The Art of Making Homemade Hot Pockets

As we sat down to cook our first homemade hot pocket, it was clear that this would be a fun and delicious challenge for all involved. Our field skillet was heated up with a little bit of avocado oil, and we were ready to get started. The first participant in our cooking challenge, Duker, came over to give it a try, but he was just a little too eager and ended up making a mess before even getting a chance to take a bite.

Our next participant, Major, was more careful and managed to get his hot pocket into the skillet without any issues. He waited patiently as we fried the hot pocket on all four corners until it was golden brown, and then he took a big bite. The result was a delicious and flaky crust filled with savory goodness. But what really made this hot pocket special was the garlic butter that we spread on top of it after cooking.

As we continued to cook our hot pockets, we couldn't help but think about how easy it would be to make them in a microwave or oven. But our experience told us that frying them in a skillet brought out a whole new level of flavor and texture. We were also experimenting with different toppings and fillings, from pepperoni and cheese to veggies and herbs.

One of the most important tips we learned was to get the hot pocket golden brown on both sides before standing it up on the edge of the skillet. This helped to create a crispy exterior that complemented the soft interior perfectly. And let's not forget about the parmesan cheese - sprinkling it on top of our hot pockets added an extra layer of flavor and texture that took them from good to great.

As we sat down to enjoy our freshly made hot pockets, we couldn't help but think about how much fun cooking is for bringing people together. Whether you're a seasoned chef or just starting out in the kitchen, making homemade hot pockets is a great way to get started. And with a little bit of creativity and experimentation, you can create your own unique fillings and toppings to make them truly special.

Of course, no discussion of hot pockets would be complete without mentioning some of our favorite condiments and toppings. We're big fans of relish, but unfortunately it wasn't available for us today. However, we did have a nice little surprise in store - a slice of pineapple that Major had been saving just for this occasion. And let's not forget about the importance of enjoying the process and having fun in the kitchen.

As we wrapped up our cooking challenge, we couldn't help but feel grateful for all the service men and women who work hard to keep us safe every day. We also wanted to take a moment to thank all our veterans and everybody else who's keeping us safe. And as always, we ended with a little bit of flair - Major got to try his hot pocket while standing on top of the kitchen counter, much to everyone's delight.

