• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Subscribe
Subscribe by email Connect on Facebook Connect on Pinterest Follow Me on Instagram

Hunter Angler Gardener Cook

Finding the Forgotten Feast

  • Shop
  • Video Course
  • Stories
  • About
    • Public Events
    • Privacy Policy
  • Wild Game
    • Venison Recipes
    • Duck Recipes and Goose Recipes
    • Rabbits, Hares and Squirrels
    • Pheasants, Turkey, Quail
    • Dove Recipes
    • Wild Pig and Bear Recipes
    • My Best Taco Recipes
    • Wild Game Sauces
  • Charcuterie
    • Homemade Sausage Recipes
    • Smoker Recipes
    • Bacon, Jerky, Hams, etc
    • Salami Recipes
    • Confit, Pate, Terrines
  • Fish
    • General Fish Recipes
    • Salmon Recipes
    • Snapper Recipes
    • Crabs, Shellfish and Squid
    • Little Fish and Oddballs
  • Gathering
    • Preservation Recipes
    • Mushrooms
    • Sweet Things
    • Wild Greens and Herbs
    • Acorns, Nuts, Starches
  • Podcast
Home » Foraging » Mushrooms » Wild Mushroom Pierogi

Wild Mushroom Pierogi

By Hank Shaw on April 21, 2014, Updated June 6, 2022 - 21 Comments

Jump to Recipe Pin Recipe Comment
4.67 from 9 votes
Print Friendly, PDF & Email
A plate of mushroom pierogi
Photo by Holly A. Heyser

Pierogi. Eastern Europe’s contribution to the world’s dumpling party. If you like dumplings, you’ll love pierogi. If you don’t like dumplings, there’s something wrong with you.

It’s believed that the idea of dumplings came from China, through the great Asiatic steppes and into Europe. This may well be true, given that pierogi are a lot like Chinese potstickers. There are records of Pierogi in Poland back to the 1200s, and even back then one of the main fillings was mushrooms.

Home » Foraging » Mushrooms » Wild Mushroom Pierogi
polish salted mushrooms recipe

Wild Mushroom Tips

You’ll find many more articles on identifying, processing and cooking wild mushrooms here!

Read More about Mushroom Recipes

Now I don’t know if you know that much about Eastern Europeans, but virtually every one I’ve met here in America at the very least likes mushrooms, and most actively pick them, too. I’ve seen platoons of “Russian” — I have no idea where they actually were from, but they always speak a language that sounds like Russian — pickers in the woods, collecting mushrooms that most of us Anglo pickers won’t touch.

I am betting at least some of these shrooms go into homemade pierogi, or piroshki, which is a Russian dumpling a bit more bready, like an empanada.

This pierogi recipe is great to make when you have only a few of each sort of edible mushroom, too, as you’re going to chop them anyway. Got a few morels and a couple dryad’s saddle? Maybe one porcino and a bunch of pine spikes or chanterelles? Go for it.

Don’t pick mushrooms? No problem.

Mix and match supermarket mushrooms. I like using those “chef’s sampler” packets for pierogi. Or just use common button mushrooms. It’s a dumpling, people. Do what you like.

You can eat them however you want, but I strongly urge you to boil them until they float, then fry them in lots of unsalted butter.

Serve your mushroom pierogi with caramelized onions, a big dollop of sour cream and some dill, washed down with a dark beer. Then you will understand why they’ve been making these things for 800 years.

Cooked mushroom pierogi on a plate.
Print Recipe
4.67 from 9 votes

Mushroom Pierogi

Pierogi are idiosyncratic dumplings. You can fill them with pretty much whatever you want, make them as large or small as you want, alter the dough and either boil or fry them... or both. Mushroom pierogi are a very common thing in Eastern Europe, as the various Slavic nations tend to be serious mushroom eaters. These pierogi are made with fresh porcini and reconstituted black trumpet mushrooms. But you can do this with pretty much any mushroom you'd want to eat. I like having two different kinds for variety, but you could do fresh and dried morels, for example.
Prep Time1 hr 30 mins
Cook Time20 mins
Total Time1 hr 50 mins
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Polish
Servings: 6 people
Calories: 428kcal
Author: Hank Shaw

