Homemade dumplings is very satisfying and tasty, but few people know that their creation is a real art, in which there are a large number of subtleties. We will talk further in more detail about how to cook minced meat and dough, how much they need to be cooked and how to facilitate the process of sculpting them as much as possible.
How to make dough
Practice shows that dough for future dumplings can be prepared both in milk and in water. In the event that a dough is prepared for homemade dumplings in milk, you need to use only the freshest product that has not yet had time to ferment.
In order to make the prepared base as flexible as possible, it is necessary to use only sifted flour. It is also important to regulate the volume of fluid - it should not be too much. Practice shows that the ideal dough for dumplings must be kneaded for a very long time, making first circular movements, and then kneading.
After the dough is ready, you need to give it a "rest" for 30 minutes - in this case, the products will be much easier to form, and during cooking they will not fall apart.
Water Dough Recipe
This recipe for a test with an egg for homemade dumplings can be used in the process of preparing products with any type of filling.
To create the dough, it is necessary to sift 500 g of flour, pouring it onto the table and forming a slide. After that, in its very center, a deepening should be made, in which 0.5 tsp should be filled. salt, pour a spoonful of sunflower oil, and then add a couple of eggs and a glass of water. Of the listed ingredients, it is necessary to knead a dense and elastic dough, and then let it brew for 30-40 minutes.
Milk Dough Recipe
The dough on milk is incredibly tender, and it blends perfectly with the fish filling. For its preparation on the countertop or in a deep bowl, sift 3 tbsp. flour, after which a large depression should be made from it in a slide and add an egg, a glass of milk, and also a teaspoon of salt and oil.
Of the listed ingredients, you should knead a dense and elastic dough, kneading it well. After mixing, the mass must be allowed to infuse at room temperature for about half an hour.
Topping Secrets
In fact, in the process of making dumplings, as a filling, you can use not only minced meat, but also fish, mushroom, and also a vegetable mixture. Sometimes you can even meet such cooks who create homemade dumplings stuffed with meat of deer, elk and bear.
Culinary experts note that the most delicious mincemeat is obtained when it is created from different types of products, selected in suitable proportions. So, for example, a mixture made from 80% turkey and 20% beef may be an ideal option.
In addition to the main components, the auxiliary must be present in the filling, including onions, garlic and favorite spices. How many onions per kg of meat for dumplings should I take? Culinary experts recommend taking it at a rate of 1: 4 - in this case, the dumplings will be juicy, and the filling will retain taste.
How to add richness to the filling
It is known that the main guarantee of delicious homemade dumplings is juicy filling. In order for it to turn out just like this, you must definitely add onion to it, chopped or minced through a meat grinder. Some chefs strongly recommend grinding it with a blender - this way the product will release more juice and moisturize the filling much better, giving it a unique flavor.
To prepare any dumplings filling, you need to choose only the freshest meat, correctly combining its types with each other. Experienced culinary experts strongly recommend that you do not mix chicken and turkey with each other, and also do not supplement rabbit meat with anything. The ideal complement to pork is beef.
In order for the prepared dumplings to be very juicy, vegetable oils (sesame, olive, sunflower), crushed ice, and meat broth can be included in future fillings. Also for this purpose, fat or chopped lard can be added to the minced meat. In some remote regions of Russia juicy dumplings are given with the help of frozen cranberry juice, cloudberries or blueberries.
Pork and Beef Filling Recipe
To make stuffing for minced meat dumplings, you need to take 300 g of pork and the same amount of beef. The specified ingredients should be passed through a meat grinder, and then mixed. To the meat mass, you need to add chopped large onions, as well as pepper and salt to taste. These ingredients should be mixed until smooth - and the mince is ready.
Chicken Filling Recipe
This step-by-step recipe for minced meat for homemade dumplings is the simplest, and the filling on the output is very tender and airy.
To prepare it, you need to take a breast (you can use meat with fat and skin) and pass it through a meat grinder with the addition of an average onion head. After this, it is necessary to carefully add beaten egg white into the minced meat and mix gently, previously salt the mass and add pepper to it. If desired, chopped greens of dill or parsley can be added to the minced meat.
To give special tenderness and juiciness to minced chicken, some culinary experts recommend adding a little fat cream to it.
Siberian dumplings recipe
This is a great recipe for homemade dumplings with minced pork, lamb and beef.
For their preparation, it is necessary to take 300 g of the listed types of meat without veins and other unnecessary elements. Fillet should be passed through a meat grinder and add to the resulting mass a couple of medium onions chopped, 2-3 crushed ice cubes, a little pepper and salt to taste. Stirring the minced meat, we must begin to prepare the dough for future dumplings.
This recipe for homemade dumplings with minced meat from three types of meat involves the use of a regular dough. It is necessary to knead it from 750 g of sifted flour, three eggs and 1.5 cups of purified ice water - this way it will turn out to be especially tender and it will be easier to sculpt. Dough must be salt to taste.
