Friday, March 7, 2008

What Is a Beerock, And How Did It Get To Fresno? or How Did Fresno Cooks Corrupt the Bierock??

I was born and raised in Fresno, California, the raisin capital of the world. I loved Fresno. I especially loved the summers. While most adults would spend countless hours inside their homes cooled by the swamp coolers, I spent my childhood summers outside playing and exploring, clad only in shorts and t-shirts and always...always... barefoot.

Many of my most cherished childhood food experiences were in Fresno. When I was in second grade, I ate my first loquats from a tree that grew between the apartment buildings where we lived. Later we moved to a house in a more rural neighborhood directly across a one-lane asphalt road from a large fig orchard. In late summer, after the figs had ripened and before the rancher harvested the trees, my mother would send me across the street to pick bags of figs and bring them back to the house where she would make homemade fig jam. I knew it was stealing and I was terrified of being caught, but we'd eat that wonderful fig jam on toast for weeks. My dad had a large garden in the backyard of that house and my mom would make sweet tomato preserves dotted with candied lemon peel from the tomatoes he grew there. At family gatherings, my aunt Sally taught me how to quickly peel a hard boiled egg. My maternal grandmother taught me to make the best potato salad I've ever eaten. And, for Thanksgiving and Christmas I would fill countless stalks of celery with softened cream cheese.

Fresno was where my mother first made and I first tasted Beerocks, wonderful individual beef and cabbage pies, seasoned with lots of black pepper and wrapped in a thin yeast dough. They are spicy and delicious, but a common version of the more complicated meat-filled pocket pastry that arrived in the 1870's with German-Russian settlers. Their pastries were made from braised beef that was coarsely ground and mixed with cabbage and onions and wrapped in a handmade yeast dough. My mother's version was made with hamburger and boxed hot roll mix.

This recipe makes 12 stuffed pockets.



Betty's Beerocks
by Terri Powers adapted from my mom's recipe


2-1/2 lbs. ground beef
1 large head cabbage, cored and coarsely chopped
2 large onions, coarsely chopped
2 - 3 tablespoons ground black pepper
2 teaspoons salt
1 box Pillsbury Hot Roll Mix

Prepare the hot roll mix according to the directions on the box. While dough is rising to twice it's size, prepare the filling.


Put the ground beef in a large frying pan or pot and cook thoroughly on medium high heat, breaking the meat up as it cooks into the consistency of the meat filling for tacos. Add the chopped onions and cook until the onions are almost transparent. Add the cabbage and cook until it is almost soft, but still retains a somewhat firm texture (you don't want it to be mushy), stirring frequently until the meat, onions and cabbage are well mixed. Add the salt, then begin adding the pepper. Taste the mixture after you have added 2 tablespoons. The mixture should have a distinctly peppery flavor. Add more pepper as needed. Set aside and allow to cool slightly.


Preheat oven to 375ºF. Punch down the dough and divide into 12 equal pieces. Roll out each piece into a circle about 8 inches across.

For each pocket, pile several spoons full of the filling on one half of the dough circle.


Lift the remaining half of the dough over the filling and seal the dough all the way around the half circle.


Place the pockets on a large cookie sheet (you probably will need two cookie sheets) lightly dusted with corn meal. Bake in the preheated oven for about 35 minutes or until golden brown.

These freeze extremely well.

47 comments:

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Proud Italian Cook said...

Nice recipe and it sounds delicious, lots of black pepper too!!

nicole said...

I need to try this. It looks so good.

Anonymous said...

Use to have these sometimes in our high school (KUHS)lunches in the early 70's. Loved them!! Hope to try this receipe soon. Thanks.

Anonymous said...

My mothers family is Russian-German. I grew up eating beerock. Its ok with hamburger but if you want the real kind you have to use shredded meat. Using hamburger is a travesty

Anonymous said...

I recently moved to Omaha, Nebraska. We have a chain of fast food restaurants here called Runza. Your recipe reminds me of a "Runza". You should google it :)

Anonymous said...

When i was a kid in Fresno some 30 yrs ago. We would save our lunch money and ride our bikes to Karsh's Bakery and buy our Beerocks. Ohh soo good! As an adult living in the Bay Area there is no such thing as a beerock?!!

It was my belief that the beerocks came from our Armenian neighborhoods... That's a guess.

Anonymous said...

