Homemade Sauerkraut Pierogies / Perogies - Old Fashioned Recipe

Total Time: 30 mins Preparation Time: 10 mins Cook Time: 20 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 4
• 3 cups sauerkraut (or more)
• 1 medium chopped onion
• 4 tablespoons bacon fat (vegetable shortening can be substituted) or 4 tablespoons butter (vegetable shortening can be substituted)
• 2 tablespoons sour cream
• salt and pepper
• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg
• 2 teaspoons oil
• 3/4 cup warm water

Recipe

• 1 sauerkraut filling: rinse the sauerkraut well in warm water, squeeze dry, and chop very fine.
• 2 cook the onion in the fat or shortening until tender.
• 3 add the sauerkraut and cream.
• 4 season to taste with salt and pepper.
• 5 cook over low heat for 15 minutes or until sauerkraut is tender and the flavors blend.
• 6 do not over cook.
• 7 chill thoroughly.
• 8 mix the flour with the salt in a deep bowl.
• 9 add the egg, oil and water to make a medium soft dough.
• 10 knead on a floured board until the dough is smooth.
• 11 caution: too much kneading will toughen the dough.
• 12 divide the dough into 2 parts.
• 13 cover and let stand for at least 10 minutes.
• 14 prepare the filling.
• 15 the filling should be thick enough to hold its shape.
• 16 roll the dough quite thin on a floured board.
• 17 cut rounds with a large biscuit cutter, or as most old-world grandmothers did, with the open end of a glass.
• 18 put the round in the palm of your hand.
• 19 place a spoonful of filling in it, fold over to form a half circle and press the edges together with the fingers.
• 20 the edges should be free of filling.
• 21 be sure the edges are sealed well to prevent the filling from running out.
• 22 place the pierogi on a floured board or tea towel and then cover with another tea towel to prevent them from drying out.
• 23 cooking: drop a few pierogies into a large quantity of rapidly boiling salted water.
• 24 do not attempt to cook too many at a time.
• 25 stir very gently with a wooden spoon to separate them and to prevent them from sticking to the bottom of the pot.
• 26 continue boiling for 3-4 minutes.
• 27 the cooling period will depend upon the size you made it, the thickness of the dough and the filling.
• 28 pierogies will be ready when they are puffed.
• 29 remove them with a perforated spoon or skimmer to a colander and drain thoroughly.
• 30 place in a deep dish, sprinkle generously with melted butter to prevent them from sticking.
• 31 cover and keep them hot until all are cooked.
• 32 serve in a large dish without piling or crowding them.
• 33 top with melted butter- chopped crisp bacon and/or chopped onions lightly browned in butter.
• 34 reheating: one of the great things about pierogies, is that they can be made in large quantities, refrigerated, frozen and reheated without lost of quality.
• 35 many prefer reheated pierogies as compared to freshly boiled ones.
• 36 to re-heat, you can 1) pan fry pierogies in butter or bacon fat until they are light in color or 2) heat the pierogies in the top of a double boiler or in the oven until they are hot and plump or 3) deep fry them.