Rhodes Runzas Recipes

HOMEMADE RUNZAS

Steps:

• Place frozen dinner roll dough on a sheet pan and rise according to package instructions. It will use 2 rolls for each sandwich.
• While dough rises, begin browning your ground beef and onion in a large skillet. When the meat is about halfway done, add in the shredded cabbage and cover with a lid. Cook until meat and cabbage are done. Drain off any excess grease or liquid. Set aside.
• When rolls have risen completely, lightly flour your surface. Remove two rolls and form a ball. Roll the ball out into a rectangle approximately 5"x7".
• Place approximately 1/3 cup of the filling in the center of the dough and spread out from top to bottom.
• Fold the bottom up and the top of the dough down and press to seal. Fold the left side over, pinching to seal. Then do the right side, gently stretching to cover the left. Pinch closed.
• Place each sandwich on a greased cookie sheet, seam side down.
• Let rise again for another 30-45 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
• Brush the tops with melted butter.
• Bake in a preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until bread dough is golden brown.
• Serve hot.

TRADITIONAL GERMAN BIEROCKS (AKA RUNZAS) - MADE FROM SCRATCH: RECIPE BY INDIANA MOMMY - COOKING FROM THE HEART LAND

Steps:

• For the filling: I make the filling the day before I want to make the bierocks and cool it overnight in the refrigerator. Start by warming 1 tablespoon of the butter & avocado oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the shredded cabbage, the onion, the ground beef and the salt and pepper. Break up the beef. Add the water and cover and cook over medium low heat for 30-40 minutes stirring occasionally. The cabbage should be wilted and the beef fully cooked through. Drain the mixture when it finishes cooking.
• For the dough: Heat the milk, water & butter over low heat on the stovetop until the butter is almost melted (between 120-130 degrees Fahrenheit.) In a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook add 4 cups of the flour with the salt, sugar and yeast and stir together. Slowly add the milk mixture while the dough hook is mixing. Scrape the bottom and the sides a few times to make sure there aren't any pockets of flour in this mixture. Once all the flour is mixed in, add the eggs 1 at a time and mix for 3-5 minutes until all those ingredients are fully incorporated. Then while the dough hook is going add 1 cup of flour at a time until your dough comes together. It will pull away from the sides of the bowl and no longer be sticky. You need to knead the dough for 10 minutes. Grease a large bowl and put the dough into that bowl, rubbing the top and bottom in the grease that is in the bowl. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise in a slightly warm place for 1 hour or until doubled in size. Punch it down and let it rise again for 1 hour or until doubled in size. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and divide into 4. Roll each of these 1/4ths into a rectangle and cut into 6 pieces. Take about ½ cup of the filling mixture and put it into each of the 1/6ths. Pull up the diagonal corners to meet in the middle and close all 4 seams by pinching them shut. Put all the bierocks on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 minutes or until nicely browned on top. I rotated mine halfway through cooking to ensure even browning. You can put them seam side up or down. Down is the more popular method because it holds the seams closed better, but that's up to you. I brushed them all with butter when they came out of the oven but that is not required.
• These freeze so well and are really great dipped in ketchup, bbq sauce, ranch, blue cheese....I love my dips haha!

RUNZAS

Steps:

• Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat; cook and stir ground beef and onion until beef is crumbly, evenly browned, and no longer pink. Drain and discard any excess grease. Stir in cabbage and season with 1 teaspoon salt. Continue to cook and stir until cabbage is tender, about 20 more minutes. Set mixture aside to cool.
• Mix warm water and butter in a large bowl. Combine dry milk powder, sugar, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and yeast in another bowl; stir into butter mixture. Add egg and gradually stir in flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until dough is smooth.
• Roll dough out to 1/4-inch thick on a lightly floured surface; cut into 4-inch squares. Scoop beef mixture into each dough square. Bring corners of a dough square together at the top and pinch corners together to seal. Place on a baking sheet, seam side down. Repeat with remaining beef mixture and dough. Cover rolls with a damp cloth and allow to rise for 20 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Bake in preheated oven until golden brown, about 20 minutes.

