Nebraska’s Stuffed Beef Sandwiches

Name: Nebraska's Stuffed Beef Sandwiches
Prep time: 35 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 55 min
Yield: 12 servings.
Ingredients: 4-1/2 cups all-purpose flour, divided; 1/4 cup sugar; 2 packages (1/4 ounce each) active dry yeast; 1 teaspoon salt; 3/4 cup whole milk; 1/2 cup water; 1/2 cup shortening; 2 large eggs; FILLING:; 2 pounds lean ground beef (90% lean); 2 medium onions, chopped; 4 cups chopped cabbage; 2 teaspoons seasoned salt; 1 teaspoon garlic powder; 1 teaspoon pepper

When I moved to Nebraska, I discovered many ethnic foods that I had never heard of before. A friend introduced me to this runza recipe, a German-Russian beef sandwich, and it quickly became a family favorite. —Dolly Croghan, Mead, Nebraska

Ingredients

4-1/2 cups all-purpose flour, divided
1/4 cup sugar
2 packages (1/4 ounce each) active dry yeast
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup whole milk
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup shortening
2 large eggs
FILLING:
2 pounds lean ground beef (90% lean)
2 medium onions, chopped
4 cups chopped cabbage
2 teaspoons seasoned salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon pepper

Directions

Place 1-3/4 cups flour, sugar, yeast and salt in a large bowl. Heat the milk, water and shortening to 120°-130°. Pour over flour mixture; add the eggs. Beat with an electric mixer on low speed until blended. Beat 3 additional minutes on high. Stir in the remaining flour; knead until smooth and elastic, 6-8 minutes.
Place dough in a greased bowl; cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.
Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook beef and onions over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Add the cabbage, seasoned salt, garlic powder and pepper; cook until cabbage is wilted.
Punch dough down; divide into 12 portions and cover with plastic wrap. Working with one piece at a time, roll into a 6-in. square. Place 3/4 cup meat mixture in the center of each square. Fold dough over filling, forming a rectangle. Pinch edges tightly to seal and place on greased baking sheets.
Bake at 350° for 18-20 minutes or until golden brown. Serve hot.

Nutrition Facts

1 sandwich: 433 calories, 16g fat (5g saturated fat), 84mg cholesterol, 524mg sodium, 48g carbohydrate (10g sugars, 4g fiber), 23g protein.

Originally published as Runza (meat pies) in Country Woman April/May 2012

Reviews

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Average Rating:

Gary

May 28, 2018

These are also good using drained sauerkraut in place of cabbage. My wife also liked to use her Tupper dough recipe.
LittleErn

May 28, 2018

I was wondering if I should leave the filling to cool before assembling?
Ozarkagirl

May 27, 2018

My friend from Nebraska has made these for our Friday night get-together's for years. Runzas are wonderful comfort food! She used to make the dough from scratch but has started substituting frozen dough in the past 2-3 years because kneading the dough is hard with her arthritis. My advice for juicier Runzas is use around 80% lean hamburger and do not use slaw mix for the cabbage since it is a lot drier than fresh chopped cabbage, making the Runzas a lot drier. I've never had any with cheese but am willing to try them.
Jacinda

May 27, 2018

These are exactly like the Russian-German handpies my family makes called bierochs (bierocks), which I think are *almost* like a Runza. Whenever I make them, people are like "Why have I never had one of these before???" Super tasty and filling!. Some family insist on cheese, but the traditional I remember my grandma making were just ground beef cabbage.
LeslieH

May 27, 2018

My mom and I tried these tonight. I made half a batch. I found them tasty. Instead of buying a whole cabbage, I bought a package of coleslaw mix, so it made the recipe prep easy. My mom found the meat a bit dry. Next time I might add a tiny bit of water to the meat and cabbage to see if it adds some moisture.
Rachel

Oct 14, 2017

I had never tried Runza before, but my neighbor was really craving them, so I tried making them for her. They are super tasty and she said better than she remembers having from family members. My only change was using earth balance margarine instead of shortening bc it's what I had on hand.
kelsiem

Jul 12, 2013

I have not used THIS recipe but make these all the time. This IS a Runza, cjt420, and the Runza restaurant sandwiches are just mediocre, anyway.
cjt420

Jul 12, 2013

Nothing is quite as good as a Runza, but this comes pretty darn close. I grew up in Nebraska and still have to get my "fix" whenever I am there.
sdmasters

Jul 10, 2012

These were great and remind me of my college years at UNL!