ottawa foodies

What are your favourite store bought perogies?

I searched for a previous thread and there was a discussion on the cheapest ones (GT) and a couple of store's in passing but not sure I saw what is the best frozen one?

I recently bought some named Grandma's from Stolichni Deli that are from Toronto. While I am not a perogie connaisseur, I did like them, especially after I finished them in bacon and onions in the cast iron pan.

I do recall buying the semi-boiled and frozen ones from the Ukrainian store by IKEA. They were way better but a lot more expensive.

Others you like and recommend? I would like to have some on hand for an easy and quickly made dinner that are decent quality and at an affordable price.

The best perogies I have ever had I bought at Ivan Meat and Deli in Stittsville. One time I bought some frozen ones, made by the Deli and liked them so much I ordered some. The lady (his mother???) makes them from scratch and they are fabulous. I stopped in about a week ago to see if I could order some more but she told me she was not making them right now as they were too busy with the summer BBQ season. She said possibly when the weather cools she will make them. They do sell frozen ones although I have not tried those particular ones. Pay them a visit in the fall and see if you can order some. I have had perogies from the Ukrainian store by IKEA and while they are very good (but expensive) Ivan's are better (and cheaper). Meanwhile, I'll be watching this thread to see if anyone else has any suggestions.

Great topic!

In my experience, frozen perogies are all about equal. I've not had one that was any better than any other. I always buy the gigantic bag of no-name perogies at Loblaws when I get that hankering.

Which I am getting now.
Thanks a lot.

Hmmm. I wonder if I could finish them on the bbq? Interesting, but probably not. If I've already had a pot of boiling water going in the kitchen, frying up some bacon and onions isn't going to add to that considerably.

Giant Tiger, believe it or not :-) They are made at a factory in Alberta for the whole chain. I like to put hot sauce on them. The one ashley recommended (link below):

ottawafoodies.com

By the way the bubble tea shop on somerset turned into a bubble tea and dumpling shop. The dumplings are hand made. You can eat them there or buy them frozen to take home.

I think frozen perogies come out better if you steam them, rather than boil them.

I'm also fond of the Giant Tiger ones, and you can't argue with the price. And definitely hot sauce on them, I tend towards either Valentina black label or El Yucateco green habanero. Will have to try them with chili oil sometime, maybe toss some in while I'm pan-frying them.

Yeah we are also big fans of the GT ones. They are surprisingly good.

The current Giant Tiger ones are not the same ones referenced in the other thread. The previous ones were made in Alberta by Ukrainian Family Foods (IIRC) and had only real food ingredients in them (no chemical additives, etc). The new GT branded ones are not the same ingredients-wise and not nearly as tasty. They also use simulated bacon, last I checked. I don't find they boil up as well as the UFF ones, and the dough is really tough and gummy. :p

The ones you can get at Costco at the Perogi kiosk when it is there are really tasty, though.

Where can you still get the ones made by Ukranian Family Foods ?

I don't know. I looked around, but most places seem to be the same crappy pergoies rebranded under no-name and store brands (judging by the ingredients and package info). You might be able to contact them directly and ask which Ottawa stores they supply.

I couldn't find them by google, but is there a good source of frozen perogies online? I've bought frozen foods from Toronto before. They were put in a styrofoam box with ice packs and they were still frozen when they arrived.

The frozen perogies at the Russian deli on Carling are from Toronto. They might have other brands, I just picked out these Grandma's ones to try.

www.stolichnideli.com

I find the ones from M&Ms aren't too bad

For real, non-frozen, eat-in pierogies you cannot beat House Of Targ.

are the ladies at Perogies Takeout still in business? If so anyone been lately and able comment on their perogies re quality and price?

As for frozen perogies the tastiest brand I've bought (so far) are supremepierogies.ca/, especially the mushroom and saurkraut. The only place I know that carries them is Bakkers general store at Mitch Owens and Manotick Station Road, but I know I've seen them somewhere else in Ottawa. They are definitely a cut or 2 above NN perogies!

Andy, I've seen them at Rainbow Foods. I agree, they are quite good. A little pricy but really nice. Not too big on the sweet ones though.

@ricelover, let us know how they are !

Refashionista, do you remember the Costco brand? I have that niggling sense that the brand is Supreme, but I could well be wrong.