Beerocks is a long tradition in my German Mennonite Family who migrated through Russia. They are delicious if you can get a real recipe that uses some mashed potatoes in the yeast dough. They are awesome! I use shredded beef and ground beef depending on how much time I have. My children prefer the ground beef and it is a little simpler lots of onion and of course pepper. I do believe the mennonites brought beerocks from Russia! They freeze so well and are yummy in the microwave for a quick lunch. My husband begs me to make them but he eats them up so fast and they are a lot of work. Our family is also from the Fresno, Bakersfield area.

Chefs In Christ said...

Aloha Terri,Thank you so much for bringing forward such a Great menu Item ....your interpretation of the recipe Beerock is a good one :) I am also from Fresno and come from a strong culinary family. I came across your blog looking up a bierock recipe. My grand father is from north Central USA his family is from Papenburg Germany in 1910 he was a baker in Fresno for the greater part of his life. Also my Grand mother his Wife is from Oklahoma and was a cook for her people the Cherokee, through many trails of tears. On my dads side of the family My great grand fathers family was commissioned , and sent from Spain to the Philippines to grow and ship sugarcane. His daughter married a U.S.Army solder who was from The Dakota's, She my grand mother, with my dad, and his sister moved to California after the war was over in 1946, my grand father, served,and died in PI in 1933.After thy got to the States My grand mother worked in the Fresno unified school district as a cafeteria cook and was a part of the first team of cooks to start the satellite food program for the F.U.S.D.where the recipe for bierock was adapted for the school district, at home she used the potato recipe. and for the school it was more practical to make 1000 bierock's to feed all the students, the sweet dough was the last dough I remember that thy used the children found these the best ( they would eat them !) Recipes are awesome they have a tendency of evolving to the needs and the pallet not to mention the pock of the user pun intended that's another part of this the need to pocket ones lunch hence the square cornered shape to a pocket friendly shape that evolved; as we left the house for lunch and found a need to take our lunches with .. so the first recipes have grown with us to fit the needs and practicalities of life as do most things.. it all makes sense.so look back and find the one that suits you best and know they are all good whether you call it a bierock or a bieroch, beerock, berrock, bierox, beerrock and kraut bierock in the U.S, and Pirok or Kraut Pirok in Argentina. At the heart of our house the. kitchen" We had the potato bread with ground meat Caramelized onions cabbage and carrots; they were good for the eyes. They were great and I am so thankful to find this blog the rich history of friends and Family in the U.S.A. bring such a beautiful mosaic of feast from many nations that love one and other and find the way to evolve to suit the needs of the greater good. Thank you fellow bloggers for enriching my life allowing me to share freely the value of my past and to bless the future generations looking to bless even seven generations into our future. Mahalo Nui Loa ,Curtis A. Lea;Chef's in Christ Ministries, Kailua-K,Hawaii ....once again thank you for blessing my day ...

Anonymous said...

My mother was German. The migration to Russia by Germans was to avoid forced entry into the wars. The Germans still living in Russia continue with their heritage. This recipe is very German. Some German Historical Societies have cookbooks. I have one of them, and there is a huge section of this recipe. The dough is quite traditional in that it is a sweet dough. None of the original recipes had shredded meat, strictly ground beef. The invention of these "sandwiches" were given to the men while they worked. I continue the tradition, making it exactly as done by generations in the past.

Terri said...

Thank you all for the wonderful comments and insightful historical references. Being of primarily Norwegian descent, I'm thrilled that you have shared such wonderful family anecdotes.

Anonymous said...

I'm full German & live in fresno also! I don't believe BEEROCKS ARE A " MENNONITE" thing bc that it a religion simular to AMISH! Im catholic so this whole beerock topic is getting of track! Ive always heard beerocks were originated in germany! Im not againist any religion or ignorant nor do i run others down. Just letting you know how i learned about beerocks & how i was brought up making them!

Anonymous said...

so very true!!!!

Anonymous said...

My family is German-Russian from the Volga area of Russia. I am from Fresno also. Beerocks do not exist in Germany! My boyfriend was born and raised in Bonn, I've been there many times, simply do not exist and are unknown. Beerocks are believed to be adapted from Russian pierogi (spelling). Thanks for this post!

Williams the Conqueror said...

