How to Make Meat-Filled Pelmeni
Learn how to make delicious meat-filled pelmeni! Pelmeni are the Russian version of tortellini, typically filled with a ground meat such as pork, beef, lamb, or even potato. A favorite dish of many Russians, this recipe is very simple and delicious. It takes a little bit of practice and time to put together the pelmeni but it’s well worth the effort! Serve the pelmeni with sour cream and dill, or enjoyed them fried with onions!
My Russian Pelmeni Video Tutorial
Watch my YouTube video tutorial for step-by-step instructions and see how I shaped these pork pelmeni! Want to stay up to date on new recipes? Make sure to subscribe to my website emailing list and to my YouTube channel and turn on notifications.
Ingredients for Pelmeni
Here are the main ingredients you’ll need to make these delicious, meat-filled pelmeni:
- Eggs, Water, Flour: for making the easy pelmeni dough.
- Ground Pork or Ground Beef: for making the pork filling. You can also make a 50/50 mix of ground pork and ground beef. You can even use ground lamb, ground veal or ground chicken.
- Onion: the onion needs to grated or pureed in a food processor.
- Garlic: use pressed garlic for best results.
- Salt & Pepper: for seasoning the filling
- Sour Cream, Dill & Vinegar: for serving the pelmeni in a creamy dressing.
Making the Pelmeni Dough
Pelmeni are made with easy dough similar to Italian pasta, but with more water. It’s important that the dough rests before you use it. Rested dough will be much easier to work with! Here’s how to make it:
- To make dough, whisk together the eggs, water and salt in large mixing bowl. Add the flour gradually, mixing first with whisk, then a spoon, and then using your hands.
- The dough needs to have a medium firmness and shouldn’t be sticky! Knead the dough on lightly floured surface for about 4 to 5 minutes, until the dough is uniform and elastic. Divide the dough in half and keep covered and let rest for at least 30 minutes.
How to Make Meat-Filled Pelmeni
Making pelmeni is a labor of love! They do take a little bit of time and patience to make by hand. You can also use a ‘pelmenitsa’ or a pelmeni maker (Amazon Affiliate link). This simple metal form can make 30 to 40 pieces at once!
- Prepare the dough first and let it rest for at least 30 minutes to 1 hour.
- Meanwhile, prepare the filling. Either grate or puree the onion in a food processor and place it into a large bowl. Add the ground pork (and beef, if desired), garlic, salt and pepper. Use your hands to combine the ingredients together, creating a uniform mixture.
- For Making Pelmeni by Hand: roll the rested dough out on floured work surface into large rectangle, to about the thickness of pasta sheets. Use a 1-1/2 inch round cookie cutter and cut as many circles as possible. Place 1½ teaspoons of the prepared filling onto each circle. Using well floured hands, shape the pelmeni by pinching together the seams, forming a semi-circle then bringing the two edges together. Place the prepared prepared pork pelmeni onto a floured pan until you’re ready to cook them.
- For Using Pelmenitsa: if you’re using a form, roll out the dough the same way, until it’s very thin. Cut the dough down to size so it fits over the form with a few inches of extra dough handing off the sides. Add about 1 teaspoon, or as much as will fit, into each form. Place a second sheet of dough over the top, then use a rolling pin to seal the two layers together. Tap the form hard against your work surface and the pelmeni should pop right out.
- To cook ravioli, heat a large pot of well-salted water to boiling. Cook ravioli in small batches for about 8 minutes. Remove them with slotted spoon and place them into bowl.
Serving Options for Pelmeni
You can enjoy these meat pelmeni a few different ways. Both of these serving methods are delicious!
- Fried in Butter: first, cook the pelmeni, then drain. Preheat a large frying pan and add a few tablespoons of butter. Add the pelmeni, along with a diced shallot, to the hot pan without over crowding. Fry the pelmeni over medium heat until they’re well browned all over. Season the pelmeni with a bit of salt, pepper, fresh dill and enjoy!
- Sour Cream: Another popular way to serve pelmeni is with a mixture of sour cream, white wine vinegar, salt, pepper and fresh dill. Simply cook the pelmeni, then toss into a bowl with the sour cream mixture. Adjust the vinegar to taste.
More Recipes!
