Burogi, when Burger meets Pierogi

One faithful day while lying down on a bed I had an epiphany, or rather a crazy idea to combine burger and pierogi into delicious burogi! This was no easy task considering my dear love for both, but there was no escaping it.

My first obstacle came right after the idea popped into my mind. How can I cook pierogies with ground beef inside in a way that I would be able to still call it a burger? Of course the traditional way of cooking or par-cooking the pierogies in boiling water was out, as even frying them afterwards wouldn’t stop them from simply being pierogies with beef.

Then I realized that there is another version of pierogies in Poland, yeast pierogi that are either fried or baked without being boiled beforehand.  That is how Burogies were born!

First you will have to make the dough, to do so warm 1/2 a cup of milk in a microwave for 20 second, or on a stove, but make sure it’s warm to touch and not hot. In a bowl combine a packet of yeast (which is usually 3/4 ounce or 2 and 1/2 tablespoons) a tablespoon of sugar and milk. Sieve a tablespoon of flour on top of the solution to cover it.

Set aside for about 10 to 15 minutes.

Cut the onion, or onions.

Then start frying it at medium heat with a tablespoon of oil, and a pinch of salt. When the onions are about to to burn  (all of the oil is soaked up) add a 1/4 cup of water, continue frying and repeat when all of the water evaporates. Do this until the onions are  caramelized to your liking. If you don’t like caramelized onion or simply don’t feel like making it you can just fry onions to your preference.

If you really enjoy caramelized onions use two or even three onions as they will shrink, here’s a comparison.

And this is after about half an hour of cooking.

While the onions are cooking it’s time to check on your yeast solution. Once there are cracks in it you can begin the next process.

Add to the solution 2 cups of flour, teaspoon of salt, tablespoon of oil, and an egg.

Work it into a dough, and knead it for at least 10 minutes. Shape it into a squashed ball, put it back into the bowl, cover and let it rest for at least 30 minutes or until doubles in size.

It’s time to take care of the meat, but at the same time keep making sure the onions are not burning.

Combine the 1/2 pound of sirloin, and 1/2 pound of brisket or your favorite blend.  Now the best way to go about the meat is to divide it into 4 equal chunks and then make 3 meatballs out of each chunk, but don’t overwork the meat. You should end up with about 12 average sized meatballs from 1 pound of meat. If you have more or less don’t worry about it.

Now you want to season the meatballs with salt and pepper, and the best way is to simply grind some pepper and salt onto a plate, dab your hands in it and gently it pat into the meatballs.

After the meatballs are seasoned, repeat the season process with cheese, and don’t worry if the cheese doesn’t want to stick to the meat (fresh shredded cheese works better) as you can always add more cheese when stuffing the dough. Put the meatballs in the fridge, and check on your dough.

If the dough is ready prepare a large flat surface such as a counter top or a table, and roll out the dough. I’m using a silicone mat for a quick clean up, but any flat surface will do. Flour the surface, and start rolling until the dough is about 1/5 of an inch (or 1/2 centimeter) thick,  don’t worry if  it’s a bit thicker or thinner.

Then use a glass or something similar to cut out circles in the dough, you should end up with about 12 to 16 circles depending on the thickness of your dough. Now stretch each circle like a like a pizza, put extra cheese in the middle if you desire, place a meatball inside, fold,  squeeze the edges, and finally fold the edges so the stuffing doesn’t get out.

Do the same with the rest, and heat up the oil.

I’m using a normal pan to fry them, but make sure you have enough oil so the burogies will be able to float easily. I found out that medium heat works best, and you can test the oil by throwing in piece of a dough. If it browns within 60 seconds, the oil is hot enough to start cooking.

Fry them for 3  minutes per side for medium to medium-well,and 2 1/2 minutes per side for rare to medium-rare. The cooking time might differ based on the size of your burogi, and temperature of the oil but it’s okay to fry them for a bit longer as all of the juices are sealed inside anyway.

Once you take the burogi out, let them rest for few minutes on plate so they can finish cooking, and if you like well-done burger cover them while resting.

Serve with caramelized onions, pickle, and ketchup or any condiment you like.

Ingredients

Dough
2 cups of flour
3/4 oz pack of yeast
1/2 warm milk
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon of oil
1 egg

Burger
1 pound of your favorite ground beef blend (I used 1/2 sirloin, 1/2 brisket)
1 cup of your favorite burger cheese (more or less)
Salt and pepper

Caramelized Onions
One or more onions
water
salt

Quick Direction

1. Prepare yeast solution by combing yeast, sugar and milk, cover it with a tablespoon of flour and set aside.
2. Cube the onion and frying it, adding 1/4 of water every time onions become dry and start burring.
3. Add flour, salt, oil, and egg to the solution. Work it into a dough, knead for at least 10 minutes, cover and set aside at least 30 minutes,  or when doubles in size.
4.  Make 12 meatballs out of the meat, season them, and gently tap the cheese into them, leaving the rest for later.
5.  Roll the dough until it’s 1/5 inch thick, using a glass cut out circles in the dough.
6.  Stretch the circles, stuff it with meat and extra cheese, fold, squeeze and fold the edges.
7. Fry the burogi 3 minutes per side, serve with onions and other favorite toppings.