Old World Naturals Slow-Cooked Uncured Corned Beef
pierogies with toasted rye

Servings 4-6
Ingredients:
1 pkg. Slow-Cooked Uncured Corned Beef
roughly chopped
4 c. all purpose flour
1 egg
1.5 t. vegetable oil
1/2 c. lukewarm water
1/2 c. sauerkraut
1 large Yukon Gold potato
1/4 c. buttermilk
to taste salt & ground black pepper
1 head garlic
1 c. canola oil
1 c. sauerkraut
6 cloves confit garlic
1 T. apple cider vinegar
1 t. water
1 c. rye berries

FOR THE DOUGH:  Sift flour on a large work surface. Make a well in the mound of flour, and add the egg and oil, as well as 2 tablespoons of the water. Using a butter knife, begin mixing the dough together, adding the water 1 tablespoon at a time. When the dough becomes soft and sticky, begin using your hands to bring the dough together. Knead dough for 4 to 5 minutes, until the dough is elastic. If the dough is too dry, add more water; if dough is too wet, add more flour. Let the dough sit for 30 minutes covered with a damp hand towel. Cut the dough in half to begin rolling. Keep the other half of dough covered with the damp towel. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to a thickness of about 1/16 inch. Lightly flour a baking sheet. Using a 3-inch round cookie cutter, punch out circles of dough and place the circles on the baking sheet. Keep the circles covered with another damp towel and continue cutting circles until all of the dough has been used.

FOR THE FILLING: Peel, chop, and boil the potato until the largest pieces are fork tender. Drain and allow to cool. When the potato is cool enough to handle, combine with the sauerkraut and the corned beef in a food processor. Pulse the mixture together adding the buttermilk in 4 batches. Check seasoning, and add salt and pepper accordingly. The filling should be processed enough to give the potatoes a pink hue. Place mixture in a bowl, and chill until pierogies are ready to be filled. To fill the pierogies, place roughly 1 teaspoon of filling in the center of a dough circle. Seal the edges by dipping your finger in warm water and tracing the outside edge of the circle around the filling. Fold the circle in half and pinch along the edge of the pierogi so the dough is well sealed. Place the filled pierogies on a baking sheet, and freeze them overnight. To cook the pierogies, fill a large stock pot or pasta pot with heavily salted water (should be as salty as seawater). Bring water to a boil, and add pierogies one at a time, with up to 8 pierogies in the pot at once. The pierogies are done when they float to the top, after about 3 to 4 minutes. Drain the pierogies well and add to a sauté pan over medium heat with butter. Brown the pierogies until both sides are golden brown.

FOR THE CONFIT GARLIC:  In a small saucepan, cover the peeled garlic with oil. Over low heat, simmer the garlic, stirring occasionally until the garlic is very tender. Allow the garlic and oil to cool, and strain garlic. Reserve the oil for other uses.

FOR THE SAUERKRAUT PURÉE: Blend all ingredients in a blender until very smooth.

FOR THE PUFFED RYE:  Boil the rye for 20 minutes, until the rye is cooked roughly halfway. Drain and spread on a baking sheet, and set out on the counter to dry for 1 day. When the rye is dry, preheat an oven to 500 F. Cook the rye for 1 to 2 minutes, shaking the baking sheet every 15 seconds. The rye will pop similarly to popcorn. Pull the rye from the oven after the rye has begun to stop popping. Count up to 10 seconds in between pops. If you’ve reached 10 seconds and rye has not popped, pull the baking sheet from the oven.

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