so this recipe makes four bierocks.
crescent roll dough by meganstuke
Next, brown a pound of ground beef. Salt and pepper it liberally. When it is about halfway cooked, throw in about two cups of cabbage and a cup of red onion, thinly sliced.
cooking meat mixture by meganstuke
Finish cooking. The cabbage and onions will soften and bring flavor to the meat. I don't do any other spices or additions here, but I'm sure you could experiment at will. Add jalapenos, celery, even a diced apple or some zucchini.
Drain the fat off the meat, and pile about a half a cup of the mixture in the center of each crescent roll. Traditionally, the bierock doesn't contain cheese, but what the heck, I've already bastardized it anyway, why not add a little mozzarella or cheddar to the mess?
filling bierocks by meganstuke
Then pull up opposite corners of the crescent roll and seal them on top of the filling.
sealing bierocks by meganstuke
Pinch all edges together so nothing is spilling out. Bake for approximately ten minutes or until they are golden brown.
quick bierock dinner by meganstuke
This is a good dinner because it's not only fast to make, but it's inexpensive and satisfies even a cabbage-hater. I promise, your kids will eat this. Mine did. And by kid, I mean Mr. Meat and Potatoes, who is far pickier than my one year old.
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momgreenreno (Jan Reno) says…
I've always used crescent rolls for bieroks--knowing full-well it wasn't the "real" thing--but again, after an 8-5 work day who cares about the real thing when you have Pillsbury at your finger-tips. My rancher cow-boy husband loves them -- enough said.
lori (anonymous) says…
Wow. I'm impressed that you're brave enough to publicly admit to the crescent roll substitute. I don't think I can go there, my grandmother would definitely haunt me, as I take enough liberties with her recipe as is. I'm not a hater, and I think the crescent roll is a great idea, I just don't think I can do it. I am more of the make-75-bierocks-and-freeze type of gal, so making the dough doesn't seem like that big of deal on that scale.
The one liberty I will admit to is the use of hot sauce in the meat mix. I use Tapatio, but any nice spicy hot sauce will do. I like my bierocks to have a little kick. And as an aside: my grandmother's recipe uses cabbage *and* sauerkraut. Overall it makes for a very flavorful little bierock.
Since you have German cooking in your blood, have you ever made spaezle? If so, how do you like to serve it?
meganstuke (Megan Stuke) says…
No, I've never made spaetzle. Frankly, I've never made much re: authentic German food. Aside from occasionally opening a can of sauer kraut and tossing it in with some sausages, I'm pretty illiterate.
Once, I had an American Studies teacher tell me she went out and bought a Cuban cookbook so she could get back to her Cuban roots. I suppose I'll have to do the same thing for German food, but I'll feel like a total fraud.
lori (anonymous) says…
If you ever want to try spaetzle, I have a press and a recipe you can borrow. Once again, something that is very labor intensive, but the noodles freeze well. Your meat and potatoes hubby might like them. We use them in place of potatoes in the "mashed potatoes and brown gravy" form. They also go well sauteed with onions and bacon, topped with melted swiss cheese.
meganstuke (Megan Stuke) says…
Lori,
Yes! I would love to try it. 'Twould make a great blog, don't you think?