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Blog, Christmas, Dinner, For Kids, Pierogi, Vegetarian

My Grandma’s Pierogi Ruskie Recipe

Name: My Grandma's Pierogi Ruskie Recipe
Prep time: 2 h 30 min
Total time: 2 h 30 min
Yield: 8
Cuisine: Polish
Ingredients: 5 cups (600g) of all-purpose flour; 1 egg; 1 cup of warm water; 2 pinches of salt; 4-5 tablespoons of oil; 21oz (600g) of cottage cheese; 1 ⅓ lb of potatoes; 1 block of butter (125g); 1 small onion; 3 pinches of salt; 1 pinch of ground black pepper

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Babcia Marysia, my grandma makes the best pierogi in the world. I’ve been eating them since I was a little kid. What’s the secret to her pierogi ruskie recipe?

The most important factor is definitely making them with love. The other is adding a lot of butter. Thanks to that, they are juicy and springy.

If you don’t know where to buy farmer’s cheese, see my homemade farmer’s cheese recipe (it’s really easy to make!).

Here’s a video recipe for pierogi ruskie.

Why Pierogi Ruskie Are So Popular In Poland?

The answer is quite simple: it’s one of the cheapest Polish food that you can make. Back in the Middle Ages meat was really expensive and only the richest ones could afford it.

The traditional Polish diet was based on flour, dairy, veggies, and potatoes. That’s what pierogi ruskie are made of.

Making pierogi is time-consuming, you will need at least a few hours to prepare everything. It’s definitely worthwhile though.

What Can Go Wrong?

Here are the most common mistakes when making pierogi:

1. Put them into the cold water.

As I said before, my babcia is pierogi queen. When she was younger, she was making them every few days.

A few months after she gave birth to my mom, she got pregnant again. My grandpa was working all the time and she was taking care of the house.

She knew she had to get everything ready for the time she would be in the hospital, giving birth to my uncle. Of course, when it comes to food, she made tons of pierogi.

She didn’t tell my grandpa how to cook them, as she thought it was quite obvious. Sadly, she was wrong.

He thought that all it takes is to throw pierogi into the water and boil them. WRONG.

When you do that, you will get pierogi soup, everything will fall apart.

The only way to cook pierogi is to throw them into boiling water.

2. Putting them too close together.

After pierogi are cooked and ready, you can either:

Put the butter on top of them and eat them
Place the pierogi separately on the plate/ cutting board and let them cool down.

Make sure they don’t touch each other as they might stick together. Once the pierogi cooled down, place them into a bowl, pour melted butter over them, and shake gently so the butter spreads evenly. Pierogi can be stored in a fridge for a couple of days. You can also freeze some for later in the freezer.

3. Overboiling and overcrowding.

It is crucial to cook pierogi in the very right amount of time. If left too long, they might fall apart.

Drop a few pierogi into boiling salted water carefully, and stir them gently just to make sure they are not stuck to the bottom of the pot. Allow the water to come back to boiling and leave the pierogi to boil for a moment lowering the heat.

After a brief time, pierogi will come to the surface of the water, give it 2-3 minutes, and gently take them out. Remember not to crowd pierogi as you move them onto the plate.

4. Pierogi will go dry if kept uncooked for too long.

Dry dough on your pierogi is something you do not want; it might crack and break during cooking. It can happen while you are preparing a big batch of pierogi, like a hundred or more. To be time efficient try first to make all of them, and then once you have them ready move on to the cooking part.

To prevent pierogi from getting dry, when they wait to be cooked, you can simply dust them with a bit of flour and cover the whole batch with a kitchen cloth.

How To Freeze Pierogi Ruskie?

Freezing pierogi is easy, however, there are a few important things you need to remember.

Freezing Cooked Pierogi

The most important rule when preparing cooked pierogi for storing is to lay them separately until they cool off.

When the steam is no longer coming out of them, pierogi are ready to be greased with melted butter. Butter not only adds a delicious flavor to the dish but also helps with storing it for a longer period. Now, when covered with grease, pierogi can be stored in a bowl without risking having them stacked together. However, if the space in your fridge allows, leave them on the tray.

When finally, the pierogi are cold, transfer the whole tray to the freezer. Allow it to stay in the freezer for 3-4 hours. Once you see they are hard and frozen, transfer them to a food container suitable for freezers.

Freezing Uncooked Pierogi

Pierogi can be successfully frozen even without having them boiled beforehand. Place freshly made pierogi onto a tray or cutting board, dust with flour, and transfer the whole batch straight to the freezer. When frozen, transfer pierogi to a food container suitable for freezers.

Best Polish Side Dishes and Add-ons For Pierogi Ruskie

1. Milk

Pierogi ruskie with warm milk to drink is what my childhood tasted like.

2. Maggi seasoning sauce

Some people pour the maggi seasoning sauce on top of pierogi ruskie to get more salty and strong taste.

3. Skwarki (greaves food)

It’s probably the most famous topping for pierogi ruskie. Skwarki are made of melted smalec (fat bacon or lard).

4. Fried onion

If you are not a big fan of meat, you can always fry some chopped onion with butter and the pour it over the dumplings.

5. Sour cream

In some parts of Poland, pierogi ruskie are only served with sour cream. It makes the entire dish quite heavy, however, the taste is awesome.

6. Fresh salads

Pierogi ruskie taste surprisingly well with fresh salads.

How To Serve Pierogi Ruskie?

You can either have them fresh or fried. Some people prefer more the second version of pierogi, as the dough is crispy and delicious!

How to fry pierogi? Melt the butter on the pan and fry the pierogi until they get brownish on each side. It’s as simple as that.

Why Pierogi Ruskie Are Called „ruskie”?

The name should not be associated, as it is often done, with Russia, where this type of dumpling is not known. The name comes from Red Ruthenia, a historical part of Ukraine. In Ukraine, this type of dumpling is named pierogi polskie (Polish pierogi).

Today, to show solidarity with Ukrainian in times of war in their home country, the name pierogi ruskie is often changed to a pierogi ukraińskie (Ukrainian pierogi) or pierogi galicyjskie (Galician pierogi).

Is There Any Faster Way To Make Pierogi Ruskie?

Yes! If you don’t have time to mold pierogi, you can either make krokiety ruskie (with crepes) or pierogi lasagna, with pasta. They both taste delicious!