Sharing my mom’s secret to the softest and fluffiest piroshki (Russian hand pies) with simple beef and rice filling, but you can fill yours with whatever your heart desires.
Also try my equally amazing baked pirozhki here!
It’s official!! Dates are set. Tickets are purchased! We’re going to Mongolia next month!! And by we, I mean Grant and I. Unfortunately, it’s a busy season for my husband at the ranch and he won’t be able to join us this time.
But I can’t wait to be in my childhood home and be spoiled with mom’s cooking! I miss her cooking so much. If you’ve been around for a little bit, you’ve probably seen a few of her recipes already. But here’s another one.
These Russian piroshki (or pirojki, or pirozhiki, however you wanna spell it) are stuffed with simple meat and rice mixture and fried till golden brown perfection! This’s my favorite comfort food straight from my childhood.
It all starts with yeast leavened dough, which is so dreamy soft and fluffy. It’s truly the best part! I’ll share my mom’s secret for that super soft dough in a minute. But first, let me share a word about my trusted Red Start Platinum yeast. As you know, this’s my second recipe in partnership with Red Star Yeast, but it’s definitely not the only recipe I use it in.
I’m seriously a huge fan of their products, mostly because they consistently deliver amazing results.
Ok, now the secret to the softest piroshki dough is vegetable oil! That’s it. Stirring in some vegetable (or canola) oil right into the dough yields the softest and most tender dough you’ll ever bite into.
Now, you can fill the dough with whatever filling your heart desires, mashed potatoes, cabbage and meat, all meat, or in this case, meat and rice. Anything works here!
Another quick tip.
You don’t need a thermometer to fry these savory hand pies. Simply drop the end of a wooden spoon into heated oil, and if it’s bubbling up around the wood, that means the oil is ready for frying! Drop those pretty little nuggets into the oil and watch them turn beautiful golden brown. Since we’re using pre-cooked filling, it won’t take long.
By the way, these meat hand pies are perfect portable meal for picnics, potlucks and all the summer activities! Hope you’ll give it a try.
As always, thanks for reading!
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Russian Piroshki (Meat Hand Pies)
Ingredients
For dough:
- 4 cups (500g) all-purpose flour
- 1 packet Red Star Platinum Superior Baking Yeast about 1 ½ teaspoons
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1/3 cup (80ml) vegetable oil
- 1 cup (240ml) warm water more if needed
For meat filling:
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 lb (450g) lean ground beef
- 2-3 garlic cloves pressed
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup cooked rice
- Oil for frying
Instructions
- To make the dough, in a large mixing bowl, combine flour, yeast and salt.
- Add vegetable oil and water and mix until smooth. (If dough is too dry, add more water a little bit at a time until dough smooth and soft. Also, if the dough is too wet, add a little bit more flour.)
- Coat the dough with a little bit of vegetable oil and place it back in the bowl. Cover with damp kitchen towel and place it in a warm place to rise, for about 30-60 minutes. (I put it in a microwave with a glass of hot water. Don’t turn on the microwave.)
- Meanwhile, prepare the filling. Heat olive oil in a large skillet or dutch oven over medium high heat.
- Add the meat, garlic and salt. Cook the meat, breaking it apart with a wooden spoon, until cooked through. Transfer into a large bowl and mix it with rice.
- Once the dough is doubled in size, take it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead into a smooth ball, 1-2 minutes. Lightly flatten the dough ball into a disk, and divide into 12 equal parts as you slice a pizza. Roll each piece into a smooth ball.
- To make the hand pies, take a piece of dough and flatten it with your hands. Put the filling in the center and fold the dough in half. Pinch the edges of the dough to seal, creating a half moon. Then gently flatten it between your palms, making sure the sealed crimps are on flat side. (If it’s not clear, check out the photos above.)
- Once all the hand pies are formed, heat 1-inch oil in a large skillet, or dutch oven. (Tip: You don’t need a thermometer to fry these savory hand pies. Simply drop the end of a wooden spoon into heated oil, and if it’s bubbling up around the wood, that means the oil is ready for frying!)
