Perishky (Meat Buns)

The mennonite in me knew I was going to have to learn to make these eventually.  I love them and I can't keep relying on my 87 year old Grama or my Mom to make them for me.


I asked my mom for the recipe and of course I got the "there is no recipe" and she just explained how to do them.  You aren't getting a recipe either, but you are getting step by step pictures...even better!


Now I need to tell you something before you start these.  They take a long time to do...they are easy...but time consuming.


Don't start them late in the morning, then decide to go visit your in-laws that live 2 hours away and then come back too late at night to work on them...not that I would do something like that...I'm just saying...don't.


First you need to make a roast like you normally would...make sure you make the gravy too.  I did mine the day before I was planning on making these and then just put the roast and gravy (separated) in the fridge.


Then the day you want to make them, make a basic white bread.  I used my bread machine (on the "dough" cycle) and did a smaller loaf recipe.  I ended up needing to make a second larger recipe...and I used all of it up.  I guess it also depends on how much roast you  have.  It really is trial and error.  It's okay if you have to make more bread...it just adds to your time, but gives you an excuse to go have a nap.....or to be productive if you're that kind of person.


Okay so now that you have your bread made and your roast is done and cooled...the fun can begin....and I have pictures of these steps.


If you have a food processor, put your beef in it and grind it right up.  You want it completely minced.  If you don't have a food processor....go buy one...or deal with the fact that you are going to be chopping and chopping until the end of time.

Add enough gravy that it makes a mushy lovely mess.  When I make my roast gravy I add onion soup mix and cream of mushroom soup, so I don't need to add much flavor to my "mix" at this point.  Depending on your gravy, you might want to add some minced up onions and garlic salt.   Actually, come to think of it, I think I added some dried minced onion flakes to it.

Now roll out your dough on a clean floured surface.  Roll it out thinner than I have pictured here...this was too thick.  Turns out I hate rolling dough.  This was the worst part for me.
 
Use a cup or something round to cut circles.  Make sure you dip the rim in flour.

Put some of the roast beef mush in the center of each circle.  Fold them up and pinch the seam together....I actually started adding more to each circle after this.  This is a high dough to meat ratio.....(do I sound fancy and smart when I use words like "ratio"...I hope I used it right).

Place them seam side down on a parchment lined cookie sheet.  At this point I was a little worried, because I didn't think they were looking good.

I covered mine with sprayed wax paper and a tea towel and let them sit until they were double in size.   Okay...I lied and didn't have the patience to wait for them to double...but I did let them rise for 2 hours.  Maybe they would have gotten bigger faster if I kept them in the oven like my mom suggested...but of course, I had to do it my way.  They need to be in a draft free area. 

Preheat your oven to 350 or 375 degrees.  This is when I moved these on top of my oven so they could feel the warmth and rise a bit more.


Bake them for about 20 minutes...or until golden brown.  A basic bun recipe says to do 375 for 20 minutes and since your meat is cooked already, you're just needing to make sure you bread is.

This is when they taste the best....fresh out of the oven.

If you were to start these late on a Sunday morning and then run out of dough and have to make more....

If you decided to go visit your in-laws (who live 2 hours away) before you were done....

If you didn't get home until after 10 pm.....

If you put the dough into the fridge so you can use it for when you had time....

If the next day was Monday so you wouldn't be able to finish them until after work....

If the dough had still kept rising in the fridge this whole time....


They could turn out to look like this...

Again...not that this happened to me...I'm just saying.


I like mine with ketchup.  My mom and sister like them with mayo and mustard...which I do too...but this time I was all about the ketchup.

Let me know if you have any questions.  Seriously, though...time consuming but easy...especially with a bread machine and a food processor.


I love them and it's a perfect alternative to roast leftovers.