When I was younger, we had a yearly "Taste of Tacoma" in Tacoma, WA. There was a booth that had this Russian, I think, pierogi. However, I remember what I had as being round like a baseball with at least ground beef inside. I was fairly young and don't recall what else it included.
Does anyone know if this is a specific type of dish or just a variation on the pierogi?
Thanks.
Best Answer
That sounds like a beef Pirog, a Russian (and other surrounding areas) pie with meat (or other fillings) wrapped in pastry or dough and baked.
There are also smaller stuffed pastries/breads called "pirozhki" in Russian (literally: little pies) that may be baked or fried.
Polish pierogi are small filled dumplings. Similar in concept and pronunciation to Russian pirogi and sometimes similar in filling as well, but with a different dough and generally steamed (or steamed then pan-fried) -- those are also called vareniki (Ukrainian) or pelmeni (Russian).
I would say that Russian pirogi and Polish pierogi are distinctly separate foods. Russian pelmeni and Polish pierogi are different regional variations of the same dish.