RUNZAS (BIEROCKS)

Steps:

• Thaw out frozen bread dough; cut each roll into 3 pieces and set aside. Brown beef and cabbage in a large skillet, seasoning with salt and pepper to taste.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Roll out bread dough and cut into squares. Place a spoonful of the beef/cabbage mixture onto the center of each dough square. Sprinkle cheese on top, fold over and pinch sides to seal. Rub a bit of oil on the outside of each pastry.
• Place in a 9x13 inch baking dish and bake in the preheated oven for 45 to 60 minutes, or until golden brown.

RUNZAS

Steps:

• First, make the filling: Chop onions and garlic and sauté in a large frying pan with a little butter or olive oil until tender.
• Add ground beef along with generous amounts of salt and pepper and cook through, then drain well, if needed. (This will depend on how fatty the beef is.)
• Put browned ground beef into a large pot (I like to use my Crock pot). Stir in cabbage and kraut and simmer 3-4 hours, stirring often, and seasoning and tasting. (If using a Crock pot, cook on "low" for 5 to 6 hours.)
• Now to make dough: Stir the yeast into the warm water.
• In a large bowl, mix together sugar, salt, and eggs. Beat in eggs, then stir in yeast mixture.
• Add flours quickly one cup at a time, stirring well after each cup. (I use my Bosch mixer for this step.)
• When the dough begins to pull away from the side of the mixing bowl, turn out onto a lightly-floured countertop and incorporate remaining flour by kneading. Knead 100 strokes until the dough is elastic and smooth. (Kneading can be omitted but this will make the dough nicer to handle, and with an improved texture.)
• Let rest in a covered bowl one hour or until doubled in size.
• Cut off golf ball sized pieces. Lightly flour countertop and roll out each piece.
• Fill each circle of dough with approximately 1/2 cup of filling, and optional cheese if desired. Pull edges of dough around the filling and pinch tightly. Place on a sheet of parchment on a sheet pan, or a 9x13" pan. Or any pan that you like, actually.
• Preheat oven to 375 while allowing runzas to rest for 30 minutes. Bake for approximately 30 minutes, until approaching golden.
• Swash with melted butter and bake for 10 more minutes or until golden. Serve while hot. Urge caution! The filling will be very hot.

RUNZAS (BIEROCKS) RECIPE - (4/5)

Steps:

• Saute cabbage and onion in oil. Cover and steam for 30 minutes. Brown ground beef in a large pan, and drain well. Add cabbage, onion, sugar, vinegar, salt and pepper and cook for an additional 10 minutes. Flatten each Texas™ roll, or 2 dinner rolls into a 6-inch circle. Divide filling among 12 circles (about 1/3 cup). Place 1 tablespoon mozzarella cheese on top of filling. Pull edges around filling and pinch to close. Place on a large sprayed baking sheet, pinched side down. Brush tops with melted butter. Bake at 350°F 30-35 minutes. Servings: 12 Prep Time: 15 min (not including thaw time) Bake Time: 30-35 min

NEBRASKA'S HOMEMADE RUNZA

Steps:

• Start by placing 1 1/2 cups flour, sugar, yeast, and salt into a large mixing bowl.
• Either in a small saucepan over medium heat or a microwave safe bowl, heat the milk, water, and butter to 120-130 degrees F.
• Pour heated wet ingredients into flour mixture. Stir slightly before adding beaten eggs.
• Continue by adding the remaining flour, one cup at a time, until when kneaded the dough comes together and is smooth and elastic.
• Place dough in a greased bowl, cover and let rise in a warm place for about 1 hour.
• While dough is rising, cook beef and onion over medium-high heat until meat is no longer pink. Drain.
• Stir in the chopped cabbage, seasoned salt, and pepper. Stir gently until cabbage is cooked and filling combined.
• Punch dough down, and divide into 12 equal portions.
• Working with one piece of dough, roll into a rectangle (approx 6 inches x 8 inches in size).
• Place a heaping 1/2 cup of filling into the center of each dough piece.
• Fold dough over filling. Seal and tuck edges.
• Place onto a greased baking sheet (edges can touch).
• Bake at 350 degrees F for 18-20 minutes or until golden brown.

