Kraut Runzas (also known as krautburgers, krautramzies, fleischkuche, bierock, or kraut pirok) is a dish I enjoyed growing up.  I love them straight out of the oven covered in butter with mustard on the side.

A Kraut Runza is a bread bun stuffed with seasoned beef, cabbage, and onions.  This dish has been made for generations in my family.  The recipe below is my great-grandmother’s recipe modified/simplified by mother.  The dough used to be made from scratch.  However my mother found a short cut by using Rhodes Frozen Dinner Rolls in place of the dough.  This cuts the prep time in half.

The great thing about this dish is that the buns are easy to freeze and reheat well in a microwave.  I usually take a couple to work for lunch.

The prep time for this recipe is about forty minutes with about four hours of inactive time.  Depending on the size of your oven, cook time is forty minutes to an hour.  The recipe makes thirty-six buns or eighteen servings.  Cost per serving is $0.51 or $0.25 a bun.  Total cost is $9.09.

I did not pair a wine with this recipe.  Your favorite beer will taste great while enjoying the Kraut Runzas.

Kraut Runzas

Yield:  Makes 18 servings or 36 Kraut Runzas

Ingredients

• 1 package of 36 Rhodes Frozen Dinner Rolls (frozen dough)
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 cabbage, shredded
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 teaspoons garlic, minced
• Salt and pepper to taste

Lay out frozen dinner rolls on wax paper and cover with tea towels.  Let rise for four hours.

Brown the ground beef in a large skillet and season to taste.  Remove beef and save for later.  Add cabbage, onion and garlic and cook until tender.  Combine beef and cabbage mixture in large bowl.  Season to taste.

Roll out individual rolls on a slightly floured surface into flat disks.  Take 2 tablespoons of filling and place in the middle of the dough.  Fold corners over filling and pinch to seal.

Place the rolls on a prepared baking sheet with seem side down.  Bake at 350˚F for 20 minutes or until golden brown.  Remove from baking sheets and place on wire racks to cool.  Serve with butter and/or mustard.  Freeze or refrigerate leftovers.