Pelmeni Recipe (Ukrainian Meat Dumplings)
Pelmeni recipe are traditional Slavic dumplings. They have a tender bite of dough and savory meat filling for a satisfying dish!
Servings 8
Ingredients
For the Dough:
- 2 cups whey, buttermilk or Kefir
- 1 large eggs
- 5 cups all-purpose flour sifted
- 2 tsp. baking soda
- ¼ tsp. sea salt
For the Filling:
- 2 ½ lbs. ground turkey meat
- 1 tsp. sea salt
- ¼ tsp. black pepper
- 1 large egg
- 1 small onion
- 2 garlic cloves
Instructions
How to Prepare the Meat Filling
- Wash the turkey breast tenderloins to clean off any impurities, then grind them using a meat grinder.
- Add shredded onion, garlic, salt, black pepper, and egg to the ground turkey.
- Mix all the ingredients well using a hand mixer until they are thoroughly combined.
- Cover the mixture with plastic food wrap and place it in the refrigerator until you are ready to use it.
How to Make the Dough
- Combine all the dry ingredients together - sift all-purpose organic flour, baking soda, and sea salt, then set the mixture aside.
- In a mixer bowl, pour in the whey, add the egg, and mix on medium speed using the mixer's whisk attachment. Mix for about 30 seconds or until the ingredients are well combined.
- Switch the attachment to the mixer's dough hook. Add half of the flour mixture to the whey mixture and mix on the lowest speed. Continue adding ½ cup of flour mixture at a time until a soft dough forms with no clumps.
- Transfer the dough onto a large cutting board or work surface that has been dust with flour. Cut a fist-sized piece out of the dough and roll it out into a large circle, a little wider than the pelmeni maker.
How to Fill and Shape the Pelmeni
- Place the pelmeni maker on the rolled-out dough. Sprinkle some flour to dust the pelmeni maker and the dough to prevent sticking.
- Place the floured side of the dough over the floured pelmeni maker. Press the dough into the pockets.
- Place 1 tsp. of the seasoned ground turkey mixture into each pocket.
- Roll out another dough circle and place it over the pelmeni maker filled with meat.
- Use a rolling pin to press and roll over the top of the pelmeni maker from the center outward until all pelmeni are cut and the hexagon shapes are well visible.
- Remove the outer layer of the remaining dough, knead it into a ball (to be used for the next bottom layer).
- Turn the pelmeni maker filled with pelmeni over and hit an edge against the rolling pin or cutting board a couple of times until all pelmeni fall out from the pockets. Place the raw/uncooked pelmeni onto a rectangular plate.
- Repeat the same steps until you've used up the rest of the dough and meat. You should have approximately 5 batches or 275 pelmeni. Any leftover pelmeni can be frozen in a ziplock bag.
How to Cook the Pelmeni
- Bring a medium pot filled with water halfway to a boil (on high temp) then carefully toss in pelmeni. Reduce the heat to medium and stir. The boiling will subside and then resume. As soon as gentle boiling starts, simmer pelmeni for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Bring a medium pot filled with water halfway to a boil (on high temp) then carefully toss pelmeni into the pot. Do not reduce the heat (keep it on high) and stir. The coldness of frozen pelmeni will cause boiling to subside and then it will resume. As soon as pelmeni start boiling again reduce the heat to low/medium and let them simmer for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Transfer the cooked pelmeni into a bowl. Add 1 tbsp. of butter, cut into smaller pieces, then toss to coat.
- Serve the pelmeni right away with vinegar, sour cream, or anything else you prefer. Enjoy your delicious, homemade pelmeni!
Notes
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