Bison Runzas
I need to find a new way to start my posts other than stating "I LOVE this food!" But I can't help it... it's just so often true. I just love food! This, however, is a great recipe – one that has been passed down in the family at least a couple generations, and one that I've now modified for using with bison.
Runzas are well known throughout Nebraska, with a large chunk of our population's heritage coming from German and Slovak regions. Trying to describe a Runza to someone unfamiliar with the food, is kind of a weird experience... because to be perfectly honest, it doesn't sound very great. So, if you're unfamiliar with this food... you're just going to have to trust me – it's much better than it sounds! In fact, here in Nebraska we have a whole (very popular) fast food restaurant chain which is completely built around this little bun of meaty deliciousness.
I'm not going to lie to you, making runzas takes a lot of work. It's a long process and takes the better part of a day to prepare. For me this is about a once in a year treat, usually served up on a Husker Game Day with plenty made up to share with any friends who want to come over and partake in good food and the Huskers. Then, any leftovers can be sent away or stored in the freezer and eaten as leftovers later on.
Even better... if you have leftover dough (which is not unusual, as long as you fill your buns generously, you can use the leftover dough to make cinnamon rolls for the following morning!
So, when I started making these bison runzas, I completely forgot about taking pictures... so I don't have any pictures of making the dough until after the dough had already refrigerated. Luckily, the process isn't too complicated however though. Below is how the dough will look after it comes out from refrigeration. It will actually be quite heavy and dense, but it rolls out rather easy.
To make the dough, you'll mix 2 cups water with 2 pkgs. dry yeast, 1/2 cup sugar and 1 1/2 tsp. salt and stir until dissolved. Then add 1 beaten egg and 1/4 cup melted margarine. Finally, stir in 6 1/2 cups flour. Once your dough is mixed together, cover and refrigerate for 4 hours (or overnight).
You'll begin the filling mixture approximately an hour or hour and a half before you are ready to serve your runzas. Start with 2 lbs. of lean ground bison.
Crumble and brown the bison in a large frying pan with a chopped onion. Cook bison over medium low heat until approximately 75% of the pink is gone.
You'll also need 6 cups of finely shredded cabbage. This is my LEAST favorite part! It can take quite awhile to shred the cabbage – especially if this is a once a year occurrence – so this may actually need to be your first step.
>
After the cabbage is shredded and the bison is browned, add both to a large pot along with 1 cup water, 1 tsp. salt and 1/2 tsp. pepper. Simmer over medium low heat for about 20 minutes.
This is the time you'll take your dough out of the fridge. Separate the dough into small balls, somewhere between a golf ball and a tennis ball.
On a floured surface, roll the dough out so that it is very thin.
Add a generous helping of the bison filling into the center of the dough. I prefer to make my runzas with a bit of cheese. If you would like to add cheese to your buns, place the cheese on first and place the filling over the cheese. (I use a half slice of Kraft singles, but most kinds of cheeses will work just fine!)
Once the filling is placed on, pull up all edges/corners of the dough like below. Pinch dough together to create a seal and place seam-side down on a greased cookie sheet. (Or, a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper).
Bake each cookie sheet at 350*F for 18-20 minutes until the buns are golden brown.
Some people prefer to make these in larger, rectangular shapes (like a long john) which works great too. I however have always made the circle shape which works well for me!
2 lbs. Ground Bison
1 small chopped onion
6 cups finely shredded cabbage
1 cup water
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp pepper
Dough:
2 pkg dry yeast
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
6 1/2 cups flour
2 cups warm water
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 cup melted margarine
To prepare filling: Brown ground bison and onion. Drain, if necessary. Add bison to a large pot along with cabbage, seasonings and water. Simmer for 20 minutes over medium low heat. Cool.
Roll out dough into thin sheets and fill generously with bison filling. Pull edges of dough up to create a seal.
Bake on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper at 350*F for 18-20 minutes.
