new york reuben hot pockets

Of all the hot pockets I made this month, I think this one was my favorite, not because I live within driving distance from New York City or because I live in New York State, but because I made it with lots of elbow grease and love(ok, now I sound like SpongeBob Squarepants now when he professes his love for Krabby Patties). It's the only Hot Pocket I made from scratch, plus my grandma raved about it. She was so amazed I could fit all those ingredients inside one hot pocket.

My dad wasn't much of a fan of this recipe, probably because I used canned corned beef instead of the type you get at the deli that is (hopefully) fresh. He said it smelled like dog food! Trust me, it tastes better than it smells. Plus my cats love the smell of canned meats so they thought this recipe was for them. Sorry!

I think my recipe is truly unique because I had a hard time finding any recipe regarding a hot pocket made with rye flour. It hasn't been done before. I did consider using 100% rye flour instead of a mixture of all-purpose flour and rye flour but when I looked at recipes to make rye bread using 100% rye flour but that recipe was too time-consuming, as it called for letting the dough rise overnight for 16-18 hours! Ain't nobody got time for that(pardon my grammar)!

But I did find a video on YouTube of a lady named Noreen from "Noreen's Kitchen" making a Reuben pizza crust using a mixture of rye flour and all-purpose flour. I followed all of her steps up until the point where she flattens the dough to form a pizza crust. That's where our two recipes diverge.

I can guarantee you this: this recipe isn't for people who a gluten-sensitive/allergic to gluten or have celiac disease, as I used vital wheat gluten to make handling the dough easier. I can also guarantee you that this hot pocket is delicious if you're into Reuben sandwiches. And you don't mind the smell of canned corned beef.

You will need:

For the cooking vessels:

A large bowl
A medium bowl
A benchscraper
A lasagna pan
Nonstick cooking spray
A countertop or cutting board
A rolling pin or beer bottle

For the hot pockets, you will need:

1 cup of very warm water
2 packets(0.5 oz.) of instant dry yeast
1 tbsp. of granulated sugar
1 tbsp. of olive oil
1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour
1/2 cup of rye flour
1 tsp. of salt
1 tbsp. of caraway seeds
1 tbsp. of vital wheat gluten
An additional 2-3 tbsp. of rye flour if the dough gets sticky
One 12-ounce can of corned beef
3/4 cup of sauerkraut
3/4 cup of shredded swiss cheese
6 tbsp. of Russian dressing
3 tbsp. of paprika
An additional tbsp. of caraway seeds

1. Add the first 4 ingredients to a large bowl.
2. Stir the ingredients around with your finger so the yeast can feed on the sugar.
3. Keep stirring as you add the next 5 ingredients into the bowl, one ingredient at a time.
4. Mix up all the ingredients using your hands until you get a dough ball.
5. If the dough ball is sticky, add the additional 2-3 tbsp. of rye flour.
6. Using your benchscraper, get the dough ball out of the bowl and onto a floured surface.
7. Knead the dough ball for 5-10 minutes until the dough ball is no longer sticky.
8. Spray medium bowl with nonstick cooking spray.
9. Put dough ball in medium bowl.
10. Spray dough ball with nonstick cooking spray so the dough ball doesn't dry out.
11. Cover the dough ball in bowl with plastic wrap.
12. Put medium bowl in a warm place(like under a light at room temperature) for 10 minutes so the dough can rise a bit.
13. After 10 minutes, put the risen dough ball on a floured surface.
14. To cut the dough into 6 pieces, first cut the dough into thirds. Then cut each third in half.
15. Set 5 of the 6 dough pieces aside for now.
16. Put one dough piece on a floured surface. Flatten it using a rolling pin.
17. Remove the corned beef from the can. Divide the corned beef into 6 pieces.
18. Put each sixth of corned beef(about 2 ounces of corned beef) onto half of the flattened dough.
19. Put 2-3 tbsp. of sauerkraut, 2-3 tbsp. of shredded swiss cheese, and 1 tbsp. of Russian dressing on top of the corned beef, in that order.
20. Fold the hot pocket lengthwise, with the dough that's not covered with anything wrapped around the filling, making sure no parts of the filling stick out.
21. To let steam vent out of the hot pockets, poke 2-3 holes in each hot pocket, using a fork.
22. Spray lasagna pan with nonstick cooking spray.
23. Put hot pocket in lasagna pan.
24. Repeat steps 16-21 and 23 five more times for the remaining dough pieces.
25. Sprinkle 1/2 tbsp. of paprika on each hot pocket.
26. Sprinkle an additional tbsp. of caraway seeds onto all six hot pockets(so each hot pocket is covered with 1/6 tbsp. of caraway seeds).
27. Bake in a 400 degree Fahrenheit oven for 15-20 minutes, or until the dough is fully cooked(that is, you can poke the hot pocket using a fork and there is no dough residue on the fork).
28. If you're not going to eat all the hot pockets in one sitting, let the ones you're not eating today cool down for 30 minutes. Then place each hot pocket in a plastic bag and put the plastic bags in a freezer until you want them. To defrost, let hot pockets sit at room temperature for 3-4 hours. Then reheat in microwave for a minute.
29. Bon appetit!