Wow Terri, as a kid I ate beer rocks a few times, the last time when I was six in 1968. My mom never made them again and said she lost the recipe. But I remembered them exactly and for years searched for a recipe. I figured that maybe my mom pronounced the name wrong. One time I thought I came close, but it wasn't it.Then tonight I entered Beir roqs just hoping, and up popped BEER ROCKS from Fresno recipes. I found yours, your story brought tears to my eyes. You see mom always thought she lost the recipe from a book, but, I remember grandma making them also, I remember that they were German. My Grandparents moved to Fresno Ca. in 1936 from Texas my mom was 10, she grew up in Fresno and we visited my grandma who had a Loquate tree I LOVED! And her and my mom both made all kinds of preserves green and red tomato. Apricot etc. I remember the fruit stands with blood oranges giant peaches and watermelons. I have lived in Oregon since 1976, most fruit sucks. But all your memories hit home.

Terri said...

Thank you so much for sharing your wonderful memories. I, too, miss the wonderful fruits and vegetables from California. I hope you try to make the beerocks. If you do, please let me know how they turned out for you and if they are close to those made by your mom and grandma. My best to you!

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
sylviann rosenthal said...

Youre taking me back. Thanks for the memorie
S.

Terri said...

You're welcome Sylviann!

Anonymous said...

Ahhh Karsh's bakery beerocks...Takes me back 30-40 years! Thanks! (Former Fresbergian...Go Dogs!)

Anonymous said...

Thank you Terri, I was raised in Fresno, I remember the swamp coolers and run inning the neighborhood. I had loquacious from a neighbors tree and beerochs at the Fresno fair. One of my all time favorite foods. I have been looking for a recipe for a long time. I now live in Texas with loquacious trees in the back yard. I cooked beerocks for the first time last month and my grandchildren are asking when we will have them again.

Terri said...

Anonymous #1: I remember Karsh's bakery very well!

Anonymous #2: Thanks for sharing your memories. I love visiting Fresno. We try to get there at least once a year.

Robin (Simons) said...

I was amazed when I found your blog! I also grew up in Fresno, ate loquats (out of my back yard), and learned how to make Beerocks there! And yes, we did walk barefoot in the summer! I now live in Indiana where people have no idea what a Beerock is. I could make a fortune if I had the time to cook them and sell them. The only difference between yours and mine is the amount of pepper (I used less),and that I make my Beerocks into little square pockets. So wonderful to see a fellow Beerock making, loquat eating, barefoot walking, cook blogging about making Beerocks!

Anonymous said...

Yay for Beer Rocks! Fresno! Barefoot, hot summers! Delicious fruit! I'm a fan of it all <3

KATY Reeves Windsor said...

Wow! I'm also from Fresno and share many of the same memories expressed here! Loquats from a neighbor's tree were terrific and the best bedrocks came from the Fresno district fair each year. Second best was from Karsh's Bakery located in Hanoian's Market (I think at Cedar and Butler). My stepdad was a Russian/German and he made beerocks with shredded roast beef and would be horrified to use hamburger but I like either one. Thanks for the memories and recipe. I live in New Zealand now and will make these for my Kiwi family!

Terri said...

Robin: I'm so happy my post brought back those wonderful Fresno memories. Every time I make them, I smile through the whole process remembering all those wonderful times.

Anonymous: I'm a fan too.

Katy: I hope your friends and family enjoy them. Thanks for the wonderful comment.

Unknown said...

Also from Fresno. Also thought it was an Armenian dish - incorrect, I guess. But was a great reminder of loquats, kumquats, pomegranates, pistachios, and black walnuts picked up at the old monastery. And, yes, the awful smell of raisins drying. Thanks for the memories

Terri said...

Teddi: We weren't allowed to eat pomegranates in the house. I'd sit on the grass in our backyard and pick out the seeds one by one. My hands, arms and legs would be bright red when I finished! And the horrible smell of drying raisins. Ick!

Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment.

Unknown said...

Beerocks (Bierrocks, Beer Rocks, ... there's no standard spelling) arrived in Fresno with the Volga Germans. These were Germans who were invited to migrate to Russia by Catherine the Great in the mid 18th century. Catherine the Great was also German. She believed Germans would serve as a good, hard-working model for Russians, who she regarded as lazy and inefficient. The Volga-Germans began immigrating to America in the late part of the 19th century as nationalism and anti-German sentiments were on the rise. Many of the privileges that the Volga Germans had been granted, e.g., tax exemptions, no military service, their own German schools, started to be withdrawn. Large numbers moved to the Midwest, and many came to the Fresno area. (My grandparents came over in 1913 on the Lusitania, which was later sunk off the coast of Ireland by a German U-boat during WWI.) After the Russian Revolution when the Soviet Union was created, there was a Volga German Soviet Socialist Republic for a few years. Stalin ended that and sent many of the Volga Germans to Siberia. During the Cold War there were still about a million German speaking people in the USSR; many migrated to Germany after the Soviet Union collapsed.
Beerocks are unique to Fresno, but they're not German. They are Russian. The word "Beerock" is a corruption of the Russian word "Pirog," which means a meat pie. Piroshki (accent on the last syllable) are small meat pies, about half the size of smaller than a standard Fresno Beerock. Part of me still thinks that no true Beerocks have been made in Fresno since my mother stopped cooking and then passed away three years ago. When I was a growing teenager, I once ate six beerocks at dinner -- a family record.

