Wrapping the meat filling in dough and then boiling it is a technique typical of many national cuisines. Georgian khinkali, Italian ravioli, Chinese jiaozi are made according to the same general technological rules as the main Siberian delicacy. Pelmeni are considered an original Russian dish, although their name is of Finnish-Ugric origin (from the words “pel” - ear and “nyan” - dough). Well, Russians have never considered it shameful to learn something good from neighboring peoples. Today there are few people who want to dispute the domestic origin of dumplings, but there are plenty of hunters to try them. Especially when they are made according to all the rules, with soul and love, with the addition of important ingredients.
The role of semi-finished products in history
People invented preparing semi-finished products a long time ago. Every day, performing many labor-intensive operations in order to eat deliciously, and in the past, people considered it unnecessary, so, as a rule, simple dishes were on the everyday table: porridge, cabbage soup, bread. Delicious dishes were served on holidays and on special occasions. But hunters have always needed high-calorie food; walking through the taiga in search of game is not an easy task. This is the kind of culinary contradiction that has arisen among local residents and settlers of the harsh Siberian region. There was a need for a hearty dish that could be prepared quickly.
What is the difference between Siberian dumplings?
For Siberians in winter, the problem of food safety did not exist: they were simply buried in the snow, and they did not spoil in the cold. So, once upon a time, someone had the idea of burying bags of food preparations near the house, and, if necessary, taking out as much as needed and cooking. The combination of meat and flour provided a sufficient level of calorie content. Siberian-style dumplings differ from all others precisely in that they must be frozen before cooking.
The sacred meaning of dumplings
Our ancient ancestors, who did not know the saving teachings of Christ, professed pagan beliefs. Their sacrifices, however, were mostly of a rather harmless nature. The hunter, who wanted to enlist the support of intangible forces and protect himself from dangers, included in the recipe for the prepared ritual dishes the meat of the animals that he wanted to hunt. The cattle breeder, also no stranger to idolatry, preferred to see the fruits of his labors on the festive table and, eating them, mentally thanked the gods for the success of his own labor. In the same aspect, one can consider Siberian dumplings, the recipe for which involves the use of meat from several types of animals. This tradition continues today.
A little about store products
Our time is characterized by two important factors that determine the lifestyle of modern man: a total lack of time and technological omnipotence. Today you can make anything you want, and in any quantity, the main thing is that people buy it. Today we have only a few minutes to do things that our great-grandmothers and great-grandfathers could do all day long. Not everyone can afford to sit down and create a whole mountain of masterpieces of culinary art.
Industrially produced Siberian dumplings help solve the problem of time and eat a dish that is somewhat reminiscent of the prototype. Everything seems to be in place - the dough, the minced meat, but the taste makes a big difference. What's the matter?
And it’s both in the dough and in the minced meat. To reduce cost, few eggs are added to the dough (or replaced with powder), the flour is of insufficient quality (gluten, that is, the protein content is lower than the normal norm). Now about the main thing, that is, minced meat. Inexpensive brands suffer from the presence of plant (soy) components, which, from a nutritional point of view, may be beneficial, but from a gastronomic point of view they are clearly harmful. Other manufacturing companies try to maintain the classic recipe (for example, Siberian Caesar dumplings are quite edible), but the price worries the consumer (two hundred rubles per pack is a bit expensive).
In any case, the buyer of store-bought semi-finished products should be prepared for the fact that he pays not for tasty and healthy food, but for the time saved.
For those who are ready to spend part of the weekend preparing a dish called “Siberian dumplings” with their family, the tips below may come in handy.
Where to begin
When starting a business, you need to prepare everything you need, otherwise you will have to interrupt work, look for or buy one thing or another. It is clear to everyone that in order to make Siberian dumplings, two main components are required - minced meat and dough. In turn, both consist of their own ingredients. They are simple and unpretentious, there are few of them. Of course, if the housewife has such delicacies as venison, bear meat or other types of rare meat at her disposal, she can prepare a real Siberian delicacy. Dumplings, which are made and eaten by other citizens with more modest capabilities, usually contain pork and beef. This meat can be purchased both at the market and in the supermarket, but you also need to know how to choose it. As for flour, it is best to give preference to well-known brands in the region, which, as a rule, coincide with the names of the nearest elevators and mills, which are responsible for the compliance of their products with state standards.