Zym could check our freezer -- there should still be a bag in there. He's in Ottawa and I'm in the land of high tides, dulse and lobster. ;)

Saslove's on Wellington St carries the Supreme brand. Not sure about the market location. I've bought them a few times, but they weren't my favourite. I like the Perogies take-out by Ikea.

www.saslovesmeat.com

The Perogies take-out has a still active FB page
www.facebook.com

Want lots of choice in frozen perogies ?

Check this out !

ottawafoodies.com

@Captain Caper That is where I got the Grandma's brand. I got potato and cheese but didn't taste the cheese much. Overall, soft and a bit of chewiness in the dough. Very good but not great as the ones at the Ukrainian store. Cheaper though.

Anyone ever try the perogies from House of Targ?

Yes, I mentioned House of Targ above. The pierogies there are excellent.

I think we shall have perogies for supper -- just remembered I've a bag in the freezer from the last time the pierogi booth was at Costco. :)

Favourite toppings for pierogies?

I like fried onions and mushrooms, grated sharp cheddar, mashed avocado (great sour cream replacement), bacon and sriracha. :)

AD_2 So you did. I should have looked through this thread a little closer.

Man, I misread the title as Beer Store Bought frozen Perogies and thought one of the beers stores were selling perogies which would be a great marketing move for them.

I've recently tried the ones from Pelmen that I found at our Independent in Almonte.

Very fresh with good flavours, quite impressed.

Some unique combo's that were very nice, (sauerkraut & mushrooms), (potato with spinach and feta) and (potato with cheddar and Jalapeno)

Made in Canada but I have never heard of the company.

Not sure I'll try the pizza ones... maybe after enough beer.

I'm sure the wife and little one will love the desert ones.

Personally I want to try their Pelmeni.

Polka Delicatessen at 1574 Walkley Rd. This has frozen home made perogies. Many types from savory to sweet.

They also have these great plum chocolates ... chocolate with a whole dried plum in the center.

Piggy Market at Winston Ave and Richmond Rd has magnificent perogies. But they ain't cheap.

Is anything there cheap?

I think it's free to get in.

You think.
Well, check it out and get back to me.
;)

Nope. $3 cover per person. Including kids.

I found some Supreme brand perogies at Food Basics earlier this fall and my faves have been the mushroom with sauerkraut and the pork; my dw liked the mushroom and sauerkraut too but didn't like the pork. We had the sweet cheese perogies tonight and neither of us liked them - they have a bit of sugar and vanilla in them so I treated them as a meal ender kinda like dessert, and served them with a dollop of sour cream with a bit of icing sugar and vanilla stirred in. Dw didn't like them at all, I found them only mildly interesting - they were filled with a cheese kind of like dry curd and no potato or other filler. I wonder if they might be better deep fried?
The perogies were $1.49 per package, about 1/4 the price I last paid at Bakker's. Sheesh. Unfortunately I haven't seen them at FB since I bought them.
Edit to add that I boiled then fried the sweet cheese perogies in butter.

And then there are the Supreme Cheddar, Broccoli and Potato perogies we enjoyed last night...

... from ...

...uh...Supreme...?

Yeah ... I don't know what that is.

It's a brand of perogie being discussed in this thread. Kind of obvious...

Another picture may make it clear for ya Rizak...

Where does one buy them... is what I think he was getting at.

If not it's what I'm asking now, from?

:)

Lots of options mentioned above.

I think the question being asked here is - "Where does one buy the "Supreme" brand of perogies"

Andy mentioned that he first picked them up at Food Basics, but he then mentioned that he did not see tham at Food Bascis when he went back.

Thanks for being oh so helpful though AD_2....

Other places mentioned (in this thread) that sell Supreme are Bakker's, Rainbow Foods, and Saslove's on Wellington.

You're welcome. :)

Thanks.

Glebe Meat Market,
Continental Deli (Byward mkt),
Warsaw Polish Deli
...all sell Supreme brand too.

We had the Cheemo Heritage Perogies, Harvest Cheddar variety (www.cheemo.com) for dinner tonight. They come in a box instead of a plastic bag like the other Cheemo perogies. It says NEW on the box, and i don't recall seeing them before. They were really excellent for cheap grocery store perogies. Bought them at Loblaws South Keys.

Karey, what were the skins like? I find the commercial ones usually have a fairly thick skin.

I've seen the Cheemo ones before, often at Freshco/Food Basics. I've always wondered if they were better than the Loblaws brand ones.

I found the dough to be a little thinner than the regular Cheemo perogies, but it's a little tougher than the homemade perogies I've had. Still, we thought they were pretty good!