CreativeKelly said...

Thanks for the recipe. I grew up eating beerocks. I'm not German nor Russians, the Mormon LDS church sisters introduce my family to it and I remember they were of German descent. I'm actually Laotion but born and raised in California. Grew up in Fresno, I attended Sunday school regularly. I had my first taste of beerock and instantly was hooked. Til this day I have a strong craving for it and it's so great I came across your story and ties to Fresno about Beerocks. I hope to make some soon. The only place I know of in Fresno now that sells them is a lil restuarant called The Berrok Shop on Bullard. Other than that I get excited when the fresno fair arrives, I still miss the ones I use to get from a shop located on shaw near the sees candy store, it was owned by an LDS member, forgot her name...

Unknown said...

Yes I remember them and still crave them, lol I also attended in the 70's there.

Anonymous said...

I still live in the Fresno area and was so surprised to see that I found someone that is from Fresno that still makes them. I am making some tonight and am using a French bread dough that I make. I remember growing up in the 70s also and eating these and the fruit off the trees. So much has changed here but this one of my favorite memories.

Anonymous said...

Wow so close, when you could find such things. I used to eat loquats that grew on a tree between our Apartments at Palm and Dakota in around '82, there were also pomegranates growing over a fence in our alley. And then later we lived at Herndon and Blackstone. Just around the corner there was a wonderful Fig Garden at Sierra and Fresno. And My friends and I would play there and eat the ripe figs. I miss those days. I should search out these rare fruit finds here now. Most peaple don't harvest or use them here anymore. -Marty T.

Terri said...

So true Marty! It's sad, isn't it? I love homemade fig jam, but I can't get mission figs here in Central Arkansas.

Anonymous said...

Ahhh, the memories. Living in Fresno 20+ years, beerocks are a yummy fond memory. We left Fresno in 1989 but I never forgot their wonderful taste. Thanks so much for all the history. Now living in Florida, traveling the U.S. we went back to Fresno to look up old friends. Including the wonderful bakery in the Van Ness area. No longer there.
I am determined to duplicate the recipe & came across your blog. Thank you so so much.
Suzanne

AStew said...

Love beerocks!! Used to go to Jimmies's Bakery or Lauch's bakery to them. Also the bedrock shop when it was on Clinton & Weber, now its on Bullard and West. Sooo love them. I lived in Corvallis, OR for 3 yrs and no one had a clue what they are...lol. was glad to be home to have some.

Unknown said...

My best friend's grandmother, of German descent, who as the stories are told migrated from Russia with her parents when she was a small child, lived in Fresno for 65 years.

We enjoyed Bierocks when she came to visit family in Salinas. We still make them. Actually that's what I'm having for dinner this evening. Identical to your original recipe. Love the pepper in them. YUMM!

Anonymous said...

My mother's parents moved to Fresno from Russia around 1910. They settled in the area near Edison High School - my grandparents lived on "A" Street. All those houses are long gone now. The sidewalks were compacted dirt that my grandparents swept to keep tidy. When my mom was young, a man would drive through the neighborhood, yelling "Wassermelon! Wassermelon!" selling watermelons from his truck. Another man came through with kitchen pots and pans periodically. My grandparents had a big garden with vegetables and flowers. At first, the kitchen was out in the back - called the "summer kitchen". The laundry was done by hand, using my grandma's homemade lye soap. She sewed on a pedal sewing machine, making even her own undergarments out of flour sacks. She cooked the most delicious food on a wood stove.

My mother was the youngest of 9 children. She is 85 but still makes bierocks and cabbage rolls. In fact, our cousins have a German dinner every year, and my mom brings the cabbage rolls. I try making them but haven't got the taste just right yet. As we say, though, any cabbage roll or bierock is better than none!