COPYCAT NEBRASKA RUNZAS

Steps:

• Put the bread dough ingredients into a bread machine and set it on the dough setting. Press the start button. Check in a few minutes in to see if the dough is forming into a ball. If not, add a bit more water or if it is too sticky, add a little more flour.
• While the bread dough is forming, make the filling: put the garlic and onions in your food processor and pulse to chop into little bits. Remove from the food processor and add the cabbage. Pulse to chop the cabbage well.
• Heat a medium saute pan or wok over medium heat. Add the garlic, onion and ground beef and cook, chopping the meat frequently with a rubber spatula, until the meat is all browned. While cooking, season the meat generously, tasting as you go.
• Add the onion powder, garlic power and white pepper and stir to mix. Stir in the chopped cabbage and continue cooking uncovered for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently, then reduce heat to medium low, cover and cook for 20 - 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the cabbage is very, very tender and soft. Add seasonings until it tastes just a little too peppery.
• When the dough is done, preheat the oven to 375 F. and spray a baking sheet with cooking spray. Separate the dough into 12 pieces. On a floured surface, roll each piece of dough as thin as possible without making holes or tearing (about 1/8 inch thick).
• Dust a bowl with flour and put one of the rounds in the bowl, letting it go up the sides of the bowl a bit. Put 1/3 - 1/2 cup of filling in the middle, then pinch the dough up around the filling until it's sealed. When you flip it over, it should be a nice rounded rectangle shape.
• Set each Runza seam side down on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat until all the Runzas are formed. Bake at 375 F. for 20 - 25 minutes or until the pockets are nicely browned on top. Spray the tops of the hot Runzas with cooking spray or brush with melted butter. Enjoy!

~::~ RUNZAS ~::~

Steps:

• 1. Prep rolls to rise per instructions on bag -- this can take several hours, depending on temperature. (You can use the shortcut method according to instructions also on bag, although I've never done it so not sure how well it works!)
• 2. About an hour before rolls are fully-risen, prepare filling by first sauteing onion in a small amount of butter or oil until crisp-tender.
• 3. Add hamburger to same pan (with onion) and cook 'til brown, stirring occasionally. Drain fat, if desired; I typically use very lean beef that requires little-to-no draining.
• 4. Season with salt & pepper, to taste. (NOTE: I have not included measurements as individual tastes vary, but 'true' runzas are quite peppery -- this is what gives that distinct, tell-tale flavor!)
• 5. Add cabbage to same pan and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft. Once done, remove from heat and let sit while you prepare dough.
• 6. Once dough has fully risen, flatten individual rolls with rolling pin. Place about 1/2 c. or so of beef/cabbage filling in center, pinch the seams closed, and then place (seam-side down) on sprayed baking sheet. If not rushed for time, let sit for another 20-30 mins. to allow dough to rise a bit more.
• 7. Place in preheated 350 degree oven and let bake about 20 mins. or until lightly browned.

RHODES RUNZAS (BIEROCKS)

Steps:

• Saute cabbage and onion in oil. Cover and steam for 40 minutes. Brown ground beef in a large pan and drain well. Add cabbage, onion, sugar, vinegar, salt and pepper and cook for an additional 20 minutes. Flatten each Texas roll or 2 dinner rolls into a 6-inch circle. Divide filling among 12 circles (about 1/3 cup). Place 1 tablespoon mozzarella cheese on top of filling. Pull edges around filling and pinch to close. Place on a large sprayed baking sheet, pinched side down. Brush tops with melted butter. Bake at 350 degrees F. 30-35 minutes.