Corned Beef Pockets Recipes

CORN MASA POCKETS WITH CLASSIC SHREDDED BEEF: GORDITAS CON CARNE DESHEBRADA

Steps:

• The Shredded beef filling: In a medium saucepan set over medium heat, combine the meat with 2 quarts salted water, about 1/3 of the onions, and half of the garlic and simmer until the meat is very tender, about 1 1/2 hours. Strain, reserving the broth for another use. When the meat is cool enough to handle, shred it into coarse strands with your fingers or 2 forks ? don't worry that there are bits of onion and garlic mixed with the meat.
• Wash and dry the saucepan, set it over medium heat and add 1 tablespoon of the oil. When the oil is hot, add half of the remaining onions and cook until golden, about 6 minutes, then stir in the remaining garlic and cook for another minute. Add the tomatoes and chiles and cook until most of the juice has evaporated, about 3 minutes. Stir in the shredded meat and simmer for a few more minutes, then taste and season with about 1/2 teaspoon salt. Remove from the heat and set aside.
• Forming, filling, and griddle-baking the gorditas: Heat a well-seasoned or nonstick griddle or heavy skillet over medium heat. Knead the masa (fresh or reconstituted) to make it pliable, adding a little water if necessary to achieve a soft-cookie-dough consistency. Knead in the flour, baking powder, and 3/4 teaspoon salt. Divide the dough into 10 portions and roll into balls; cover with plastic to keep from drying out. Line a tortilla press with 2 pieces of plastic cut to fit the plates (to be on the safe side, cut them from a food storage bag; the thicker plastic usually works better for beginners). Gently press out a ball of dough between the sheets of plastic to about 4 inches in diameter (it'll be about 1/4 inch thick). You've now made a gordita, which is what you call a fat tortilla. Peel off the top sheet of plastic, flip the gordita, uncovered side down, onto the fingers of 1 hand, and gently peel off the second piece of plastic. In one flowing movement, roll the gordita off your hand and onto the heated griddle or skillet. Bake for about 1 1/2 minutes, then flip and bake for another 1 1/2 minutes on the other side. The gordita will be lightly browned and crusty on the top and bottom, but still a little uncooked on the sides. Remove to a plate. Continue pressing and griddle-baking the remaining gorditas in the same manner.
• Finishing the gorditas: When you're ready to serve, warm the shredded beef. Rinse the remaining onions in a small strainer under cold water and shake to remove the excess moisture. Have the cheese and cilantro at the ready.
• In a deep heavy medium skillet or saucepan, heat 1/2-inch of oil over medium to medium-high until the oil is hot enough to make the edge of a gordita sizzle sharply, about 350 degrees F on a deep-fry thermometer. One by one, fry the gorditas, turning them after they've been in the oil for about 15 seconds, until they're nicely crisp but not hard, about 45 seconds total. When they're ready, most will have puffed up a little, like pita bread. Drain on paper towels.
• Once they all are fried, use a small knife to cut a slit in the thin edge of each one about halfway around its circumference, opening a pocket. As you cut them, fill each gordita with about 1/4-cup shredded meat and a sprinkling of the onions, grated cheese, and cilantro.
• Line up the filled gorditas on a serving platter and pass them around (with plenty of napkins) for your guest to enjoy.

MINI GOLDEN BEEF POCKETS

Steps:

• For the filling: Preheat the oven 400 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the beef, onion and garlic and cook until the beef is browned and crumbly, about 10 minutes. Stir in the ketchup, all-purpose seasoning, browning sauce, jerk seasoning, allspice, ginger, soy sauce, thyme, green onions and tomato. Cook until the mixture is bubbly and heated through, about 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside to cool.
• For the dough: Unroll the dough and trim the edges to create a rectangle. Cut each pie dough into four even pieces. Place half of the rectangles on the prepared baking sheets. Spoon the filling evenly into the center of each rectangle. Brush the edges with water and place the remaining rectangles on top. Crimp the edges with a fork. Cut slits in the tops of the pockets to allow steam to escape. Bake until the dough begins to brown and crisp around the edges, about 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, mix the butter and turmeric in a bowl until combined. Brush the pockets with the turmeric butter. Bake until done, another 5 minutes.

HEARTY BEEF & CABBAGE POCKETS

Steps:

• Let dough stand at room temperature 30-40 minutes or until softened. In a Dutch oven, cook beef, sausage and onion over medium heat 12-15 minutes or until meat is no longer pink, breaking meat into crumbles; drain. Stir in carrots, chiles, mustard, salt and pepper. Add cabbage in batches; cook and stir until tender., On a lightly floured surface, press or roll each dinner roll into a 5-in. circle. Top with a heaping 1/3 cup filling; bring edges of dough up over filling and pinch to seal., Place on baking sheets coated with cooking spray, seam side down. Cover with kitchen towels; let rise in a warm place until almost doubled, about 45 minutes. Preheat oven to 350°., Whisk egg whites and water; brush over tops. Sprinkle with caraway seeds. Bake 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Freeze option: Freeze baked and cooled pockets in an airtight container. To use, reheat pockets on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray in a preheated 350° oven 30-35 minutes or until heated through; cover loosely with foil if needed to prevent overbrowning.

CORNED BEEF, BROCCOLI AND SWISS CHEESE POCKETS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 425 degrees. In medium nonstick skillet, heat butter until hot. Add onion; cook and stir 2 to 3 minutes or until tender. Remove from heat; add corned beef, broccoli, cheese and pepper; mix well.
• On ungreased baking sheet, unroll pizza dough; cut into quarters. Flatten each quarter into 6 x 5-inch rectangle; spread each with 2 teaspoons dressing to within 1-inch from edges.
• Place equal amounts of corned beef mixture in center of each. Bring together 2 opposite corners of dough, pinching to seal. Loosely close straight edges of dough to form diamond-shaped sandwiches. (Not necessary to seal edges completely).
• Bake in 425 degree oven 11 to 13 minutes or until golden brown.

PARTY CORNED BEEF PUFFS

Steps:

• Mix together the corned beef, onion, mustard, mayonnaise, and horseradish. Cover and refrigerate.
• Preheat an oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C).
• In a large pot, bring beer and butter to a rolling boil. Stir in flour and salt until the mixture forms a ball. Transfer the dough to a large mixing bowl. Using a wooden spoon or stand mixer, beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto a lightly greased baking sheet.
• Bake for 10 minutes in the preheated oven. Reduce temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) and bake an additional 10 minutes until golden brown. Centers should be dry.
• When the shells are cool, split the puffs and fill with the corned beef mixture. Refrigerate until ready to serve.