A friend of Mom and Dad’s, Tonda Alvarez, just mentioned them on Facebook. She wrote, “Made bierocks for supper tonight. Missing my friend Gail Lee Martin, because I always took her some for her freezer.” That surprised me, as I had no idea that Mom ever ate something as exotic as bierocks.
Tonda Alverez and Gail Lee Martin with a display of their canned goods.
Immigrants of Russian or eastern European origin brought the recipe with them to Kansas and Nebraska. Our family leaned strongly to the meat and potatoes diet of England, Ireland, and Scotland. As far as I know, there are no Russians or eastern Europeans on our family tree.
If you want to see a recipe and photos of bierocks, follow the link. If you live in El Dorado, Kansas, check with the Alverez family at the farmer’s market in the summer. Maybe they have bierocks along with their famous fruit pies.
I asked Tonda about the folks liking the small meat pies. She said, “She loved them. I would wrap them individually for their freezer, but she would always eat one the minute I got them there!”
I’d never eaten bierocks until visiting my sister, Karen, in Lexington, Kentucky a few years ago. She made a batch which we enjoyed very much. Since we were traveling in our RV, she sent some along with us for our lunch further down the road.
Discovering Mom 