To prepare a standard portion of dumplings you will need 300 grams of beef and pork (600 g of meat in total), half a kilo of flour (otherwise - two glasses), an egg (1 pc.), a couple of good large onions and a little salt and pepper. You can use tap water for the test.
Tili-tili dough
The dough is not the “trick” that distinguishes Siberian dumplings. The recipe is the most common. The flour needs to be sifted (it will come to life, as it were) and poured in a heap onto a sheet of plywood or other substrate, which will become a temporary workspace. You can work on a table, but it is more difficult to put it in order after the work is completed. At the top of this mountain you should create some kind of volcanic crater into which you need to break an egg. A glass of water is poured there and salt is added - a little, a pinch. Now you will have to work hard, kneading the dough until soft but elastic, adding water if necessary. All the time you need to remember that you will have to make dumplings from it, of course, after rolling it out. In the meantime, it, already seemingly ready, should sit aside for half an hour. It's time to start minced meat.
Meat for filling
The filling has at least a two-component composition. Siberian dumplings, made by residents of the European part of Russia, contain beef and pork. Now the question is what qualities should the meat selected for such a responsible function have. The rule that the less fat the better does not apply here. A complete absence of lard will cause the minced meat to become dry, and the dish will not be as pleasant to eat as you would like. The best pork is brisket, in which stripes of fat, although not thick, alternate with meat. The requirements for beef are not so strict, but preference should be given to lighter veal. If the combination is successful, you will be able to make real dumplings, a Siberian delicacy. Feedback from household members and guests, laudatory and expressing pleasure, will be a worthy reward crowning the brow of a skilled cook.
How to cook minced meat
The minced meat is very simple, it consists of ground meat, onions and peppers. The ingredients are ground using a regular meat grinder, and they only need to be passed through once. You need to cut medium-sized pieces across the fibers, then the work will be easier, and the wires will not wrap around the cutting knife.
Grinding the meat too finely will give the dish an unflattering resemblance to the store-bought equivalent. Under no circumstances should you add an egg to the minced meat; these are not cutlets. To make mixing easier, you can alternate pork, beef and onions, then add salt and pepper. If you have broth, you can add a little of it, and if you don’t have it, water will also work - to temporarily hold the lumps together during subsequent modeling.
Dumpling maker
So, the minced meat is ready, the dough has rested for the allotted time, and the right moment has come to begin the most creative stage of the entire work. There are two main methods of forming dumplings - manual and rolling-matrix. Each of them has its adherents.
In the seventies, miracle devices went on sale and immediately won a huge number of fans. These round cast dies with hexagonal sides and through holes are designed for small-scale production of dumplings. The principle of their operation is simple. You should sprinkle the dumpling maker with flour, roll out two round pancakes of dough, place one of them on a ribbed plane and then calmly put the required amount of minced meat into each cell with a teaspoon. When they are all filled, the second pancake is placed on top and the whole thing is rolled out with a rolling pin. Then the dumpling maker turns over, and the ready-made dumplings, similar to each other like twin brothers, fall onto the table. The process is quick, labor intensity is reduced, and the taste remains the same as with hand-sculpting. But real gourmets and aesthetes are still dissatisfied with something. They believe that homemade Siberian dumplings should be more beautiful, molded exclusively by hand. And nothing else.
Luxury hand sculpting
Modeling can also be done in different ways. You can use the method welcomed by the most sophisticated gourmets, that is, divide the dough into separate portioned pieces (cutting them from a long “sausage”), then flatten each of them into as regular a circle as possible. Then put in a bit of filling and seal it in the form of a small crescent, which, in turn, should be rolled up, achieving a resemblance to a miniature ear. This preparation of Siberian dumplings can be called impeccable; it demonstrates skill, diligence, thoroughness and, in general, can serve as an example of perfectionism.
The dough is not wasted (in fact, it is not wasted with other methods), and aesthetically such a dish looks like a real masterpiece. There is only one drawback, but a serious one. The only way to justify the excessive expenditure of time by the slightly better appearance of dumplings is an egoistic husband (and dumplings are still mostly made by wives), who does not care at all about his beloved wife and is ready to sacrifice her free time for the pleasure of his own whims.
