This meat and potato burek recipe is inspired by a traditional Bosnian dish and perfect for serving at a brunch or breakfast for a crowd. With a crisp outside and flavorful inside, this burek pie is a one filling dish that everyone will love.
This post is sponsored by Jones Dairy Farm. All opinions are 100% honest and my own.
Burek in Bosnia
Before I get to the recipe, let me tell you a little bit about the one time I’ve had authentic burek. A couple of months ago my husband I went on a trip to Europe to visit my parents who are currently living in Bosnia. I knew nothing about Bosnia other than what I’d heard during the way back in middle school.
Bosnia was so much more than a war-destroyed city. I’ll be sharing more about our trip to Bosnia soon but for now I want to tell you about one of my favorite memories from the trip.
Right before we left Bosnia, we rode ATVs from just outside Sarajevo up through the mountains into this teeny tiny town. I can’t even call it a town because it really was just a handful of houses, one restaurant, handmade slipper socks to buy, and gorgeous views.
When we arrived on our ATVs, the restaurant owner immediately asked us if we wanted some food. We didn’t realize when we said yes that his mom would be literally cooking everything from scratch on a tiny little wood burning oven in their house. It took about an hour but once it was done, the food they brought out was incredible.
Amazing rolls with raw honey, fresh salads, homemade soups, and three pies, or bureks as they’re actually called. One meat, one potato, and one spinach and cheese.
You can’t get any more traditional than burek on top of a mountainside in Bosnia. It was probably one of the top 10 meals I’ve eaten in my life. And the potato burek was just downright delicious.
Fast forward to now. I’ve been trying really hard to make sure my son doesn’t forget about my parents while they’re on their mission in Bosnia. For a four-year-old not seeing his grandparents for 18 months is tough, so I’m doing my best to involve them in our lives even when they’re so far away.
This weekend we looked through pictures from our trip, and I thought it would be fun to try my hand at recreating the burek I loved so much from the mountainside.
And let me be clear – this is recreating the burek with an American spin, this is not an authentic Bosnian burek since it uses pork.
The recipe is actually super simple and kid-friendly, so I had my son help me after we looked through pictures from our ATV trip. Kids will love filling and rolling up the burek, I know my son did.
Just make sure to have an adult help with cooking the sausage, cutting everything, and of course the actual baking.
How to Make Burek
This burek recipe adds a non-traditional spin on the traditional burek pie by using breakfast meats. This is not a traditional Bosnian version since it uses pork – this is an American breakfast version of the dish. But how you are making burek is still the same.
I started this recipe with two of my favorite breakfast meats – Jones Dairy Farm fully cooked pork sausage links (available in the frozen section) and Jones Dairy Farm Canadian Bacon (refrigerated meat section).
Jones Dairy Farm sausage is still the only breakfast sausage my son will eat, so it was a no-brainer to use that for this recipe he was making with me. Find out where Jones Dairy Farm sausage is available near you.
Start by cooking the sausage and then tossing the sausage and Canadian bacon into a food processor and pulsing to rough chop them into small pieces.
While the sausage is cooking, dice your potatoes. You want everything roughly the same size so it cooks evenly. Then mix everything together.
Next up, place that mixture on the edges of phyllo dough. Then roll it up as tight as possible without tearing the phyllo dough or spilling out the mixture. Last but not least, wrap the entire thing in a tight circle and place it into a greased cast iron pan.
Top with a butter and egg mixture to give it that nice crunch and browned look. And bake. Then enjoy one of the most delicious things you’ve probably never tried before. Unless of course you’ve been to Bosnia and on top of that mountain.
Meat and Potato Bosnian Burek Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 pack Jones Dairy Farm Sausage fully cooked pork sausage links cooked
- 1 pack Jones Dairy Farm Canadian Bacon
- 2 large baking potatoes washed and peeled
- 1 package phyllo dough thawed
- 1 TBS butter melted
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Use a paper towel to wipe a tiny bit of butter or olive oil all around the cast iron pan to prep it for the burek.
- Cook the sausage links according to the package instructions.
- Dice potatoes and Canadian bacon into small cubes.
- Use food processor to pulse cooked sausage links into small chunks.
- Combine the sausage, Canadian bacon, and potatoes in a large bowl and season with salt and pepper.
- Roll out thawed phyllo dough on a clean surface placing pieces next to each other to create one long line of phyllo dough.
- Spoon the meat and potato mixture along the edge of the phyllo dough.
- Tightly roll up the mixture inside of the phyllo dough until you have one long snake of filled phyllo dough.
- Starting at one end, wind the phyllo dough into a roll tightly. Once completely rolled, place into prepared cast iron pan.
- Mix melted button and egg together then use a food brush to lightly brush the mixture over the burek.
- Bake burek in the oven until the top is golden brown, 25-30 minutes.
Nutrition Info
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Don’t forget to pin this burek recipe for later.
Kristi Dominguez says
I’ve actually never heard of a burek before, but now I really want a bite of one! This sounds absolutely delicious. And the backstory from your trip to Bosnia is so sweet…I’ve had the experience of locals cooking for me on a trip somewhere and nothing compares to it! I’m sure that original burek was quite delicious. Love the spin you put on the recipe with all of the yummy breakfast meats.
Sage says
Such beautiful photos! I’m looking forward to reading more about your trip. I moved from the US to Denmark over seven years ago and one of my favorite parts of living in Europe is being able to travel so much. Even though I’m a vegetarian, your recipe looks delicious. I’ve collected many wonderful recipes in my travels and it’s fun revisiting the places I’ve been through the food 🙂
lisa says
What an interesting place to visit, I love your pictures. As for the Bosnian Burek recipe, I would love to make something like this for breakfast. I may try this out for our annual Xmas breakfast, looks so good!
Ali Rost says
I’m so excited to have run across your recipe. Bosnian food isn’t something I’ve had before, and Burek sounds divine. My husband is a meat and potatoes guy all the way, and I’m excited to surprise him with you recipe this week. x
Kiwi says
Wow never heard of burek before. I think this is an awesome brunch recipe. I love how you made this with your child.
Gemille Sleweon says
Europe is one of those continents on my “to-travel list.” Can’t wait to read more about your journey. I’ve never tried Bosnian food before, but this looks delicious.