Homemade Runza - Meat and Cabbage Pockets
Nebraska is a little weird. We have a weird college football mascot. We do pointy-finger waves when we see people on gravel roads. And everyone in the state is knowledgeable about a weird meat and cabbage pocket called a Runza. But until a year ago, I would have to take a small road trip to get my Runza fix, so I worked, and worked, and worked until I found a recipe that mimics the beloved Nebraska sandwich. (PS: This is not a bierock. No matter what anyone tells you. They are different.)
Nebraska is a little weird. We have a weird college football mascot. We do pointy-finger waves when we see people on gravel roads. And everyone in the state is knowledgeable about a weird meat and cabbage pocket called a Runza. But until a year ago, I would have to take a small road trip to get my Runza fix, so I worked, and worked, and worked until I found a recipe that mimics the beloved Nebraska sandwich. (PS: This is not a bierock. No matter what anyone tells you. They are different.)
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 3/4 cup milk
- filling:
- 1/2 cup sugar
- crust:
- 2 medium onions chopped
- 2 teaspoon salt
- 4.5 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 packages dry active yeast
- 1/2 cup crisco shortening
- 2 pounds lean hamburger or ground chuck
- 1 medium/large cabbage shredded
- Carbohydrate 67.8280182307344 g
- Cholesterol 125.811817351522 mg
- Fat 20.0512121414003 g
- Fiber 0.505360189395073 g
- Protein 33.7542257244138 g
- Saturated Fat 8.35155969366857 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (339g)
- Sodium 103.533311570995 mg
- Sugar 67.3226580413394 g
- Trans Fat 1.16084149239086 g
- Calories 582 calories
Step-by-step
- In a large mixing bowl place 1 3/4 cups flour, sugar, yeast and salt. Stir to combine.
- In a medium sauce pan heat milk, water and shortening over medium-low heat till it reaches 120 degrees F.
- Pour milk mixture over flour mixture, add eggs, and beat with an electric mixer on low until blended. Then beat on high for an additional three minutes.
- Stir in remaining flour, knead until smooth and elastic (about seven minutes) and place in a greased bowl. Cover with a tea towel and set in a warm place till it doubles in size. (Approximately one hour.)
- Meanwhile, Brown hamburger and onions on medium high in a large skillet. Drain.
- Place mixture back in skillet and add cabbage, salt, sugar and pepper. Cover and cook on medium heat until cabbage is wilted. Stir frequently.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Punch down dough and roll out on a floured surface into 1/8 inch thickness. Cut dough into 6 inch squares. (I use a pizza cutter to cut my squares.)
- Place 1/3 cup of meat mixture in the middle of the square. (Add a 1/2 slice of American Cheese to the inside for a Cheese Runza.) Fold edges to the middle and pinch to seal. Place on a greased cookie sheet with pinched side down.
- Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown.
Working with an enriched yeast dough requires patience with temperature. When warming the milk, water, and shortening together, target 120 degrees Fahrenheit exactly; exceeding 130 degrees will kill the yeast entirely while falling below 110 degrees leaves the leaven sluggish. Kneading the dough demands a full seven minutes of physical work until the gluten strands align, yielding a smooth, elastic ball that springs back slowly when pressed with a fingertip. During the filling preparation, sweating the shredded cabbage down with the browned beef removes excess moisture, preventing the pastry interiors from becoming soggy during baking. Roll the proofed dough to an even eighth-inch thickness to maintain structural integrity around the filling. Watch the oven closely around the twenty-minute mark, pulling the pockets only when the exterior develops a deep, uniform golden-brown hue. For batch cooking, these pockets adapt well to freezing; half-bake the assembled units for ten minutes initially, cool them completely on wire racks, and store them frozen until ready to finish baking at 350 degrees.