Second hand sculpting method
Some people find matrix dumplings not appetizing enough, while others don’t want to spend hours in the kitchen doing labor-intensive work. And there is a third method of “assembly”, which reduces the cooking time, but preserves strength and good spirits. It is called “glass” or “glass” (depending on the size of the resulting “ears”). Using it, you can make real Siberian dumplings. The recipe is essentially the same, but the dough is rolled out in a single layer, and then cut into circles with the rim of a shot glass (if you want to make very small ones) or a glass (when larger ones will do). Further, all work is done in the same order as with the most labor-intensive method. What makes the “drink” method particularly attractive is that you can work with the whole family, combining this activity with pleasant conversation, jokes and fun. Helping children is also not forbidden; this is a great way to teach them to help their parents as much as they can. You can even organize a competition in which the winner is the one who manages to make the most dumplings without sacrificing quality. A delicious dinner is an excellent reward for all participants.
Lumps of minced meat frozen almost to stone in dough fit perfectly into the life of the inhabitants of Siberia. In the taiga, local residents produced a lot of meat, and the climate allowed them to store semi-finished products for months. Far from home, the hunters melted snow in pots, boiled water and cooked dumplings, which they always had with them. Of course, the original recipe for Siberian-style dumplings included the meat of wild animals - bear, elk, roe deer, hare. Today, such versions of the dish can only be found in restaurants, and for home cooking, beef, pork, lamb and poultry are used.
3 secrets of delicious Siberian-style dumplings
- Using several types of meat. The filling becomes more tender and juicy if different types of meat are mixed in it. The base, of course, is beef. If pork or lamb is added to it, then the proportion of minced meat is approximately 60:40. If the minced meat consists of three types of meat, then the optimal combination is: 45% beef, 35% pork and 20% lamb.
- Cold. Both the dough and the minced meat must be chilled. This makes sculpting easier and improves the taste of the dish.
- Water balance. It must be observed both when preparing minced meat and when cooking. Water is added to the meat for juiciness, but if there is too much of it, when frozen, the ice will “burst” the dumpling from the inside, and the dough will crack. When cooking, on the contrary, the more water, the better.
Cooking dumplings “from scratch”: dough, minced meat and modeling with photos
How to properly and tasty cook dumplings with your own hands. You can take into account all the nuances only by constantly practicing, so we will give a step-by-step recipe for Siberian dumplings.
You will need:
- beef - 400 g;
- lamb - 300 g;
- pork - 200 g;
- onions - 3 pieces;
- wheat flour - 1 kg;
- eggs - 3 pieces;
- water - 400 ml.
Preparation
- Place a container of water in the freezer. By the time you follow the next steps in the recipe, it should be very cool, but not too cold.
- Sift the flour onto the table or into a large cup until it forms a mound.
- Beat the eggs into a separate bowl and stir lightly with a fork.
- Make a small hole in the flour and pour in the eggs.
- Start kneading the dough, using your hands to collect the flour from the edges to the center.
- Add chilled water little by little. Gradually, the flour will absorb water, and the dough will become more and more pliable and homogeneous.
- Place the dough on a floured surface and continue kneading until elastic.
- Wrap the dough in a plastic bag or cling film and let it rest at room temperature for 15-20 minutes.
- Grind all three types of meat and onions in a meat grinder.
- Mix the minced meat well in a bowl, add some salt, add a little water and refrigerate for 5-10 minutes.
- Sprinkle the table with flour. Prepare boards or plates - they also need to be generously sprinkled with flour so that the dumplings do not stick.
- Separate a small piece from the dough. Roll it into a sausage with a diameter of approximately 2 cm.
- Cut the sausage into pieces 1.5-2 cm long.
- Roll out each piece with a rolling pin. Place the minced meat in the center of the circle so that there is enough dough left to seal the edges.
- Fold the dough pieces in half and pinch all edges to form a semicircle. Connect the bottom corners to each other - you get a beautiful round dumpling.