Runzas are well known throughout Nebraska, with a large chunk of our population's heritage coming from German and Slovak regions. Trying to describe a Runza to someone unfamiliar with the food, is kind of a weird experience... because to be perfectly honest, it doesn't sound very great. So, if you're unfamiliar with this food... you're just going to have to trust me – it's much better than it sounds! In fact, here in Nebraska we have a whole (very popular) fast food restaurant chain which is completely built around this little bun of meaty deliciousness.
I'm not going to lie to you, making runzas takes a lot of work. It's a long process and takes the better part of a day to prepare. For me this is about a once in a year treat, usually served up on a Husker Game Day with plenty made up to share with any friends who want to come over and partake in good food and the Huskers. Then, any leftovers can be sent away or stored in the freezer and eaten as leftovers later on.
Even better... if you have leftover dough (which is not unusual, as long as you fill your buns generously, you can use the leftover dough to make cinnamon rolls for the following morning!
So, when I started making these bison runzas, I completely forgot about taking pictures... so I don't have any pictures of making the dough until after the dough had already refrigerated. Luckily, the process isn't too complicated however though. Below is how the dough will look after it comes out from refrigeration. It will actually be quite heavy and dense, but it rolls out rather easy.
To make the dough, you'll mix 2 cups water with 2 pkgs. dry yeast, 1/2 cup sugar and 1 1/2 tsp. salt and stir until dissolved. Then add 1 beaten egg and 1/4 cup melted margarine. Finally, stir in 6 1/2 cups flour. Once your dough is mixed together, cover and refrigerate for 4 hours (or overnight).
You'll begin the filling mixture approximately an hour or hour and a half before you are ready to serve your runzas. Start with 2 lbs. of lean ground bison.
Crumble and brown the bison in a large frying pan with a chopped onion. Cook bison over medium low heat until approximately 75% of the pink is gone.
You'll also need 6 cups of finely shredded cabbage. This is my LEAST favorite part! It can take quite awhile to shred the cabbage – especially if this is a once a year occurrence – so this may actually need to be your first step.
>
After the cabbage is shredded and the bison is browned, add both to a large pot along with 1 cup water, 1 tsp. salt and 1/2 tsp. pepper. Simmer over medium low heat for about 20 minutes.
This is the time you'll take your dough out of the fridge. Separate the dough into small balls, somewhere between a golf ball and a tennis ball.
On a floured surface, roll the dough out so that it is very thin.
Add a generous helping of the bison filling into the center of the dough. I prefer to make my runzas with a bit of cheese. If you would like to add cheese to your buns, place the cheese on first and place the filling over the cheese. (I use a half slice of Kraft singles, but most kinds of cheeses will work just fine!)
Once the filling is placed on, pull up all edges/corners of the dough like below. Pinch dough together to create a seal and place seam-side down on a greased cookie sheet. (Or, a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper).
Bake each cookie sheet at 350*F for 18-20 minutes until the buns are golden brown.
Some people prefer to make these in larger, rectangular shapes (like a long john) which works great too. I however have always made the circle shape which works well for me!
Bison Runzas
Ingredients:
Filling:2 lbs. Ground Bison
1 small chopped onion
6 cups finely shredded cabbage
1 cup water
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp pepper
Dough:
2 pkg dry yeast
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
6 1/2 cups flour
2 cups warm water
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 cup melted margarine
Directions:
Mix water, yeast, sugar and salt in a large mixing bowl. Stir until dissolved. Add beaten egg and margarine. Stir in flour. Refrigerate, covered for 4 hours or overnight.To prepare filling: Brown ground bison and onion. Drain, if necessary. Add bison to a large pot along with cabbage, seasonings and water. Simmer for 20 minutes over medium low heat. Cool.
Roll out dough into thin sheets and fill generously with bison filling. Pull edges of dough up to create a seal.
Bake on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper at 350*F for 18-20 minutes.
Comments
Post a Comment