Anyway, these are my Mom’s revered Pierogi. What are pierogi? They are basically the Polish version of a filled dumpling. When served by my family they are always smothered in butter, crispy-fried bacon and sautéed onions. They are amazing and always a treat, usually only reserved for holidays.
If you are a member of my family you know when these appear on the buffet line you better get as many as you want the first time around because there will be none left. None. They are scooped up in minutes and often another year must go by before anyone will be willing to make them again.
As a second generation Polish-American I felt it was finally time to learn the rigors of pierogi making. Up until now I just enjoyed eating them and really didn’t care much about making them myself. It’s funny as the years creep up on me how traditions of family which transcended generations start to play an important role in my life.
As my mother’s only daughter I feel it is my duty to continue pierogi making just as I used to watch my grandmother and my mother make the pierogi every holiday….mostly arguing about how much flour to use. Somehow they always worked it out, but there were some very tense moments.
Learning this art provides a continuity of tradition my family and close relatives have enjoyed my whole life.
The commercial versions of pierogi are sad replicas of homemade pierogi. However, making pierogi is not for the silly people. It is hard work and a full day’s project, unless you only make one small batch (you’ll be sorry you did). Make a lot, they freeze well.
Again, making pierogi for me was a commitment to the past while looking to the future. As our lives have all changed, making pierogi has remained the same. That’s a good thing these days as time seems to be slipping away at record speed.
I took the best pictures I possibly could. My mother is not used to someone snapping photos at every step of cooking. I didn’t even bother with auxiliary lighting, I think she would have had a few heart palpitations if I did. At one point I told her to stop working while I adjusted the white balance on my camera. Ummm, yeah, that didn’t happen. At all.
And since we are pierogi-ing it up, I am reminded of a joke…”There was a man lying upstairs in his bed, very close to death. He could smell the aroma coming from the downstairs kitchen where his wife was cooking pierogi. He couldn’t believe after 50 years of marriage she still loved him so much she would be making pierogi for what was most likely his final meal. He somehow got out of bed and crawled down the stairs to the kitchen. As he reached for the platter on the table filled with the freshly made pierogi, his wife slapped his hands away and said, ‘Hey, get away, those are for your funeral.’
So here it is, pierogi….Mom’s way…
While there are many fillings for pierogi, our favorite is a potato-cheese-onion mixture. It must be made the day before as it has to be very, very cold. No exceptions. The amount of pierogi you are going to make depends on how much filling you make. We made about 70 pierogi and still had some filling left over. For this many pierogi, peel and quarter 6 pounds of potatoes and bring to a boil. While the potatoes are cooking grate approximately 3/4 cups extra-sharp cheddar cheese (do not substitute) and sauté one large, chopped onion. When the potatoes can be easily pierced with a fork, drain and quickly return to the pot over the heat to remove any remaining water. Begin mashing with a potato masher, adding sautéed onion and cheese. Incorporate well and mash the potato mixture down hard until flattened. Let cool and place in the refrigerator overnight.
Each batch of dough makes about 22-23 pierogi, depending on the size of your cutter. I used a 3-1/4″ round cookie cutter. This larger size makes the pierogi easier to fill, especially for a first timer. You can not double or triple this dough recipe. It doesn’t come out right. We made three separate batches.
In a medium sized bowl, measure 2-1/2 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour using the scoop and sweep method and sprinkle 1 teaspoon table salt on top. Make a well adding 1 egg and 3 Tablespoons regular sour cream.
With two knives, incorporate the egg and sour cream into the flour.
Slowly add in approximately 3/4 cup lukewarm water. Add only a small amount at a time as you continue to cut the egg into the flour. My Mom is very particular and meticulous about this step. She goes slowly and makes sure every bit of flour is incorporated with the wet ingredients, so take your time here.
Once all the ingredients have been mixed, the dough will not be very smooth and possibly quite sticky. Use your hands to bring it together into a ball.
Here is what it should look like once you bring the dough together.
Let the dough stand covered with an inverted bowl for approximately 1/2 hour before using. Do not question this step, just do it, it’s tradition.
Once you have made all your dough batches take either all, or a portion of the dough, and roll it out until it is 1/16″ thick. Using flour will help you keep the dough from sticking to the rolling pin and rolling surface. Your available work surface will obviously dictate how much you can roll out at any one time. Thickness of the dough is very important to good pierogi. Cut out circles as close to the dough edge as possible and place them on a clean dish towel, placing them flat, just as you cut them out of the dough. In other words, do not flip them over. Leftover dough scraps after cutter can be put together into a ball and placed under a bowl to use at the end.
Keep the circles covered as they can dry out easily.
Remove only some of the filling from the large bowl in the refrigerator so that you can keep it cold. Place about 2 Tablespoons of filling into the dough circle. Do this by picking up each circle and flipping it over into your hand. The edge on this side is better to seal. Place filling inside. The dough stretches well as you press the filling in with a spoon. Add more filling if necessary. Bring the dough together and crimp the edges with your fingers. Be aware that if you have any filling on your fingers or on the edges of the dough, where you are trying to seal the edges, the dough will not close. Also be mindful not to make any small holes in the dough or leave any edges unsealed as they will come apart during cooking.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Once water is boiling, place twelve pierogi at a time in the water. When they float to the top, give them about one more minute and remove them from the water using a slotted spoon so the water can drain off. It is common to lose a few at this point that have not been sealed properly (early snacks). If it is happening a lot, reseal your other pierogi before dropping them into the water.