In some sources you can find the opinion that the appearance of the dish is directly related to the name - for example, that round dumplings are considered Ural, and Siberian ones are those that have a sculpted comb or “pigtail” on top. In fact, these are just habits that are different in every family. The recipe for homemade Siberian dumplings allows for any type of modeling. You can use a special machine that folds the dough and meat in half and forms a patterned “seam” at the pinch point. In many families, it is customary to leave dumplings semi-circular, like dumplings. And so that your workpieces are as even as a selection, you can roll out the dough into a single layer and cut into circles with a glass.
The “Soviet” tradition of storing dumplings on the balcony in winter makes sense not only for preserving semi-finished products. It has long been noted that frozen dumplings release their juice much better when cooked. In the old days, crushed ice was even added to minced meat for these purposes. So, even if you plan to immediately cook everything you put together, put the dumplings out on the balcony for a while (if it’s winter) or cool them in the freezer.
Secrets of proper cooking. Cooking classic dumplings step by step
Siberian dumplings need to be boiled in a large amount of water so that they float freely and do not stick to each other. Water is usually taken at the rate of 4-5 liters per kilogram of frozen product. In this case, the blanks are not cooked all at once, but in batches of 20-30 pieces. For cooking, a special slotted spoon or strainer with a long handle is very useful.
You will need:
- dumplings - 1 kg;
- water - 5 l;
- salt - 25 g;
- peppercorns, bay leaf - to taste.
Preparation:
- Boil water in a large saucepan.
- Add salt and spices.
- Place the dumplings into the boiling water and immediately stir with a slotted spoon so that they do not stick to the bottom of the pan.
- Wait until the water boils again and the dumplings float to the surface.
- Keep them in boiling water for 3-4 minutes and let them “puff up” slightly.
- Remove the finished dish with a slotted spoon and place on plates.
To avoid getting burned when throwing semi-finished products into boiling water, adhere to the following rule: do not throw them all at once and do not push them off the board. It is best to gradually lower the dumplings into the pan one by one, bringing your hand as close to the water as possible to avoid splashing.
Serving
For a family dinner, dumplings can simply be placed on plates. For receiving guests, an option with a large dish in the center of the table is appropriate. “Real” dumplings go well with a variety of sauces. You can serve them with sour cream, mayonnaise, mustard, adjika, ketchup, melted butter, water with vinegar and even soy sauce.
The recipe for making Siberian dumplings is simple, but it requires precision and accuracy, then the result will be excellent. Involve family and friends in the preparation of this wonderful dish: the most interesting stories are told while modeling. Such moments are remembered for a lifetime!
Today, homemade dumplings are a rarity and the embodied civic feat of a modern woman. Why a feat? Because, they say, the work is long and monotonous. As long as you stick it on the family and for future use...
And in the store - there are so many! And the most.
Main secret
And I really do, although I myself eat them infrequently and without fanaticism. But! My husband loves them, and when we do get started with them, we only make them together. Sometimes friends join us. And this is great! For some reason, it is during the making of dumplings that the funniest and most cheerful stories are told, the best school pranks are remembered, everyone is so sincerely happy with each other... Maybe that’s why the dumplings always come out excellent?
Dumpling tricks
The peoples of Siberia, especially the nomadic ones, often put crushed ice in the minced meat. This made the meat more juicy, and chilled minced meat was easier to sculpt. Sometimes the ice from the water was replaced with frozen cranberry, lingonberry, blueberry or cloudberry juice, which made the taste more complex and unusual.
Some chicken breast broth, it adds juiciness to dry meat.
Fans of spicy taste add garlic to the minced meat.
In Soviet canteens, semolina was sometimes added to minced meat: firstly, to increase its quantity, and secondly, to add tenderness to it. This method will appeal to those who love soft, dietary minced meat. Just don’t overdo it with cereal: 1-2 tablespoons per 500 g of minced meat is enough.
Recipe for real Siberian dumplings
Required for 10 servings (130-150 pieces): 1 kg of wheat flour, premium; two eggs; two glasses of cold water; 300 g each of beef, lamb and pork; 300 g cabbage; three large onions; salt and pepper - to taste.