My grandparents came from the Volga region, from a town called Yost. After they left, a damn on the river was removed, and the remains of the town are now under water. When the Germans moved to Russia they were settled in towns according to religion. My grandparents were Lutherans, but there were Catholics and Mennonites, too.

Unknown said...

Thanks for the trip down memory lane. I grew up in Fresno and for us it was always The Beerock Shop. Such a treat. I still make them, it sounds like a good way to spend my day! Off to the grocery store...

Kathy said...

Had my first beerock at a small bar named Reinsteins on Orange ave in Fresno. They had customers ordering them like crazy. The best I’ve ever had. Going to try making some this weekend. Lived in Fresno since ‘72. Lots of great memories swimming in the canals and love the warm summer nights. Fresno gets a bad rap from those who don’t live here. That’s ok. Stay where you are!!!

Gari Cave said...

WOW!!! Reading this has sure brought back some wonderful memories. Seems like Fresno is more popular than I ever knew. I was born and raised there too and experienced everything you said you did. Loquats, raisins drying, pomegranates, barefoot in the summer (shoes were only hand me downs most of the time anyway and didn't fit) eating Beerocks which I still love!
I remember the ones from the Fresno Fair especially. Boy were they good. I just, this May, attended my 60th Fresno High School reunion and saw the classmates that are still with us! We had a big class but we have lost a lot and of course not all of them could attend. So wonderful to see those that could come.
I found your blog because my grandson asked me last night at the dinner table to tell him what my favorite foods were when I was a kid. So needless to say I will be cooking some of the old recipes that I haven't had in years and Beerocks was the first one to come to mind. Thank you for posting this. I looked at several recipes but this one really hit the memory bank!

Joy johnson said...

Being from Fresnoi I enjoyed bedrocks quite often. I loved reading all these comments, sure brings back memories . I find it interesting that so many talked about running around barefoot. For some reason we don’t do that much in Idaho. My grandmothers friends, thre deBonds would make beerocks and bring us a plate occasionally. Hanoians. Market is Armenian. We loved Karshs and Loucks bakeries. Can’t buy pastries like they made. I make beerocks a couple times a year and my now married kids comment on the homey feeling they get when eating beerocks. Thanks for the memories!!

Unknown said...

Shredded meat sticks in my teeth. I grew up on the hamburger ones. That os what I am use to. Sounds good though. Hehe

Donita said...

Good morning. Snowing in Virginia. Good day for Bierocks. I was born in Fresno. 1944. When I was 7 my girlfriend Cathy’s mother taught my mom how to make them. Her name was Tilly Cocaine. Daughter was Cathy. We both later went to Fresno High School. My high school boyfriend loved to eat so my mother taught me how to make them. Shredded beef. And homemade bread. I mixed up my easy peasy no knead bread yesterday. After an overnight rise it’s now in the refrigerator until I need to roll it out. I like to cook my beef with lots of veggies and broth. . After shredding the beef and straining the liquid I have a delicious broth for dipping the Bierocks. Or a cup of soup. So many nationalities came to Fresno. I enjoyed the Armenian foods too. And Greek. And Mexican. And Italian. ��. Looking at . the history Wikipedia says it originated in Russia. Eastern Europe. Became popular with the Volga Germans. And Argentina. It was brought to the US in 1870’s by German Russian Mennonite immigrants. They are known as Pirok in Argentina. Maybe this is all true. Whatever. I am so happy to know this food. ��

HannaB said...

Wonderful and fond memories come alive as I read these. My grandfather Ruppel was Russian German as well. His folks and older sisters immigrated in 1904 and also brought Berrocks with them. His father owned a dry goods store and he later opened a neighborhood bar/store where he would sell the (rectangle) berrocks that My grandmother and mother would make daily. This recipe is the same one they would use , and yes either hamburger or roast beef.
Memories of visiting Fresno every summer playing barefoot in the hot dirt fields of Grandpa's walnut and nearby plum orchards are etched in my mind. Berrocks for dinner were always the best especially with mustard! And Yes, berrocks at the fair. Our favorite. We live in AZ now, and have passed this recipe down and around- to share a bit of our beloved Fresno-Russian-German heritage!! Love the connection we all have shared through this wonderfully simple yet delicious meat 'pie' called BERROCKS.

Anonymous said...

They served them at Fresno City College cafeteria in the 70s. Yum.

Anonymous said...

Yes Karsh’s for bierocks and cheese strudel on Thursdays…still remember how wonderful they were…

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