I’m sure by now you’ve heard about the not-so-delicious ingredients in Hot Pockets. To be honest, I haven’t had a microwaveable Hot Pocket since college, and I’m OK with their absence in my current diet. But, Hot Pockets being all over the news for a few days did make me think “You know what? Those were sort of delicious. In a total junk food kinda way.”
It just so happened that I had a box of puff pastry that had been hanging out in my freezer forever. Homemade Grown-Up Hot Pockets happened immediately. You can put literally whatever you want inside these, but I made this version for two reasons 1.) Pleasing to adults palates. Let’s class these things up! And 2.) Freeze-ability (to microwave for quick lunches later). While fresh cilantro would have been nice in these, would cilantro have frozen well? Not so much. Same goes for soft cheeses like brie and any other ingredient that you suspect would get a bit strange after a layover in the freezer.
So, I kept these super simple with some skirt steak that I marinated in a homemade chipotle marinade, thinly sliced shallots and Monterey Jack cheese. You can assemble them, bake them, eat one for lunch (for quality testing purposes), and then allow them to cool completely before wrapping them in foil and freezing them. When you’re in need of a quick workday lunch, take them from the freezer, unwrap, and microwave about 3 minutes or until heated through.
Yield: 6 servings
Chipotle Steak Grown-Up Hot Pockets
Ingredients
2 chipotles in adobo, plus 2 tablespoons sauce from their can
1/4 cup olive oil
Juice of 1 lime
8 ounces skirt steak
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 package (2 sheets) puff pastry
2 medium shallots, thinly sliced
1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1 egg, beaten
Instructions
In food processor or blender, puree chipotles, adobo sauce, olive oil and lime juice. Place steak in large ziploc bag, pour chipotle mixture over. Seal bag and refrigerate at least 4 hours or up to overnight.
Heat cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Remove steak from marinade; discard marinade. Pat steak dry with paper towels to remove excess marinade. Add vegetable oil to skillet. Place steak in skillet; cook 6 minutes for medium-rare, turning once halfway through cooking. Transfer steak to cutting board; let rest 10 minutes, then thinly slice steak against grain into 1/4-inch-thick strips.
On work surface, unfold 1 sheet of puff pastry. Use pizza cutter or sharp knife to cut it lengthwise into 3 strips (you should be able to just follow the lines where the pastry was folded). Cut each strip crosswise in half. Repeat with remaining sheet of pastry.
Place 2 to 3 slices of steak on each of 6 pieces of puff pastry. Divide shallots and cheese over steak. Brush all four edges of pastry with egg. Place remaining pieces of pastry over top. Use your fingers to stretch the pastry over and lightly seal the edges to form pockets, then use the tines of a fork to press and seal all sides. Transfer pockets to parchment-lined rimmed baking pan and transfer to freezer for 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Remove pockets from freezer; place a second sheet of parchment on top of pockets, and then place a second baking pan on top of parchment (this prevents the pockets from puffing too high). Transfer to oven and bake 18 minutes. Remove top baking pan and parchment, adjust oven setting to broil and place pockets under broiler 2 to 3 minutes or until golden brown and crispy, rotating if necessary. Let stand 5 minutes before serving, or let cool completely before wrapping in foil and freezing.
Hi, I’m Lori! I’m a Detroit-area culinary school graduate, food photographer, recipe developer and english muffin fanatic. This blog is where I post simple, yet special, original recipes for the "home chef" in all of us.