Dough: sift through a fine sieve and pour into a heap on the work table. Make a small depression in the middle of the slide and drive two eggs into it. It is easier to knead the dough for a large number of dumplings in small portions so that it kneads better and does not dry out.
Knead the dough from the edge to the middle, adding water little by little. It is necessary that the water and eggs are not smeared all over the table, but are completely mixed into the flour. It’s easier to do this if you pick up the flour with both hands, starting from the bottom of the mound and working towards the top, little by little mixing it into the funnel with water and eggs.
Yes, we forgot an important detail, the water for the dough needs really ice-cold water, from the refrigerator. Gradually the flour will be saturated with water, and then you can knead the dough. This must be done carefully and for a long time until the dough becomes completely homogeneous and elastic.
You can tell by the way it rolls out - if no folds or cracks appear on it, then everything is OK.
Wrap the finished dough in a damp towel and set aside for half an hour. After resting for a while, it will become even more pliable and elastic.
Ground meat: Peel and coarsely chop three onions. Rinse the meat (pork, lamb and beef) under the tap and cut into pieces 4-6 cm in size. Grind in a meat grinder. It is possible that you will have to do this twice - the meat should be ground as finely as possible.
Grind the cabbage in a meat grinder and add it to the minced meat. Add salt, pepper and mix well. Cabbage in the minced meat is needed to give it juiciness; it is good because it does not affect the taste of the dumplings at all, and at the same time makes their filling much more tender.
Modeling: Sprinkle the table with flour. Using your hands, roll the dough into a sausage shape 2-2.5 cm thick. Cut the resulting sausage into pieces the same length (2-2.5 cm). And then, roll out each piece separately with a rolling pin. It is necessary that each workpiece is round in shape and 2 mm thick. Roll out up to 10 circles at one time, then the dough will not have time to “weather.”
Remember that the minced meat in the dough must lie freely, otherwise the juice that is released from the meat during cooking will tear the dough and leak out, and the dumplings without it are no longer dumplings.
Sauce for dumplings
And there are no less sauces for them. True, from all the variety one can single out the main ingredients
Sour cream;
Fresh herbs;
Mayonnaise;
Black pepper;
Mustard;
Butter.
From them you can make combinations of sauces for different tastes.
Do you have your own dumpling recipe? We wait!
How to make homemade dumplings
From this article you will learn everything about Siberian dumplings: recipe, tips and interesting facts, the history of the origin of the dish and the secrets of the most delicious minced meat and dough!
2 hours
250 kcal
4/5 (4)
Today, making homemade dumplings is becoming something extraordinary. Many people think that this process is difficult, tedious and takes up too much free time. This is actually not true. Making this dish is fun, creative and simple. And now we will be convinced of this.
History of Siberian dumplings
Most likely, the birthplace of this dish is China, where they have been loved to cook them for more than two thousand years. The names of Chinese dumplings are baozi and wontons. In this country it is considered festive and is often prepared on the eve of important events.
Russia is considered to be the second homeland. When the Siberian Highway passed through the border of Udmurtia, people got acquainted with the culture and cuisine of local peoples. It was thanks to the Siberian Highway that the dish came to Siberia, where it became very popular and was called “Siberian dumplings.” There is more than one, but today we will focus on the most interesting.
What is the advantage of homemade Siberian dumplings?
Recipe
For minced meat we need:
Advice: You can use water instead of broth, but broth will make the minced meat tender and juicy.
Ingredients for the dough:
Preparing the dough
This recipe is the simplest and most successful. If in the future you want to try making manti or dumplings, it will also be suitable for these dishes.
- Take a deep plastic bowl and pour a glass of cold water into it, add a spoonful of salt.
- Break the chicken eggs and mix thoroughly.
- Pour 4 cups of flour into another container and make a depression in the center (with a crater shape). Pour the prepared mixture into the center.
Advice: Be sure, before working with flour, it must be thoroughly sifted through a sieve.
- Take a spoon and begin to knead the dough in a circular motion from the center to the edge until a homogeneous mass is obtained.
- Let's start kneading the dough with our hands.
Advice: To prevent the dough from sticking to your hands, you can moisten them with a little cold water.