After the main components of the future dumplings are ready, it is necessary to roll out the dough and, having cut out circles of the same size, fill them with minced meat, and then form the “ears”. Finished products should be laid out on a surface well sprinkled with flour, so they will not stick and retain their integrity. You can cook them both frozen and fresh.
Features of modeling dumplings
How to stick dumplings at home quickly? Practice shows that this process can take both long and very little time. In order to make all products the same in size, it is best to roll out a large layer of dough with a thickness of about 1.5-2 mm, from which circles will be cut out using a glass or a special shape - juicy.
After the juices are ready, you should put in each of them a small amount of the prepared filling, fold the dough in half and pinch the tips, forming a crescent-shaped product. After that, the two ends of the product should be pinched together so that the finished dumpling resembles an eye in shape.
The big mistake of many novice cooks is that they, trying to reduce the cooking time, try to cook large items. It should be understood that they are inconvenient to eat, and the process of cooking them will be longer.
Modeling with a manual dumpling
Surely in your house there is a dumpling, presented in the form of a simple round design with holes. It can be used to create delicious and beautiful homemade dumplings.
In order to mold dumplings with the help of a manual dumpling, roll out a large layer of dough and lay it on the uneven side of the mold, sprinkled with plenty of flour. Next, slightly press down the dough so that soft cavities form on its surface - a small amount of minced meat should be placed in each of them.
Next, you need to roll out another thin layer of dough. It should be done so that on the one hand it remains sticky, and on the other hand it is slightly crushed by flour. The sticky side of this layer must be laid on the form, carefully pressing it so that the halves are glued together. Now on top of the form you need to walk with a rolling pin, first rolling the middle part, gradually moving to the ends. Turning over, the form must be shaken - ready-made dumplings will fall out of it.
Dumpling machine
It often happens that people give preference to a product purchased in a store, just because they do not have the desire to engage in prolonged modeling of homemade dumplings. In the event that you have a large family, you can purchase a small machine for modeling dumplings at home, which automates the process of their preparation. Moreover, with the help of this unit it will be possible to create neat products of the same size.
Currently, pelmeni molding machines at home are sold in many online stores, and their price is about 3-4 thousand rubles, which is quite acceptable. As practice shows, the best options for dumplings are produced by many Russian companies. This allows you to set the minimum cost on them.
How to cook dumplings
A considerable number of questions are caused by the process of cooking dumplings. How to implement it?
Cooking dumplings is best done in water boiling over low heat. It is necessary to dump products in salted water. As for the duration of cooking, it is about 5-10 minutes from the moment they rise to the surface, depending on whether they are dealing with frozen or fresh dumplings.
In order for the dumplings not to stick together during cooking, a small amount of vegetable oil should be added to the water. It is also important to control the volume of water: it should be 4 times more than the products themselves.
To give a special taste to the finished products, aromatic spices must be added to the broth. As such, you can use peppercorns or ground spices, bay leaves, dill, dried cloves.
How to eat dumplings
Contrary to all traditions, dumplings are best served not with a fork, but with a spoon - in this case juice does not flow from them. In Japan and China, this dish is generally consumed using sticks.
This dish can be served both with the broth in which the products were cooked, and in pure form. In the second case, it is recommended to serve dumplings with sauce or sour cream.
Making sauces
Ready dumplings are preferably served with some kind of tender sauce. It can be made from herbs, sour cream, mayonnaise, spices and other elements. Further, we consider some options for preparing ideal additions to cooked products with meat filling.
A sauce of mayonnaise and soy sauce will be able to emphasize the taste of the filling. To prepare it, you need to mix 200 g of mayonnaise, a couple of spoons of soy sauce, 1 tsp. mustard and twice as much vinegar.
Sour cream cheese sauce goes well with chicken dumplings . To prepare it, you need to mix 100 g of sour cream, a couple of beaten eggs, 40 g of grated cheese, a couple of spoons of flour, a little ghee (1-2 tbsp.) And 80 g of cream. The mass created from the listed ingredients should be sent to a slow fire and held on it for three minutes, not bringing to a boil. While warming, the mass must be constantly stirred.
To prepare mushroom sauce, it will take some time and some skills, but it, like no other, will most harmoniously complement the overall taste picture of homemade dumplings with minced meat, the recipe of which is presented above. To create such a sauce, finely chopped 200 g of champignons and 150 g of onions must be fried in a pan with oil. When the onion gains a golden color during the frying process, add 500 ml of meat broth to the mass and add a spoonful of flour, thoroughly mixing the whole mass so that there are no lumps in it. At the final stage of preparation of the sauce, you need to add a couple of spoons of sour cream, as well as chopped herbs, pepper and salt (to taste). After removing the sauce from the stove, it must be cooled.
The original version of the supplement to the dumplings will be a sauce made from radish, cilantro and dill, taken in equal proportions. To prepare the sauce, simply grind the mass with a blender.