Duck Pierogi with Sour Cherry Sauce

• Updated November 2024
• This dish was served in Lookier, a Restaurant in Gdańsk.
• It was delicious and we went back the following day to have this dish again!

• I thought I would try and recreate this back home in England.
• The sour cherry sauce could be made from jam or some bottled cherries.
• They were served with “sweet” cream – I  would use soured cream for a more authentic Polish dish.
• The duck filling was very meaty – I looked at my recipes for duck pierogi and other meat pierogi .
• I decided to try – a “meaty” version with a duck with onion filling.
• Next time I will try duck with apple filling which should give a contrasting sweetness to the dish – See pierogi with duck.
• However this year (2024) we were served – in a different restaurant – duck pierogi with apple sauce – I will try this out and write about it later. 

Fillings for the pierogi

Ingredients 1

• 150g of cooked duck meat
• 1 onion
• 1 egg yolk
• 2 tablespoon of dried breadcrumbs
• 4-5 tablespoons of chicken stock –  can be stock from poaching the duck.
• *
• salt & ground black pepper to taste
• *
• butter & sunflower oil to fry the onion

Method

• Chop the onion and fry in the butter/oil till golden.
• Finely chop or mince the duck meat or user a stick blender.
• Mix together the chicken, onion, egg yolk and bread crumbs to get a uniform mixture.
• Add some of the chicken stock to get a mixture which is not to dry.

I have written much previously about pierogi  – but have included the instructions for the dough again below.

Ingredients – Dough

• 250g pasta flour or strong flour or plain flour & 2 tablespoons of fine semolina
• 150ml water
• 1 tablespoon oil – sunflower or light olive
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 egg yolk

Method

• In a jug or bowl mix together the water, oil and the yolk.
• Put the flour and salt into a large bowl and make a well in the centre.
• Pour in the liquid from the jug and initially use a knife to mix this into the flour and then use your hands to mix the liquid and flour to get a ball of dough.

• Turn this out onto a floured board and knead the dough for a few minutes until you have a smooth ball.
• Cut the dough into quarters.
• On a floured board roll out a quarter at a time until you have a sheet of thinly rolled dough.
• Now prepare a large tray and cover it with a clean tea towel and sprinkle this with flour.
• Have a large surface such as a tray covered with a cotton or linen cloth which has been lightly floured ready  and place the sealed pierogi on this until they are all made, do not let then touch each other.
• I cut them out using a 7 cm diameter cutter.
• The excess dough can be re-mixed and rolled out again.
• Around a half tablespoon of filling is put on  each circle and then they are folded over and the edges pinched together to make a good seal.
• You learn from experience how much filling to put in as too much will make it hard to seal them and if not properly sealed they will burst on boiling.  Do not worry if you have a few mishaps – it still happens to me even with experience – it is hard to salvage one that has gone wrong – just accept that there will be a few that you do not cook.
• *
• To cook the pierogi, use a large pan of boiling water to which you have added some salt and a drizzle of oil.
• Drop the pierogi in one by one and allow them to boil.  I usually do about 6 to 8 at a time (I only do 6 at a time if using frozen ones).
• As they cook they will float to the surface, let them boil for 2 to 3 minutes, (a bit more if they were frozen*), and then remove them with a slotted or perforated spoon and put into a colander above a pan for a few seconds to drain and serve.
• Continue boiling batches in the same water.
• If you want to make all the pierogi to serve together then you need to get a large shallow dish.
• Put in the pierogi and keep then separated and keep the dish warm in a low oven.
• Notes
  • Do not let them stick together.
  • Easier to serve separate servings.
  • *I often open freeze them for later.

Sour Cherry Sauce

• Make this with around 5 tablespoons of sour cherry jam heated up with the juice of one some lemon and left to cool.
• Or make  a sauce with bottled cherries mixed with potato flour (or cornflour) heated till thickened and left to cool. (Adjust with lemon juice if necessary). NOT TESTED.
• Serve in a separate small dish.
• *
• Serve with soured cream.
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•  
• Option 
• Cook the pierogi as normal.
• Add melted butter.
• Fry the pierogi
• Serve just with the sour cherry sauce.
• Not tested as I did not have any left!