Ingredients

DOUGH

  • 500 grams of all-purpose flour, about 4 cups
  • A pinch of salt
  • 1 egg
  • 240 mililiters of water, about 1 cup
  • 1/4 cup sour cream

FILLING

  • 1/2 pound fresh mushrooms
  • 1/2 ounce dried mushrooms, rehydrated
  • 1 cup minced onion
  • 2 large garlic cloves, chopped
  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1 tablespoon minced parsley or dill
  • 1/4 cup bread crumbs
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • Black pepper

Instructions

  • Make the dough by mixing all the ingredients together in a large bowl. Knead the dough until it comes together as a sift, silky dough, about 5 minutes. Cover in plastic wrap and let the dough sit on the counter for an hour or so. You can refrigerate it up to 2 days.
  • To make the filling, chop the fresh and dried mushrooms and add them to a large saute pan with the minced onions. Turn the heat to medium-high and saute until the mushrooms give up their water, about 2 to 5 minutes depending on the mushroom. Salt them well. When the water from the mushrooms has almost evaporated, add the butter and saute until everything begins to brown, about 4 to 6 minutes. Add the garlic and cook another minute. Turn off the heat and let the mixture cool for a few minutes.
  • Add the contents of the pan to a food processor, along with the dill or parsley. Buzz to make a fine crumble, but not a paste. You want some texture in the filling. Put the contents of the food processor in a bowl and mix well with breadcrumbs. Add salt and black pepper to taste.
  • To make the pierogi, roll the dough out by hand -- it's too soft for a pasta roller.
    Rolled out pierogi dough.
  • And you don't want it too thin, either. About 1/8 inch is good. The reason is you stretch the dough when you make the pierogi.
    Pierogi dough, showing its thickness.
  • I use pastry cutters to make my pierogi, but you can use a glass or you can cut out squares. How wide is up to you. I used a 3-inch round, which makes smallish pierogi that are a bit more like potstickers in size. Everyone's pierogi are different shapes and sizes, so go for whatever floats your boat.
    A round of pierogi dough.
  • Take the round of dough and stretch it a little evenly all around, like you would with pizza dough. It doesn't have to be too stretched out, but a little helps. Hold the dough in the palm of your "off" hand. Put a teaspoon, tablespoon or whatever seems to fit in the center of the dough -- you can fill pierogi more than you can with Italian pasta dough because it's so flexible.
  • Fold the dough over the filling. I start at the center and work towards an edge, stretching and pinching the dough at the rim of the dumpling as I go. Finish by sealing the other edge. Set the dumpling on your well-floured surface and seal it tight by crimping with the tines of a fork. Set your finished pierogi on a baking sheet that you've dusted with either semolina flour or cornmeal.
    Finished pierogi on a tray.
  • Pierogi are pretty moist, so they don't do too well stored uncooked, unless you freeze them right away. To freeze, put the baking sheet in the freezer (or a plate if the whole sheet won't fit), then, when they are frozen, you can put them in a freezer bag. Normally I cook pierogi shortly after making them.
  • You can either simply boil your pierogi until they float -- I give them another minute once they float, too -- or you can double cook them, which is what I prefer. To do this, boil until they float, then fry in lots of butter. Serve with caramelized onions, sour cream and dill.

Nutrition

Calories: 428kcal | Carbohydrates: 73g | Protein: 12g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 47mg | Sodium: 832mg | Potassium: 317mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 274IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 45mg | Iron: 4mg
Tried this Recipe? Tag me Today!Mention @HuntGatherCook or tag #HankShaw!

Thanks for Sharing This!

3.6K shares

Filed Under: Eastern European, Featured, Foraging, Mushrooms, Recipe

Avatar for Hank Shaw

Hank Shaw

Hey there. Welcome to Hunter Angler Gardener Cook, the internet's largest source of recipes and know-how for wild foods. I am a chef, author, and yes, hunter, angler, gardener, forager and cook. Follow me on Instagram and on Facebook.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Avatar for Carol Ann ProtasiewiczCarol Ann Protasiewicz says

    December 23, 2021 at 9:01 am

    This recipe worked very well for making Uszka for my Christmas Eve Borscht. The dough was easy to work with and the filling is very tasty. Thank you for posting!