Take them directly from the water and place them into a frying pan with a gob of melted butter over low heat. Here you are basically just coating them well with butter so they do not stick to each other. At this point you can cool them and freeze them in Ziplock bags if you like.
If you are going to serve them, I like to line them up like soldiers in a 9 x 13 pan.
In a large frying pan, fry one pound of bacon until crispy, remove leaving some of the fat to sauté one large, chopped, yellow onion. When the onion is done add the crispy bacon back to the pan and mix together.
Sprinkle the bacon-onion mixture over your pierogi and serve warm. I promise these are the best, darned things next to candy. Just unreal.
If you need to rewarm them. Place a dozen at a time in a large frying pan over low heat and cover. You are basically steaming them but it’s okay to make them a little crispy too.
Here they are with my Mom’s amazing sauerkraut in the background. Yum.
Making these are truly a labor of love and so worth it.
Mom’s Revered Pierogi
For the filling:
6 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and quartered
1 large yellow onion, chopped
3/4 cup extra-sharp cheddar, grated (do not substitute)
This amount of filling filled approximately 70 pierogi with some left over. Adjust amounts depending on how many batches of dough you make.
For the dough:
2-1/2 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour (measure using the scoop and sweep method)
1 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
3 Tablespoons regular sour cream
3/4 cup lukewarm water
Do not double this recipe. Each batch of dough makes about 22-23 pierogi if using a 3-1/4″ cutter.
While there are many fillings for pierogi, our favorite is a potato-cheese-onion mixture. It must be made the day before as it has to be very, very cold. No exceptions. Depending on how many pierogi you are going to make depends on how much filling to make. We made about 70 pierogi and still had some filling left over. For this many pierogi, peel and quarter 6 pounds of potatoes and bring to a boil. While the potatoes are cooking grate approximately 3/4 cups extra-sharp cheddar cheese (do not substitute) and sauté one large, chopped onion. When the potatoes can be easily pierced with a fork, drain and quickly return to the pot over the heat to remove any remaining water. Begin mashing with a potato masher, adding sautéed onion and cheese. Incorporate well and mash the potato mixture down hard until flattened. Let cool and place in the refrigerator overnight.
Each batch of dough makes about 22-23 pierogi, depending on the size of your cutter. I used a 3-1/4″ round cookie cutter. This larger size makes the pierogi easier to fill, especially for a first timer. You can not double or triple this dough recipe. It doesn’t come out right. We made three separate batches.
In a medium sized bowl, measure 2-1/2 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour using the scoop and sweep method and sprinkle 1 teaspoon table salt on top. Make a well adding 1 egg and 3 Tablespoons regular sour cream.
With two knives, incorporate the egg and sour cream into the flour. Slowly add in approximately 3/4 cup lukewarm water. Add only a small amount at a time as you continue to cut the egg into the flour. My Mom is very particular and meticulous about this step. She goes slowly and makes sure every bit of flour is incorporated with the wet ingredients, so take your time here. Once all the ingredients have been mixed, the dough will not be very smooth and possibly quite sticky. Use your hands to bring it together into a ball. Let the dough stand covered with an inverted bowl for approximately 1/2 hour before using. Do not question this step, just do it, it’s tradition.
Once you have made all your dough batches take either all, or a portion of the dough, and roll it out until it is 1/16″ thick. Using flour will help you keep the dough from sticking to the rolling pin and rolling surface. Your available work surface will obviously dictate how much you can roll out at any one time. Thickness of the dough is very important to good pierogi. Cut out circles as close to the dough edge as possible and place them on a clean dish towel, placing them flat, just as you cut them out of the dough. In other words, do not flip them over. Keep the circles covered as they can dry out easily.
Leftover dough scraps after cutter can be put together into a ball and placed under a bowl to use at the end.
Remove only some of the filling from the large bowl in the refrigerator so that you can keep it cold. Place about 2 Tablespoons of filling into the dough circle. Do this by picking up each circle and flipping it over into your hand. The edge on this side is better to seal. Place filling inside. The dough stretches well as you press the filling in with a spoon. Add more filling if necessary. Bring the dough together and crimp the edges with your fingers. Be aware that if you have any filling on your fingers or on the edges of the dough, where you are trying to seal the edges, the dough will not close. Also be mindful not to make any small holes in the dough or leave any edges unsealed as they will come apart during cooking.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Once water is boiling, place twelve pierogi at a time in the water. When they float to the top, give them about one more minute and remove them from the water using a slotted spoon so the water can drain off. It is common to lose a few at this point that have not been sealed properly (early snacks). If it is happening a lot, reseal your other pierogi before dropping them into the water.
Take them directly from the water and place them into a frying pan with a gob of melted butter over low heat. Here you are basically just coating them well with butter so they do not stick to each other. At this point you can cool them and freeze them in Ziplock bags if you like.
If you are going to serve them, I like to line them up like soldiers in a 9 x 13 pan.
In a large frying pan, fry one pound of bacon until crispy, remove leaving some of the fat to sauté one large, chopped, yellow onion. When the onion is done add the crispy bacon back to the pan and mix together.
Sprinkle the bacon-onion mixture over your pierogi and serve warm. I promise these are the best, darned things next to candy. Just unreal.
If you need to rewarm them. Place a dozen at a time in a large frying pan over low heat and cover. You are basically steaming them but it’s okay to make them a little crispy too.
