Lithuanian Cepelinai Traditional Dumplings (Printer-friendly)

Hearty Lithuanian potato dumplings filled with seasoned pork and beef, topped with sour cream and bacon sauce.

# What You Need:

→ Dumplings

01 - 3.3 lbs starchy potatoes, peeled
02 - 2 medium potatoes, boiled and mashed
03 - 1 tsp salt
04 - 1 tbsp potato starch, optional for binding

→ Meat Filling

05 - 9 oz ground pork
06 - 5 oz ground beef
07 - 1 small onion, finely chopped
08 - 1 clove garlic, minced
09 - 1 tsp salt
10 - ½ tsp black pepper

→ Sauce

11 - 5 oz bacon or smoked pork belly, diced
12 - 1 small onion, finely chopped
13 - 1¼ cups sour cream
14 - 1 tbsp fresh dill, chopped, optional

# Steps:

01 - Grate raw potatoes finely, squeeze out excess liquid using cheesecloth, allow liquid to settle, discard water and reserve potato starch sediment.
02 - Combine squeezed grated potatoes, mashed boiled potatoes, salt, and reserved potato starch. Mix until dough forms; add more potato starch if too wet.
03 - Mix ground pork, ground beef, chopped onion, garlic, salt, and black pepper until thoroughly combined.
04 - Wet hands, take dough portion the size of a large egg, flatten, add a heaping tablespoon of meat filling, and enclose filling shaping into an oval dumpling. Repeat for all portions.
05 - Simmer salted water gently; add dumplings in batches without crowding. Cook 25 to 30 minutes until dumplings float and feel firm.
06 - Fry diced bacon until crisp, add chopped onion and sauté until golden. Stir in sour cream and dill, warming gently without boiling.
07 - Plate dumplings hot and spoon bacon sour cream sauce over them.

# Top Tips:

01 -
  • The contrast of creamy potato exterior and savory meat center feels luxurious for something so humble and honest.
  • Once you master the shaping, you've got a showstopping main dish that actually tastes better when made with your hands and a little patience.
  • The sour cream and bacon sauce is rich enough to make you feel spoiled but simple enough to make on the same night.
02 -
  • Squeezing the potatoes is not optional and not a suggestion—it's the difference between dumplings and potato soup. Most home cooks undersqueeze and then wonder why their dumplings fall apart in the water.
  • Never let the sour cream boil, or it will break and separate into grainy lumps instead of staying smooth and luxurious.
  • If your dumplings sink and never float, you either overfilled them or didn't seal them properly—they'll still taste fine, just cook a bit longer to be safe.
03 -
  • Save every drop of that starch from the reserved potato liquid—it's worth a tablespoon of commercial potato starch in terms of flavor and texture, and it costs nothing.
  • Test-cook one dumpling before cooking the whole batch; if it falls apart, your dough needs more starch; if it sinks and never floats, your filling might be too generous.
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