Veal Meatball Pelmeni

Veal Meatball Pelmeni is my interpretation of a dish served at Kachka in Portland, part of their celebrated Ruskie Zakuski Experience. This style of dining features a large spread of eight to ten small plates, each offering a taste of Russia and the broader Slavic region. It’s a feast designed for sharing—best enjoyed with a flight of ice-cold Russian vodka, which, I’ll admit, I’ve come to appreciate thanks to Chef Bonnie Frumpkin Morales. Her hospitality, along with her guidance on crafting the perfect pelmeni dough, inspired me to create my own at home.

Pelmeni are small, traditional Russian dumplings made with unleavened dough and a savory meat filling. The classic version combines minced beef seasoned simply with onion, garlic, salt, and pepper. My take replaces that mixture with a delicate veal meatball mix, giving the dish a more refined flavor while preserving the comforting essence of the original.

My recent travels to Alaska—lest we forget, once Russian territory, re-ignited my love for these hearty little dumplings. We discovered a restaurant there devoted entirely to pelmeni, and that meal lingered in my mind. It left me determined to recreate and share them with friends and family, a delicious bridge between Russian tradition and our American kitchens.

First Step: Make the Dough

Sift the flour and salt directly into the bowl of a stand mixer with a dough hook. Mix on low while adding the egg and immediately drizzling in the ice-water until there are no dry ingredients remaining and stop. Do not over-mix.

Transfer to a lightly floured work-surface and knead for 2-5 minutes, form into a ball and wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Let it rest at room temp for one hour while you make the filling.

Caution: over-mixing or over-kneading will form too much gluten leaving you with a stiff dough

Making the Veal Meatball Filling

The filling is a variation of my meatloaf and meatball mix, normally with equal amounts of all three meats. This uses a majority of veal, but still has a touch of beef and pork for the flavor.

Finely grate the onion on a box grater, capturing the juice to use it all. Place the veal, beef, pork, grated onion with juice, salt and ice-water into a stand mixer with a paddle attachment. Mix on low speed until combined and all the liquid is absorbed by the meats – about 1 minute. Test it with a pinch between your fingers that should feel tacky. Stop and refrigerate until the dough is ready.

Assembling the Veal Meatball Pelmeni

The easiest method uses a pelmenitsa, available for about $15-$20 via online shopping, but if you prefer you may make standard half-moon dumplings by hand.

Unwrap the dough and cut into 6 (for 117 pelmeni) or 8 equal pieces (for 156). Roll them into balls. Use the first and cover the 5-7 remaining balls with a damp kitchen towel to prevent them from drying out.

Use only enough flour to prevent sticking to your hands, the work surface and rolling pin, roll it out into a thin layer large enough to cover the pelmenitsa. Cover your pelmenitsa with the dough, press the holes gently and fill the depressions with your veal mixture.

Roll out a second ball, spray the fillings and dough on the pelmenitsa lightly with water from a spray bottle, cover with the new dough layer and seal the fillings in the dumplings with the rolling pin. Press hard and the pelmenitsa will do all the work trimming the dumplings to size.

Remove the excess dough from the edges and save it to make some bonus dumplings, invert the pelmenitsa and gently push them out onto a floured, rimmed baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough until it and any excess is used up.

Refrigerate until ready to cook, or freeze overnight and transfer to air-tight freezer bags for use later.

Prepare the Adjika Butter Sauce

Place the butter in a covered heavy bottom pot the night before. Place the adjika paste in the pot before boiling the pelmeni.

Cooking and Serving

Prepare your garnish by slicing the mint into a chiffonade and gathering the sour cream and fleur de sel.

Bring a pot of well salted water to a rolling boil, add the pelmeni and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally to make sure none stick to the bottom. Test one by cutting it in half to make sure the meat is cooked through. If not continue cooking them another minute until it is.

Use a spider to transfer the pelmeni to a colander and shake to remove excess water, then place the pelmeni into the pot with the butter and adjika paste. Stir and fold gently. The heat from the pelmeni will melt the butter and combine with the paste until it emulsifies into a silky coating.

Portion the pelmeni into serving bowls, garnish with the mint, sour cream and a touch of fleur de sel. Print