    Reply
  2. Avatar for MarcinZMarcinZ says

    March 6, 2020 at 6:24 am

    We have lots o ‘Pierogi’ types in Poland.
    – with mushrooms and cabbage
    – with potatoes and white cheese
    – with meat
    – with spinach
    – with blueberries
    – with banana and chocolate
    and many others …

    Reply
  3. Avatar for DavidDavid says

    January 21, 2020 at 8:01 pm

    I love these for using up my second string mushrooms like lobsters

    Reply
  4. Avatar for LindaLinda says

    January 8, 2018 at 8:14 am

    My ciocia Helen made her dough without the use of sour cream – interesting. Will have to try it this way.

    She didn’t use a fork to seal them – used farmer’s cheese and potatoes inside as most of our family are fungiphobes (save for me – I pick locally). She would boil them and then just top them with butter and sour cream. Me? I stuff mine with mushrooms, farmer’s cheese, boil, fry in butter and then top with sour cream.

    Reply
  5. Avatar for DeeDee says

    January 13, 2017 at 11:06 am

    The caramelized onions are called “skwoarkay” (pronunciation) in Ukranian, they are chopped onions fried in pork fat, sometimes with some chopped pork meat, common to Polish folks too. All slavic peoples had some form of animal fat cooked with fruit or vegetable as a condiment: Deutsch have greben-schmaltz, pork fat rendered and having crackly fat, nice spread on bread; Jewish people saute diced apples in chicken fat. Grandma never used to seal her perogy edges with a fork, she just pressed the edges together with her fingers, I remember watching her doing this with a cigarette hanging out o her mouth. We rarely fried our perogies, they were just served hot from being boiled in the pot, not filled with mushrooms, filled with potato/cottage cheese or sauerkraut. Ukranian, Polish and Czech people like to eat Honey Mushrooms common in the fall, but they also enjoy Morels, Chanterelles and Lobster Mushrooms. Just because the other foragers have a foreign language, don’t call them Russian. Its like calling a Canadian an American or an Aussie a Brit, possibly even more of an insult.

    Reply
  6. Avatar for BillBill says

    November 3, 2016 at 10:59 am

    Made them last night! Amazing. Used baby bellas and chantrelles… very tasty.

    I didn’t chill the dough, left on the counter. Will chill next time as the dough is resting. I also need to make my rolled out dough a bit thinner – some of the pressed edges were a little too thick for me.

    Reply
  7. Avatar for VincentVincent says

    April 12, 2015 at 8:55 am

    These look great. One question: under pastas you recommend the general rule of 1 egg for 100g of flour. I have seen pierogi recipes with the same ratio, why is this one different?

    Reply
    • Avatar for Hank ShawHank Shaw says

      April 12, 2015 at 9:30 am

      Vincent: Because it is. 😉 Seriously, the ratio is just a guide. I wanted a more flexible, soft dough here that I could form more easily.

      Reply
  8. Avatar for BenBen says

    November 5, 2014 at 12:45 pm

    Hank,

    I’ve been wanting to make pierogis with some of the skinless duck breasts that accrue in my freezer every duck season, and after reading this I’ve decided duck and wild mushroom pierogis sound awesome! Do you have any ideas on how much chopped our ground duck to add to your mushroom mix, and anything else to toss in that would add to the flavors?

    Reply
    • Avatar for Hank ShawHank Shaw says

      November 5, 2014 at 2:34 pm

      Ben: That’s a whole different recipe. Not sure, but maybe start with 1/2 pound of finely diced or ground duck meat?

      Reply
  9. Avatar for David AnsteyDavid Anstey says

    October 18, 2014 at 10:30 am

    These were awesome, don’t use fresh water to make the dough, instead use the water left from rehydrating your dried mushrooms. Every little bit of flavour helps. This recipe would be great to do out in the woods.

    Reply
    • Avatar for Hank ShawHank Shaw says

      October 18, 2014 at 10:47 am

      David: Good idea, but it will darken the pierogi dough. Just aesthetics, but I like the color contrast.

      Reply
  10. Avatar for Greg KingGreg King says

    April 28, 2014 at 2:46 pm

    Cooked this one last night, fantastic! Hello from Tasmania.

    Reply
  11. Avatar for JoannaJoanna says

    April 23, 2014 at 7:04 am

    And now I have to go and make some. I am Polish and grew up with mushroom and meat pierogi, never potato ones. This brings back enough memories I am going to the kitchen now. If I have enough dough leftover maybe I will make some blueberry ones for dessert, drizzled with sweetened heavy cream… mouth watering, have to cook now.