- To cook the hand pies, drop 4 hand pies in the hot oil and cook until golden brown, 3-4 minutes. Flip and cook until it’s nice and golden. Remove into a bowl, lined with paper towel to absorb excess oil. Continue with the remaining batch.
- Serve piroshki warm or at room temperature.
Nutrition
Special thanks to Red Star Yeast for sponsoring this post. Follow them on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, Google Plus for more baking inspiration.
I need these in my life. I rode the trans-siberian railroad from Moscow to Irkutsk in early 2000 and every train stop along the way there were women with Piroshki in their pockets…amaaaziiiing. I think my favorite version are filled with cabbage, sometimes potatoes….maybe if I can find yeast and flour out there soon (coronavirus panic shopping has left the shelves bare of flour and yeast!) I will give this a try 🙂
Hi, Liz. Thank you for sharing your memory!! My mom had ridden those railroads so many times and shared similar memories! 🙂 Hope you can find flour and yeast soon. And hope you’re staying safe!
I tried this today and they were perfect! Mine weren’t all absolutely uniform in appearance, but beautiful and delicious nonetheless.
How can I post pictures?
So happy you loved them, Gayle. You can submit the photo through this page, or if you share it on Instagram, tag me @shineshka. Thank you!!
These were easy to make and tasted delicious. We filled half with rice and beef and the other half with beef and cabbage. очень хорошо! спасибо
Oh, so happy you love the recipe, Kelly! Your fillings sound real good! Пожалуйста. Спасибо вам за отзыв!
Glad to find fellow Mongolian’s beautiful blog. This seems like the least complicated piroshki recipe out there. Now I am excited to try it 😀
Aww, thank you so much, Nomin! Hope you’ll give these a try, and if you do, please let me know how they turn out.
Followed this recipe exactly as part of a surprise Russian meal for my family of 11 and they were so so so impressed, absolutely delicious, can’t thank you enough. Served the pies with a nice bowl of borscht to dip them in.
James
What a great surprise. So glad you were able to impress everyone. Thank you for your feedback, James!
Hello. I’m planning on trying this recipe for a potluck at work and was wondering a couple of things. Will they stay fresh from the night before to the potluck the next day and also do you suggest any sort of dip with these or just eat them as is. Thanks for the recipe, I’ve been dying to make Piroshki ever since I read about them in a story.
Hi, Zach. Though these piroshki reheat well, I personally prefer them fresh. And generally, piroshki aren’t served with any dips. They’re great as is. Hope you’ll give it a try, and let us know how they turned out, if you do.
Hi Shinee, these hand pies sound amazing! I would like to try them this Holiday dinner. We will be visiting my nephew and his beautiful wife for an early Christmas dinner and I want to take them as a dish. How long can the Piroshki wait to be fried after filling them? i was hoping to serve them warm and fresh, so I would like to do the prep at home and just fry them at my nephews house?
Thank you for an awesome recipe,
Nissa
Hi, Nissa. So, the dough is pretty sticky. And I recommend cooking them as soon as you fill and shape them. Or they’ll stick to the pan and will be hard to remove them without mangling them. My suggestion is to fry them and put them in a bowl lined with paper towel, cover with a lid and wrap in a towel to keep it insulated. Hope this helps.
We enjoyed these so much! thank you for sharing and please keep cooking! your recipes are always a joy to us in our home
So happy you enjoy my recipes, Jaylin. Thank you for your comment.
Can these be baked instead of frying?
Hi, Mari. Yes, you can bake it. I would say about 25-30 minutes at 350°F.
Thanks for this recipe. In Japan we had these in a Russian restaurant. They used ground veal with onions and chopped hard boiled eggs, then ate them dipping in hot mustard between bites.
Hi, Pat. Sounds like a delicious filling! And the dipping sauce sounds awesome! Hope you’ll give this a try and experiment with different fillings.