- Next, knead the dough on the table. To do this, take a glass of flour and pour some of it onto the table. As you work, pay attention to the consistency of the dough. Add flour if necessary. The dough should be kneaded cool.
Advice: To check if the dough is ready, shape it into a ball and leave it for a few minutes. It should completely hold its shape and not spread.
- Lightly dust the finished dough with flour and place it in a plastic bag (or cover with a towel) so that it does not dry out or become weathered. Let it sit for 30 minutes. Then mix thoroughly again until it is soft.
If you decide to add hot water, then it will be no less tasty and easy to prepare.
Cooking minced meat
Interesting fact! In the north, sakhatin or venison meat was also used to make dumplings. In our region, not everyone can afford to purchase this meat. But, if you want to try the original recipe of the northern peoples, try purchasing it one day and adding it to the minced meat. The proportions are approximately as follows: beef 50%, pork 20%, venison 30%.
- First, the meat is washed, dried with a towel, and the veins are trimmed. We will boil meat broth from these veins, so there is no need to skimp.
Advice: try not to remove layers of fat from the pork, because they will give the meat juiciness, softness and tenderness.
- The meat is scrolled through a meat grinder.
Advice: Since the goal of our work is to cook easily and quickly, you can replace the pieces of meat with purchased minced meat. This will save time.
- Place the minced meat in a deep bowl and begin chopping the onion. Then chop a bunch of parsley (sometimes nettle leaves are added to the minced meat).
Advice: before cutting parsley, it is better to pour boiling water over it thoroughly.
- Mix meat, onion, parsley, add salt, a pinch of black pepper and a spoonful of flour. Mix the ingredients.
- Then add 70 ml of meat broth (which we boiled first). To save time, you can replace the broth with plain water. Mix again.
Advice: Do not overdo it with broth (or water), as the minced meat will become too liquid.
Making dumplings
As you can see, there is nothing complicated in preparing our dish so far. Now it's time to move on to the most interesting and creative process - we will make our dumplings!
- Pour a little flour onto the table, place a small piece of dough and roll it out with a rolling pin to form a large thin round layer.
- Next, we take an ordinary faceted glass and use it to cut the layer into circles.
- Place a teaspoon of minced meat in the middle of each round and seal the dough around the edges. Place the finished products on a plate or large tray, sprinkled with flour on top (so as not to stick).
- When everything is ready, you need to put them in the freezer.
Interesting fact! The main feature of these dumplings is that they must be frozen before cooking. This is how they improve their properties and taste.
Cooking process
How to cook dumplings the Siberian way? You can boil the finished product in meat broth or water (whichever you prefer). To improve the taste, you can add bay leaves, a couple of black peppercorns, and green onions to the water.
Advice: It is important to boil the dumplings in a low and wide pan, not in large portions, so that they do not stick together during cooking.
You need to put them in boiling water, when the water boils again, after about 7-10 minutes the dish is ready. Bon appetit!
Secrets of successful preparation of dumplings
- Some recipes use milk to make dumplings. In fact, this is not worth doing, since the broth will turn out cloudy (many people like to serve dumplings in the broth at the table), and the products may become overcooked.
- To make the dough more elastic and roll out well, it is recommended not just to leave it in a plastic bag, but to put it in the refrigerator for an hour.
- For delicious dumplings, choose good, fresh, quality ingredients. This applies to meat, eggs and flour (first or highest grade).
- If you are serving the dish in broth, first remove the dumplings from the pan and strain the broth. Then dumplings are placed on a plate and seasoned with clean broth.
- You need to take a low and wide pan, so that the dumplings are not cramped in it. Water should fill it three-quarters or two-thirds, not to the brim.
What to serve with and how to decorate
- The easiest way is to put dumplings on a plate, add a piece of butter (or sour cream) and serve with fresh herbs.
- You can serve it in broth, adding butter or herbs on top. Some housewives add small pieces of carrots and onions to the broth when cooking.
That's all the secrets of making simple and very tasty Siberian dumplings. We wish you bon appetit and an easy creative cooking process!
First, a little history. It is believed that the Chinese were the first to come up with the idea of wrapping minced meat in pieces of unleavened dough. In China, it is true that steamed dumplings are ubiquitous and are the most common street food. However, other nations also have variations on the theme of dumplings - Italian ravioli, Uzbek manti.