Looking for more Russian recipes? Check out my recently released cookbook, Beyond Borscht, for 75 traditional and delicious recipes! Check out some of my other recipes available on my website here:
- Creamy Beef Stroganoff – you’ll love these creamy beef noodles with beef tenderloin and mushrooms.
- Braised Pork with Mashed Potatoes – tender chunks of pork braised in a tomato sauce, served with creamy potatoes.
- Meat & Rice Stuffed Peppers – an easy recipe for delicious stuffed peppers, with ground beef, rice and more!
How to Make Meat-Filled Pelmeni
Ingredients
For Dough:
- 2 large eggs
- 1 1/3 cups water
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 4 cups flour
For Filling:
- 1/2 pound ground pork, or ground lamb, veal, chicken, turkey
- 1/2 pound ground beef
- 1 large onion, pureed or grated
- 5 garlic cloves, pressed
- 2 teaspoons sea salt
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
For Dressing:
- 1/3 cup sour cream
- 2 tablespoons white vinegar
- small bunch fresh dill, chopped
- ground black pepper and salt
Instructions
- This recipe will make about 80 pelmeni, or 4 to 5 servings.
For the Pelmeni Dough:
- To make dough, whisk together the eggs, water and salt in large mixing bowl. Add the flour gradually, mixing first with whisk, then a spoon, and then using your hands.
- The dough needs to have a medium firmness and shouldn't be sticky! Knead the dough on lightly floured surface for about 4 to 5 minutes, until the dough is uniform and elastic. Divide the dough in half and keep covered and let rest for at least 30 minutes.
Making the Pelmeni:
- Meanwhile, prepare the filling. Either grate or puree the onion in a food processor and place it into a large bowl. Add the ground pork (and beef, if desired), garlic, salt and pepper. Use your hands to combine the ingredients together, creating a uniform mixture.
- For Making Pelmeni by Hand: roll the rested dough out on floured work surface into large rectangle, to about the thickness of pasta sheets. Use a 1-1/2 inch round cookie cutter and cut as many circles as possible. Place 1½ teaspoons of the prepared filling onto each circle. Using well floured hands, shape the pelmeni by pinching together the seams, forming a semi-circle then bringing the two edges together. Place the prepared prepared pork pelmeni onto a floured pan until you're ready to cook them.
- For Using Pelmenitsa: if you're using a form, roll out the dough the same way, until it's very thin. Cut the dough down to size so it fits over the form with a few inches of extra dough handing off the sides. Add about 1 teaspoon, or as much as will fit, into each form. Place a second sheet of dough over the top, then use a rolling pin to seal the two layers together. Tap the form hard against your work surface and the pelmeni should pop right out.
Cooking Pelmeni:
- To cook ravioli, heat a large pot of well-salted water to boiling. Cook ravioli in small batches for about 8 minutes. Remove them with slotted spoon and place them into bowl.
Serving Options:
- Fried in Butter: first, cook the pelmeni, then drain. Preheat a large frying pan over medium heat and add a few tablespoons of butter. Add the pelmeni, along with a diced shallot, to the hot pan without over crowding. Fry the pelmeni over medium heat until they're well browned all over. Season the pelmeni with a bit of salt, pepper, fresh dill and enjoy!
- Sour Cream: Another popular way to serve pelmeni is with a mixture of sour cream, white wine vinegar, salt, pepper and fresh dill. Simply cook the pelmeni, then toss into a bowl with the sour cream mixture. Adjust the vinegar to taste.
Note:
- Nutritional facts are calculated for pelmeni with the sour cream dressing.
Wonderful as written, or lightly fried in browned chopped onions, or served with a warm sour cream mushroom sauce! FIVE STARS!!!!!
I am wondering, can you use the same dough for vareniki with potatoes??
Yes, you can use the same dough! 🙂
Love this dough recipe. I made it several times already and it alway tirns out perfect.
Can you make dough and use it the next day
Absolutely! Just wrap it up very well so it won’t dry out. I would keep it in the refrigerator 🙂
This is my husbands favorite recipe!!!!! I have to make it at least once a month if not more in BULK to freeze. So delicious! I love it as well!
I’m so glad to hear that!! 🙂 My husband also LOVES pelmeni!