Welcome to another Man Monday.
First, all y’all need to go and watch this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-i9GXbptog
*Still laughing* Oh man. Hot pockets are great-esque. But there is nothing classy about them. I know what you are thinking… Man! I sure wish there were classy hot-pockets out there. Well, my friends, there is such a thing. It’s called a runza. I found this glorious recipe in the October issue of Food Network Magazine. Of course, I couldn’t leave it alone and had to change the recipe a bit, but I promise it was for a good cause. I’ve heard that cabbage is supposed to be used rather than spinach. Changed in the name of authenticity.
Runzas – A Classy Hot Pocket
Makes 10 Runzas
Ingredients:Dough:
- 1/4 oz packet of dry yeast
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 3 1/2 cups bread flour
- 12 tablespoons salted butter
- 2 teaspoons salt
Filling:
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoons salted butter
- 1 Vidalia onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon thyme
- 1 teaspoon rosemary
- 1 tablespoon canola oil
- 1/2 head cabbage, chopped
Directions:
- To make the dough, combine 3/4 cup of very warm water, a pinch of sugar, and the yeast in a bowl. Let it sit until it blooms. If you’ve never done this before, pop yourself some popcorn and sit back and enjoy the show. You’ll know what I mean when the “blooming” begins. Okay, maybe it’s not that cool…
- Add 3 of your eggs and whisk with your yeast mixture. Add 2 cups of your flour to the liquid and mix well with a wooden spoon. Add the butter, the sugar, the remaining flour and salt and mix well.
- Knead the dough on a floured surface for about 5 minutes. Place the dough ball in a buttered bowl and let sit for one hour at room temperature. Transfer to the refrigerator and let sit for at least an hour (I honestly have no idea why this is done… any tips my Nebraska friends?).
- Remove the dough and divide into 10 equal portions. Roll into separate balls and let sit covered while you make the filling.
- Speaking of the filling, get your ground beef sizzlin’ on a skillet. Season as desired with salt and pepper. Cook until lightly browned, then remove the beef from the skillet with a spoon and place it in a bowl, leaving most of the grease behind. Add your butter to the skillet and begin sizzlin’ your onion. Cook until translucent, about 10 minutes or so. Add your garlic, thyme and rosemary and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes. Add this whole mixture to the bowl with the beef.
- Next, using the moisture still in your skillet, get the pan nice and hot. Add your cabbage and stir constantly until the cabbage is lightly browned and translucent-ish. It may seem like a lot of cabbage at first, but it shrinks down substantially. Add the cabbage to the beef mixture.
- Flatten your balls of dough with a rolling pin. Each dough saucer should be about 8 inches in diameter. Place 1/3 to 1/2 cup of filling in the center of each dough-saucer and pull the edges together and pinch to enclose the filling in the dough. To avoid a thickened dough-seal, I actually cut off the excess dough with cooking shears. If you don’t do something like this, you’ll find a doughy center as you take your first chomp.
- Preheat the oven to 375° while the runzas sit and rise for a bit. Brush some of the egg (your remaining egg of the 4 you originally had) on the top of each runza to give it a nice browning while in the oven. Cook the runzas on a greased baking sheet for about 25 minutes or until golden brown.
Enjoy my friends. We sure did. They make excellent left-overs too. And to my Midwestern friends, this was my first attempt at a classy hot-pocket, so I’d love to hear if you have any home-town suggestions for me.
-Zach
These are so delicious. I made them once when I was a child for a 4-H project. Mmmmm, delicious. Thanks for sharing your recipe!
I saw this recipe in Food Network Magazine too. There was actually a restaurant in Ft. Collins called Runza, and I took the kids there a few months back when Glen was out of town. Then they closed. So now he’s mad because we all had a runza and he never got one. So, I guess I’ll have to make him some. I’m using your version though!
There is still a Runza in Loveland 🙂
Great post! I live in the Midwest and we have a Runza restaurant in my town. Typically Runzas are more rectangle in shape as opposed to round. The cabbage is chopped super fine, almost to the point of not being able to notice it. There are many variations, with Cheese being one of the most popular. Once you have the Runzas ready for the oven, make a slice and slip in a piece of cheese. My husband and daughters also love the Swiss Cheese & Mushroom Runza. There are other variations as well, such as Asian and Italian but most prefer the Original or Cheese. I have to remind myself that there are people who have actually never tasted a real Runza. Thanks for getting the word out!
There are fast-food restaurants in Nebraska called Runza… My kids love them!
They remind me of a German food I had when
I was young called Beirocks. Here is an article
I thought you might be interested in.
Thanks for the recipe.
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1990-06-28/entertainment/9002220369_1_ground-beef-cabbage-dough
That IS interesting! I may need to try that version. Thank you!
Do you have any idea if I could freeze these?
I freeze about half of mine every time.
Do you freeze them before or after baking? I’m trying to get some freezer meals made before baby comes.
I would recommend freezing them after you make them!
I get these at my co-op’s deli, but they are called peroshkis and they are filled with sauerkraut, mushrooms and hard boiled eggs. Sounds strange, but I am completely addicted to them! YUM!
Not strange at all! That sounds amazing! I crave these all the time. They’re so good!
These have been my favorite meal since I was a kid. Try them with green chili next time! 🙂
The original recipe (from my great great grandmother) does not call for any spices in the filling except for salt and pepper. No garlic and Double the cabbage as well.
This dish is German-Russian and was brought to America in the late 1800s by the Germans from Russia.
We featured your delicious recipe today on our blog! http://www.rhodesbread.com/blog/blog/rhodes-on-pinterest-february-2016
I grew up eating these. My mom used a sweet dough for it. Now that I’m a mom I have shared these with my kids and I add shredded carrots to the mix. We tried BBQ but didn’t like that as well. Runzas freeze well too for easy make ahead meals.
Do you melt the butter before mixing in?
Hot pocket? No comparison. Aka bierock. Yummy stuff either way. No matter how you call it. I’m On the west coast and have never heard of runza with all their different variations on this hand pie. Going to have to experiment. Thanks for the inspiration.
My grandma made these and we would all fight for the last one. We called them krautburgers.