There is a version that the main trade route from China to Russia passed along the Siberian Highway. Along with the goods, enterprising merchants brought the recipe for their favorite dish to Siberia. As usual, it has changed, acquired national characteristics and turned into a modern version of Siberian dumplings, similar to a bear’s ear.
Dumplings – canned food for hunters
Siberia does not indulge in warmth. The main way to preserve food there, especially in the old days, was freezing. The meat was literally buried in the snow, and there it was stored until spring. In fact, dumplings are a great way to prepare a compact and easy-to-prepare semi-finished product that can be stored for a long time in the cold. They took bags of frozen dumplings with them on hunting and logging trips.
Some other features of the preparation of the Siberian delicacy are also related to the climate. Ice water must be added to the dough, and crushed ice to the minced meat for juiciness and ease of processing. Ready-made dumplings also need to be frozen immediately after cooking. This is an indispensable condition. Then it’s easy to get them, boil or bake them and start eating. Making dumplings is the domain of housewives. Often in the old days the whole family would gather around the table and make hundreds of dumplings while talking and making jokes.
The sacred meaning of the filling for dumplings
The classic filling for dumplings consists of three types of meat. Ideally, the minced meat should contain a little less than half beef, about a third lamb and a fifth pork. However, there is an opinion that lamb is not very popular among harsh Siberians. Rather, instead of it, you are supposed to put sokhatin in the minced meat - elk meat, venison or even bear meat. In a word, meat obtained by hunting. In modern conditions, you can add a little chicken breast or turkey meat to add juiciness.
It is believed that in ancient times, Perm people brought gifts to their gods in the form of dumplings with the meat of sacrificial animals. And there had to be at least three varieties of meat. Only then could one count on successful hunting and success in farming. Did you know about this? One way or another, echoes of these ancient beliefs today allow us to enjoy delicious dumplings.
Some housewives add not only ice to the minced meat, but also frozen cloudberry, cranberry, and lingonberry juices. This gives a particularly piquant taste to the dish. You can add garlic and wild garlic. It is better if the minced meat is not minced through a meat grinder, but finely chopped. This is not an easy task - in the old days it was done by men. Do not put an egg in the minced meat - you are not making cutlets. This will make the filling tough, and our goal is to ensure that there is aromatic juice inside.
Bear ear, honeycomb or glass
And now we will talk about the method of making traditional Siberian dumplings. Of course, the most preferable, but also the most labor-intensive, is to manually cut pieces from the sausage from unleavened elastic dough, roll them out thinly or knead them and sculpt dumplings in the shape of a crescent, pinching the edges and connecting the ends in the form of an ear.
Many devices have been invented to make the housewife's work easier. Look for special dumpling makers on sale in the form of a shell with a wavy edge. Simply put the filling on a piece of dough and join the edges. Honeycomb-shaped frames are also very popular among housewives. And if you don’t have anything like that, a small glass or shot glass will do, with which you can cut out circles from the rolled out dough and make dumplings.
Secrets of Siberian dumplings
In order for the dish to be a success, try to adhere to the following tips.
- You should not put salt in the dough.
- It is better to knead the dough in small portions so that it does not dry out. Use ice water and knead the mixture thoroughly - this is the only way you will get a smooth, homogeneous dough.
- If you leave the dough on the counter for half an hour, wrapped in a damp towel, it will be easier to roll out.
- It’s good to add a little fresh cabbage, finely chopped, to the minced meat. It will add juiciness, but will hardly change the taste of the filling.
- Add some filling. The dough should not be pulled too tightly when pinching, otherwise it will break.
- It is better if there are layers of fat in the pork - this will add juiciness.
- Don't forget that in the classic recipe, crushed lettuce was added to the minced meat immediately before cooking. Try adding it - you won't regret it.
- Don’t overdo it with the seasonings – salt and pepper will be enough for the minced meat. Don't skimp on onions.
And finally - an interesting fact. It is estimated that approximately 70% of all ready-made frozen semi-finished products purchased in stores are dumplings. And if you are desperate to find really tasty ones, then it’s time to make your own dumplings. Good luck!
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