I happened to be making beer brats with sauerkraut this weekend, so I cooked extra sauerkraut to use as a filling, as well as a potato filling. You can use any myriad of ingredients for fillings, but here are my potato and kraut recipes:
POTATO FILLING
peeled, diced red skin potatoes (5 or 6, medium sized)
3 slices bacon, chopped
1/2 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 or 3 tblsp butter
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup shredded cheddar
cracked black pepper, to taste
complete season, to taste
onion powder, to taste
garlic powder, to taste
etc, etc
saute bacon in a pan with the onions until tender and almost done. add minced garlic and saute a few minutes more. drain and set aside.
boil potatoes and drain when tender. mix/mash potatoes in a bowl with butter, then add sour cream and mix/mash till smooth. add bacon mix, cheese, and seasonings and blend thoroughly. cover and set aside for pierogies.
SAUERKRAUT FILLING
1 bag sauerkraut
2 tblsp butter
4 slices bacon, chopped
1 med. onion, diced
1 teaspoon garlic powder (if not used in brats)
1 teaspoon onion powder (if not used in brats)
pepper to taste (if not used in brats)
With Brats:
2 bottles dark beer
5 brats
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon cracked pepper
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes (opt'l)
If making brats and beer kraut, like I did:
Put beer, kraut (with a little bit of juice, not all), chopped onion, red pepper flakes, gp, and brats in a large pot. Cover and boil until brats are cooked through, stirring occasionally, about 10 or 15 minutes. Remove brats and wipe off any kraut on them and grill them when ready.
Continue to simmer the kraut for another 10 minutes or so, stirring occasionally.
Remove about 1/2 the sauerkraut with a slotted spoon, put it in the bowl, and set aside. Leave the remaining kraut to serve with the brats. Then saute kraut mix as written below.
If you don't want to make the kraut with brats and beer first, just drain the kraut (1/2 bag... rinse it if you don't like any bitterness or strong flavor)... and proceed as follows:
Melt 2 tblsp butter in a large non-stick pan. Add bacon and onions (if you didn't use them in brats mix). Saute for a few minutes and then add the kraut and continue sauteing until bacon is cooked, but not crisp.
Season how you like with gp, op, pepper, etc. Remove with a slotted spoon to a bowl. Use a paper towel to soak up any crazy excess grease. Cover and set aside.
MUSHROOM GRAVY
1 pint white mushrooms, halved, and sliced
1 small onion, diced
4 tblsp. butter
1 cup sour cream
1 can beef broth
cracked black pepper
seasoning to taste
flour (1 tblsp at a time)
milk (if needed)
Saute mushrooms and onions in a pan with melted butter. When tender, add mixture to a medium saucepan. Add sour cream, beef broth, cracked pepper and other seasonings to taste. Simmer on med-low heat about 5 minutes, stirring often. Then whisk in 1 tblsp flour if needed to thicken sauce. Continue to simmer and stir 5-7 mins until sauce is right consistency. As needed: If sauce is too thin, add flour (1 tblsp. at a time). If too thick, add a little milk to thin it out. Serve over cooked pierogies.
PIEROGI DOUGH
3 eggs, room temperature
1/4 cup sour cream, room temp.
3/4 cup whole milk, room temp.
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 tsp. salt
5 1/2 cups flour
1/2 stick butter, softened
1 egg, beaten in a small glass (egg wash)
*For any who don't already know, you want all your ingredients to be at room temp. If they're not, crazy things will happen to your eggs when you put them in.
In a large bowl, beat eggs, sour cream, butter, milk, and salt with an electric mixer. Add flour and mix with hands until thoroughly blended into a soft dough. Leave the dough in the bowl, cover, and put in a warm place to rest for about 5 mins.
Then, knead dough for 10 minutes. Divide into 4 balls. Grease each with butter to prevent them from drying out and leave them in the bowl until ready to use.
