Jewish Meat Knishes Recipe (2024)

A Jewish meat knish (kuh-NISH) is a baked dumpling filled with meat, potatoes, kasha, sauerkraut, onions or cheese (and lately spinach, sweet potatoes, and other ingredients), that is traditionally baked but sometimes fried. It's similar to a British pasty, Mexican empanada, Russian pirozhki, and an Italian calzone. Since this dough recipe is made with butter, cream cheese, and sour cream, and filled with beef, it would not be considered kosher.

The recipe for the filling was provided by Lloyd Weinstein of Benjie's Deli in Santa Ana, Calif. The knishes can be individually quick frozen on baking sheets and transferred to freezer bags for storage if desired.

Here is a potato knish recipe you might like to try.

“I thought I preferred potato knishes, but that was before I tasted this particular meat version. The addition of pastrami as one of the filling ingredients was absolutely brilliant. It kicked the flavor up to another level. I didn’t have access to a meat grinder, so I pulsed the ingredients in a food processor instead.” —Diana Andrews

Jewish Meat Knishes Recipe (1)

A Note From Our Recipe Tester

Ingredients

For the Knish Dough:

  • 8 ounces (1 cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature

  • 8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature

  • 1/2 cup sour cream, at room temperature

  • 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, more as needed

  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt

For the Meat Filling:

For the Egg Wash:

  • 1 large egg, lightly beaten

  • 1 tablespoon water

Steps to Make It

Make the Knish Dough

  1. Gather the ingredients.

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  2. In a food processor fitted with a metal blade, process the butter, cream cheese, and sour cream until smooth and well combined, scraping down the bowl once or twice. Add flour and salt and pulse to blend.

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  3. Turn dough out onto a sheet of plastic wrap.

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  4. Using floured hands, form into a ball and wrap tightly. Refrigerate at least 2 hours or up to overnight.

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Make the Meat Filling

  1. Gather the ingredients.

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  2. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat until it shimmers. Add the onion and sauté until translucent, 3 to 4 minutes.

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  3. Raise the heat to medium-high. Add the ground beef and cook, breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon until no longer pink, about 9 minutes.

  4. Drain the mixture of excess fat. Add the pastrami and mix well.

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  5. Pass meat through a grinder with the small hole setting. Alternatively, pulse then process the mixture in batches in a food processor fitted with a metal blade until finely chopped, taking care not to over process.

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  6. Transfer meat to a large bowl. Let cool to room temperature. Add the salt, garlic powder, and white pepper and mix to combine. Adjust the seasoning to your liking. Add the eggs and mix well to combine.

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Assemble the Knishes

  1. Lightly flour a work surface and place the dough on it. Cover with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel and let come to room temperature, 15 to 20 minutes.

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  2. Meanwhile, position two racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 350 F. Line two baking sheets with parchment or silicone baking mats.

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  3. Roll the dough out to 1/4-inch thickness.

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  4. Using a pizza cutter, cut the dough into 3-inch squares. Re-roll any dough scraps until all the dough is used.

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  5. Make the egg wash by combining the beaten egg with the water. Brush each square with the egg wash.

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  6. Place 1 1/2 tablespoons filling on one of the dough squares.

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  7. Stretch the dough over the filling and fold the points to meet in the center, similar to an envelope, pinching the edges closed. Continue with the rest of the dough and filling. (You might not use all the filling.)

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  8. Place knishes on the prepared baking sheets and brush with the egg wash.

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  9. Bake until knishes are golden brown on the top and bottom, rotating the trays in the oven halfway through baking, about 30 minutes total.

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Tips

  • Serve these meat knishes with some sharp deli-style mustard, which pairs especially well with the pastrami in the filling.
  • Any leftover filling can be used in omelets and stuffed baked vegetables, stirred into a chili, or eaten in a burrito or taco. Just be sure to cook the filling thoroughly again as it contains raw eggs.

Recipe Variations

Before baking, sprinkle the tops of the knishes with sesame seeds, poppy seeds, or even a little flaky salt for a subtle crunch.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
297Calories
20g Fat
16g Carbs
13g Protein

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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 22to 23
Amount per serving
Calories297
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 20g25%
Saturated Fat 10g50%
Cholesterol 89mg30%
Sodium 321mg14%
Total Carbohydrate 16g6%
Dietary Fiber 1g2%
Total Sugars 1g
Protein 13g
Vitamin C 0mg2%
Calcium 34mg3%
Iron 2mg11%
Potassium 187mg4%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

Recipe Tags:

  • Dumplings
  • appetizer
  • eastern european
  • hanukkah

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Jewish Meat Knishes Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is knish dough made of? ›

The dough is typically made from flour, olive oil, salt, cold seltzer water, and apple cider vinegar. Ingredients for the filling depend on what flavor you're making. Traditional knish is made with: Russet potatoes.