    Reply
  12. Avatar for Marjorie WilliamsMarjorie Williams says

    April 21, 2014 at 3:54 pm

    We have a pierogi pincher that makes it even easier. We have single one and one that makes 16 pierogi at a time. It’s great!

    Reply
  13. Avatar for sue/the view from great islandsue/the view from great island says

    April 21, 2014 at 3:37 pm

    I could absolutely taste those pierogis as I read through your post, and that last photo sealed the deal, I need to make these. I love dumplings, who doesn’t? And I’ve never tried making this particular version, can’t wait!

    Reply
  14. Avatar for Hank ShawHank Shaw says

    April 21, 2014 at 2:42 pm

    Sara: I bet you can find a vegan pierogi dough on the internet somewhere, and for the filling, sub in sunflower oil for the butter.

    Ron: Love the salt pork idea!

    Reply
  15. Avatar for KateKate says

    April 21, 2014 at 2:24 pm

    Well, I don’t have wild mushrooms, or any mushrooms for that matter, but these look so amazing that I am making a batch of potato-cheddar right now. Litterally took me about 5 minutes after reading this to get in the kitchen and start cooking. Maybe the fact that I’m 6 months pregnant had something to do with the insatiable urge. Either way, thanks for the inspiration! Absolutely love your site.

    Reply
  16. Avatar for Ron May-PumphreyRon May-Pumphrey says

    April 21, 2014 at 2:14 pm

    My mother-in-law is first generation Ukranian/American. Pierogi were one of her favorite foods. There is nothing wrong with serving pierogi straight from the boiling, though I agree frying adds something more than just calories. My mother in law used to rhapsodize about chopping salt pork and frying the pierogi on the resulting fat. Serve with sour cream and the cracklings scatters on top. Special pierogi molds are available to speed making larger batches.

    Reply
  17. Avatar for Sara ThompsonSara Thompson says

    April 21, 2014 at 1:11 pm

    I hate to ask but do you know of a vegan version of your pierogi recipe? My husband and I have food allergies (egg and dairy) but I’d love to try pierogis. We love mushrooms and these sound amazing.

    Reply
  18. Avatar for chanmanchanman says

    April 21, 2014 at 6:35 am

    The frying is what really sells it.

    I’ve seen my dad prepare potstickers by cooking them in a pan with a layer of water and oil. The dumplings steam/simmer until the water evaporates, and then they continue to fry in the oil in the same pan.

    Boiling will cause the thin skins of some potstickers to disintegrate

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Primary Sidebar

Hank Shaw holding a rod and reel in the American River

Hi, my name is Hank Shaw; I’m a James Beard Award-winning author and chef. I started this site back in 2007 to help you get the most out of all things wild: fish, game, edible wild plants and mushrooms. I also write cookbooks, have a website dedicated to the intersection of food and nature, and do a podcast, too. If it’s wild, you’ll find it here. Hope you enjoy the site!

More about Hank...

Featured Recipes

Closeup of sliced, smoked venison backstrap on a platter
Venison 101: How to Cook Venison
pickled pike recipe
Pickled Pike
Slices of smoked venison roast on a cutting board.
Smoked Venison Roast
Conejo en adobo on a plate
Conejo en Adobo
A platter of fried walleye with lemon.
Fried Walleye
A plate of pine nut cookies.
Pine Nut Cookies

As Seen In

As seen on CNN, New York Times, Simply Recipes, Martha Stewart, Food and Wine, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, Field and Stream, Outdoor Life, and The Splendid Table

Never Miss a Recipe

Receive recipes direct to your inbox.

 

 

Back to Top
  • Home
  • Shop
  • Video Course
  • About
  • Podcast
  • Stories
  • Wild Game
  • Charcuterie
  • Fish
  • Gathering
Subscribe by email Connect on Facebook Connect on Pinterest Follow Me on Instagram

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

© 2023 Hunter Angler Gardener Cook, All Rights Reserved.

Site built by: Site by Status Forward

3.6K shares
  • Print
  • Pinterest
  • 3.1KFacebook
  • WhatsApp
  • Save
  • Email
3.6K shares
  • 3.1K