We bought some potato/cheese/bacon Perogies this past week at Farm Boy and had them last night. They are a Farm Boy brand, made in Toronto but I don't know who makes them. They are very good, so good in fact that I am going back today to pick up some more. I can't remember what we paid for them but I will post the price later.

The Food Basics on St. Laurent has Supreme brand perogies for $2.99 per bag. I took all the broccoli, potato & cheddar cheese ones that were in the freezer today.

The perogies at Farm Boy are $3.99 for a pound. They have five varieties and the bag I opened contained 25 perogies. I found out that not all FB locations carry them but the Merivale road one does. These are very good perogies.

Pictured are the Supreme (bigger ones) and the Grandma's (2 smaller ones), both cheddar and potato. Eaten side by side, the Supreme is clearly better; they have a softer/more tender skin. The Grandma's were chewier but not in a good way. The filling were not noticeably different.

I'm completely new to the world of perogies but I spotted some Supreme brand ones at the store the other day and picked up a bag to try. The instructions on the bag suggest to boil in water for 8 minutes, drain and serve. Is this really the best way to cook them? What kind of texture should I be aiming for...al dente, similar to pasta or should they be cooked until soft? I'm open to suggestions and tips from all you perogie experts out there.

Boil perogies. I cook chopped bacon in a frying pan and scoop it out when done. Then I cook chopped onions in the bacon fat (pour some of the fat off if there is too much) and when translucent, take them out of the pan and add to the bacon. Put the boiled perogies in the now empty frying pan, adding a bit of the reserved fat if needed, and lightly fry until both sides are browned. Add it the bacon and onions to re-heat. Serve with sour cream.

As you are new to perogies I'd suggest going with the boiling according to pkg directions. You do want a soft dough when cooked, and the internal temp usually has to get to I think 165F but who measures that. A really good perogy will be really good boiled with just sour cream added to serve and help bring out the flavours. It's my favourite way with homemade perogies, which really are the very best perogies.
Next time try boiling and frying them as felinefan suggests, or more simply boil the perogies, and while boiling, melt some butter in a frying pan on medium or a little lower, and about 2 minutes before the perogies are done add some chopped onion and stir; when perogies are done spoon them out with a slotted spoon and add to the onions and brown on both sides. Alternatively for caramelized onions start the onions before the perogies and when they just show signs of starting to brown add the perogies to the boiling waterand when they are done add them to the onions and brown and serve with sour cream.
When boiling perogies add the frozen perogies to salted water at a hard boil; when the water returns to a hard boil immediately turn down the temp and boil gently and stir very gently so the perogies don't split open.
Best of luck, Stella, and enjoy your perogies!

Boil perogies. I cook chopped bacon in a frying pan and scoop it out when done. Then I cook chopped onions in the bacon fat (pour some of the fat off if there is too much) and when translucent, take them out of the pan and add to the bacon. Put the boiled perogies in the now empty frying pan, adding a bit of the reserved fat if needed, and lightly fry until both sides are browned. Add it the bacon and onions to re-heat. Serve with sour cream.

This is a subject that always gets me a lot of looks, but I will come out and say that I prefer them just boiled. I don't like the pan fry afterwards. I find that, often, the bacon fat (or whatever oil) and the crisped dough take away from the soft potato-y insides. If I wanted crispy dough or crispy potato, I'd eat a french fry or a beavertail.

I get the Supreme onion/potato ones, boil them until they float (occasionally poking them with a finger to see if they're still frozen, and drain them into a bowl. Bring fork to mouth. Repeat for the whole bag.

When this thread first came up, I thought it said "BEER store bought perigees" and wondered when did the Beer Store start selling frozen food?

Now that I know what it says, my thought is how much I miss all the church lunches and suppers when we lived out west, where the tables would be heavily laden with perigees, sauerkraut, and boiled wheat. Yum.

Agreed with going with boiled. An alternative topping is to fry the onions in bacon fat, add milk/cream/sour cream, salt and pepper to create a white sauce (you can thicken a bit with flour, but the sauce should be thin). Top perogies with sauce.

I think they really are better boiled, the Supreme ones that is, they are nice and tender.
Tomato sauce, with or without meat, is another possibility. Perogies are much like ravioli, in fact in Italy I had cheese and potato ravioli (I couldn't resist them on the menu) with a meat and tomato sauce, Bolognese sauce, that were delicious!
I've never had white sauce, sounds good, maybe better with some garlic. Thanks, sourdough.