What are the different types of knishes? ›

In most traditional versions, the filling is made entirely of mashed potato, kasha (buckwheat groats), or cheese. Other varieties of fillings include beef, chicken, sweet potatoes, black beans, or spinach. Knishes may be round, rectangular, or square.

What is the difference between round and square knish? ›

Round knishes can have sweet or savory fillings — potato, kasha (buckwheat groats), mushroom, spinach, or sweet cheese with fruit fillings whereas square are generally potato, through and through, the crispy exterior a result of frying.

What is the difference between a knish and a pierogi? ›

“You never get tired of eating them,” said Bronsther. If you've always wondered the difference between a knish and a pierogi, the pierogi is typically fried or boiled, not baked, resulting in a dumpling texture rather than a pastry shell. But the kitchen full of cooks Sunday was clearly partial to the knish.

What is a New York knish? ›

A bomb of starchy fillings like nutty kasha groats or mashed potato with caramelized onions, wrapped in a thin sheet of dough and baked, the knish is claimed by Russians, Poles, and Ukrainians, and came to New York on the backs of Jewish immigrants.

What is a knish in English? ›

Knish is a Yiddish word with a Russian root, knysh, "cake" or "dumpling." These petite snacks are either baked or fried, and can be round or square, with fillings that sometimes include cheese or kasha in addition to potatoes.

What do you eat with knishes? ›

There's no wrong way to eat a knish, but we like ours served hot, with a side of good mustard. Enjoy one as an appetizer, midday snack, or served alongside a soup or sandwich.

What is the difference between latke and knish? ›

LATKE (pronounced 🙃 LAT-ka) is like a Jewish hash brown. It's also called a potato pancake! 👌Served with sour cream & apple sauce. POTATO KNISH is pastry dough on the outside & 😜mashed potatoes on the inside!

Should knish be warm or cold? ›

Knish can certainly be enjoyed all on their own, but serving them with your favorite mustard, horseradish, or sauerkraut is popular and recommended. Knish are great warm, at room temperature, or even cold – they're great picnic or lunchbox food.

What is a Coney Island knish? ›

One of my earliest notable food experiences was eating potato knishes with my dad in Coney Island. I mean, mashed potatoes in a warm, flaky pastry? This potato fiend will have two, please. Back then, their secret was the copious amounts of chicken fat, aka schmaltz, but here I'll show you how to succeed without it.

What is an Italian knish? ›

The original Italian knish (I tasted only a sample-sized cross-section) might be the most appealing of all: mashed potato is tweaked by sautéed onions and the featured ingredient, provolone. Lenrose Food. www.TheItalianKnish.com. At the annual Ferragosto celebration. Arthur Ave.

What is similar to a knish? ›

Knishes, Cut Open True, both knishes and bourekas (as well as bulemas and, to a degree, boyos) are stuffed pastries. However, most world cuisines feature some sort of stuffed dough. In no order other than what springs to mind: calzones, kubbeh, jiaozi, mantu, kreplach, kutab, samosas and burritos.

How do you cook store bought knishes? ›

When ready to consume, remove frozen knish from freezer, remove plastic wrap and place on a cookie sheet. Bake at 375 degrees. Sweet knishes for 20-25 minutes until warm. Savory knishes for 35-40 minutes, until hot.

When should I eat knish? ›

While knishes are typically thought of as a snack, they are certainly substantial enough to serve as a meal. I especially like to serve knishes at brunch. Or try them as a side dish for brisket or roast chicken.

Is it better to boil or pan fry perogies? ›

A tried and true method for cooking pierogies is frying. The texture is crunchy on the outside and creamy on the inside. And, they make great side dishes, appetizers, or perfect finger-food for snacking!

What is the outside of a knish made of? ›

Knishes are fist-size snacks consisting of mashed potatoes wrapped in paper-thin pastry dough and then baked or fried. Other varieties include fillings made from sweet potatoes, mushrooms, spinach, broccoli, cabbage, cheese, or kasha, which is made from buckwheat groats.

What is strudel dough made of? ›

Ingredients
  1. 2 1/2 cups (300g) King Arthur Unbleached Bread Flour.
  2. 3/4 cup (170g) water, warm.
  3. 2 large egg yolks.
  4. 2 teaspoons vegetable oil.
  5. 1 teaspoon white vinegar.

What are dough balls made of? ›

Traditional doughballs are simply soft white bread rolled into marble-sized balls, then saturated with something smelly, like bacon grease or sardine juice. You can even use store-bought bread dough, though I don't recommend using a commercial package of cookie dough if your kids are on the fishing trip!

What is a kasha knish made of? ›

A traditional knish has a pastry covering surrounding the savory grain filling. In this simplified version, the tender grain mixture is encased in a crunchy wheat germ coating. Quarter potatoes and steam until tender, about 15 to 20 minutes.

References

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