Pulled Pork Runzas

Some people might not be familiar with Runzas. Here in Nebraska there is a fast food chain that specializes in them. When I grew up we called them cabbage burgers, and some people call them bierocks. They usually have a filling of cabbage, onions and ground beef.

A few months ago I got a really good deal on pork shoulder roasts and stocked up. I cooked one and shredded it. We ate some and I froze the rest in quart bags that can be easily thawed for future meals.

One day I had a cabbage that needed used and thought I should make Runzas but realized I was out of ground beef. Then the thought occurred to me that I could use the shredded pork. These were the best Runzas I have ever had and will certainly be added to the menu list. The good thing is that I refrigerated the rest and they were great for lunch for a couple of days. My friend makes large batches of these and freezes them for her husband's lunch.

Here is my recipe which is really more of a mix it together and then season until it tastes good to you.

Runza filling:

1 cabbage, chopped

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 tsp salt

1 tsp black pepper

Mix all of the ingredients above and saute in a little bit of vegetable broth until everything is soft and cooked down a bit. Now is when you want to taste and see if it needs more seasoning. Some people add other spices but I prefer a basic taste.

Add 2 pounds of cooked meat. If you use the pulled pork, you will want to chop it pretty fine.

Mix well and let cool.

Make your favorite bread dough. I used my sister in laws dinner roll recipe and I will try to post that soon. Some people use the frozen bread dough.

Flatten out some bread dough to make a circle or rectangle. Add about 3/4 to 1 cup of filling then wrap it up and seal all the corners so it doesn't leak out. 

I baked it for about 25 minutes at 350.

NOTE: We served the pulled pork runzas with bbq sauce. Next time I may make a few with bbq sauce mixed into the filling. 

Options: 

Some people add cheese inside.

I made a vegan version with TVP cooked with the filling instead of the meat. No one noticed that it was not ground beef.