Deep Fried... the way to go with sour cream, bacon and chives.

@MichaelGA: Marry me?

For an interesting change of pace, you can bake them off in the barbecue with a chunk of wood for smoke (we have a big green egg). We take frozen perogies, toss them with some oil and then apply a spice mixture and toss them on the egg for 30 minutes or so.

Had some of the precooked homemade ones from Continental Deli in the Byward Market... delicious. Can't remember the price. Their homemade bacon goes really well with them.

@Rizak... with your awesome bitters and chill stones I'm tempted but i'm sure my wife would highly disapprove.

@Food Buddy - sounds interesting I'll give it a go this weekend, no BGE but I'm sure the webber will do fine. Sounds kinda like you're shallow frying them in foil with smoke?

Didn't buy any myself, but fwiw there's a sizeable and pretty legit-looking selection of perogies over at Adam's Sausages (Adams Sausages), which is tucked away in an industrial park near St. Laurent.

What about the perogie place beside the Ottawa Citizen and IKEA ?

@Francis: They're good, but not exactly cheap. The ones they have cooking in store are fresh and delicious. The frozen ones are also good. The ones I tried, anyway. I can only assume that the others would be as well. They have many different stuffings.

Costco on Hunt Club is demonstrating Pelmen perogies right now. They have 10 different varieties and cost $10.49 for three bags. The bags are 625 grams each with the exception of the only sweet one I saw, blueberry, which has 454 grams. They are also selling Pelmeni chicken ones in their frozen section. We had the potato with jalapeno ones last night and they were very good.

I was about to say Pelmen is really good-I used to get them at Independent Billings Bridge-I tried the cherry ones and they were good,but I did not like them boiled.
Baked in the oven w a glaze to make them crispy.

Not sure if they still have cherry filled, bought them 1+ years ago.
There is a frozen kind from Polka deli, they are made in Toronto and the mushroom filled ones are really good. I forget the brand,but am going there later this week...

I took some potato pirogi and glazed them w a teriyaki sauce and baked in the oven till crispy for a party and served w a sour cream dip and they went very quickly and everyone liked them!
Maybe that sounds weird,but everyone did like them.

Oh man, I had my fair share of the Pelmen free samples during the last set of demonstrations a month or two back.. was not the only one dawdling around the counter, waiting to get some. That said, I wasn't sure that they'd translate just as well at home-- seemed like they were using equipment to cook them that I definitely don't have (but I'm not terribly kitchen-literate, so maybe it was all actually simple stuff .. sure they're good either way).

Someone has probably said it above already, but I'll add that I've been picking up perogies from the place in the strip mall on Baxter, near Ikea/Ottawa Citizen/Funhaven. Think it's actually just called 'Perogies' (website here: www.perogi.ca/)-- small, friendly, eastern European family-run place, and their stuff is delicious. You can buy frozen or fresh/refrigerated.. you can get a bag with about 25-30 of em for $7.50 even. Had the potato cheddar just the other night, and they were so good.

Unfortunately it seems Food Basics no longer carries the Supreme brand of pierogies. I'm planning on trying the Farm Boy ones to see if they compare.

Polka Deli on Walkley rd sells the Supreme brand of pierogies and one other frozen kind.

I just bought the sourkraut and mushroom version two days ago.

They have some Supreme at the No Frills in Orleans, and more kinds, including fruit (!) ones (haven't tried; I don't even know how you would eat them), at Bakker's in Manotick Station.

The fruit pierogies-I read online people boil them and serve them with a sweet sauce or fruit mousse.

But to me boiled fruit dumplings I'm not too crazy about that.

I brush them with a glaze-could be maple syrup or some oil and bake in the oven so they are like mini crispy pies.
Serve with whipped cream or some kind of sweet dip.

You can also deep fry the fruit pierogies-but too much trouble for me.

I usually defrost them in the microwave 45 seconds x once or twice, then put them on parchment paper-brush with glaze on one side at a time...or both sides at once if you want.

Put in oven at around 400 for 8-10 minutes or until they look crispy, flip over and brush glaze or put back in oven so other side is crispy.
-serve hot or room temp if you want.

**I have also tried brushing pierogies with a teriyaki sauce/glaze and bake in oven, serve with a sour cream dip.
I've done that for a party a few times and everyone liked them.

I've tried the cherry and also blueberry pierogies.

Anyone else have any good dessert ideas or ways or making pierogies??