In the end, making homemade hot pockets was a fun and delicious experience that brought us all together in the kitchen. With a few simple ingredients and some creativity, you can create your own unique hot pockets that are sure to please even the pickiest eaters. So go ahead - give it a try, and don't be afraid to experiment with different fillings and toppings until you find your perfect combination.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enhey folks you ever been shopping in a grocery store and you get lost in the wrong aisle and what was you looking for bear with me hot pockets well folks you really don't need them because i'm going to show you how to make them homemade and that dough that we put on there is butter oh my gosh and the flavor that comes out with the pepperoni and the cheese and hot pockets let's go i'm getting the fire ready welcome to camp and what are we talking about today folks something that you can put in your pocket and keep you warm forever no i'm not talking about a hot coal that you drop in there i'm talking about a hot pocket but look around here pan around here shannon do you see electric pole anywhere solar panel generator beagle running a squirrel cage to conduct electricity no so how we gonna cook a hot pocket well folks i'm finna show you how and let me tell you my kids and my grandkids have probably made this company a fortune i mean they have eaten so many of them things and i just want to see if they're still the same because i ain't seen one in about 15 20 years and i want to see if they give you that deal they used to come with a little silver deal and uh oh there it is you take it out of that we could set that out there in the sunshine and then maybe about a week if a possum or a cow didn't come by and get it we could have a hot pocket everything you need to know about this recipe and any products that we use down there will be in the little link down there below the video now i'm not talking when you're watching it's just going to pop up you got to scroll on down where it says show more hit the show mower yep and you'll find it right down there printable recipe take you over to the blog and folks there's more than just a hot pocket recipe on there there is a bunch of stuff on there well we need to put us some hot pocket dough together and folks this is very simple there's very few ingredients in there i need you to get a cup of warm water not hot it'll kill that yeast but we need to proof the yeast and i want you to have a full level cup of warm water and then yeast make sure it's good yeast don't buy the off-brand cheap stuff that says i'm gonna save you a lot of money yeast is what's happening and you need it to be good and for sure check the date on there make sure that it is good but we're going to proof it and see that it's good because when you proof yeast and you stir it up there it's going to foam a little bit and go to bubbling and that's what we're after so let's stir that up well you seen the yeast is a leaving creature it is and things are good make sure that if you dump that in there folks and it ain't frothing up like that you don't see another bubbles throw that batch out and get you another now you can use olive oil avocado oil whichever you prefer i prefer avocado and about a tablespoon and a half and that is a guaranteed amount right there and we need to give it some salt which is that much and folks i like to give mine a little black pepper just coarse ground black pepper and just shake you some in there i like to put three or four teaspoons in there because it just gives it a little more flavor to me and now get your whisk back out stir it all up really well and now we can think about what as you all say on youtube he's fixing to get the fleur out no i'm going to get the flour out y'all just sometimes don't hear it as well for all-purpose flour yeah fleur uh-huh pretty close to that it is and we're gonna start with about a cup and full three-fourths to two cups but just like with anything that you're making when you're using flour to mix it in only use some at a time stir it and use some more that way it ain't never going to be too dry so we're going to put about a cup and a little say a half in there and then we're going to find a spoon i hope and i need you just to stir this around because we got to get it all incorporated there well and we want this to be able to form into a ball shape here in a minute and you can see we're definitely going to have to add some more flour but i like to put it in in about half at a time so we'll add us some more in there that ought to get us pretty close maybe and if you're using this with one of them fancy mixers it's got that doe paddle on it just go ahead and add that flyer in there and just let it run on three or four whatever half speed you got there until it'll sort of turn loose of that hook and just begin to form a dog a good dough ball in there and you'll be in good shape a little bit more let's get us some to go ahead and greet oh which way is the wind out of it's a little out of everywhere today so we just hope it get there somewhere because folks we need to knead this it's just a tad when we get it out there and you'd be telling yourself when you see that little dab of dough dump out there he ain't gonna make but one hot pocket's all all he gonna get out of that folks this is a very deceiving thing it is because time we get this all put together then we're gonna get it in a little grease bowl cover it set it in a warm spot and let it rise for what about two hours so if you're going to make these for lunch you need to start about 9 30 okay you'll be in good shape i just need you to roll this around there just make sure it ain't sticking to your fingers like i say we're just going to need it about five five minutes or five times about five minutes oh damn which ain't bad you just keep her going there just make sure you keep your hands flowered in your board floured and it feels good and it smells good and then i need you just to take it when you get close to the end of that five minutes and just sort of pull that dough to the bottom keep rolling it around pulling it to the bottom put it in a greased pan make sure that you grease it really well cover it with some plastic wrap set it in a warm spot let it rise two hours but shut your eyes just a minute and just hold on just a second and due to the magic of tv and kent starting early the magic tv hands everest cadabras yes we have what we call doubled in size dump it out on a floured surface you're going to have to have a little flyer on your hands again flour the top of that i just need you to pat it down pretty flat just with your hands i never put a rolling pin on this to start out with oh it's major major the doe inspector hey are you a doe inspector for those of y'all that are new major come during the bad snowstorm he did we rescued him and we're trying to make a wagon dog out of him you can see their job here is what they got to do with the wagon so they're in pretty good shape you can see we got her in there into a trapezoidal-like figure that is pretty close to one inch thick because folks we need to try to get eight pieces out of it so one two three four five six seven one two three four five six seven eight that's not even okay we got the first participant we're gonna call this fellow right here now these others to keep that wind that's coming through here out of the northeast from just wearing it out i want you to go ahead and cover them up so folks i need you to get it about six inches long here i do three to four inches wide because we've got to have enough that we can put our filling on there and then roll it back over but you didn't see me do this did you i snuck it in on you whole stick of kerrygold butter three minced garlic cloves that are set over an old bertha and just get all that flavor to melt it and get it marinated in there and i need you just to get you about that much in a spoon dump her on there my paintbrush apparatus is what broke so we're going to use the short handle methyl mm-hmm put it across there i need everybody to have some of it on there now shane what do you be lacking on a hot pocket pepperoni pepperoni well just let me see what i might can find right here well there is some pepperonis now folks sauce wise you can do this in three or four different variations you can you can get you some of that homemade jarred up marinara sauce what i really love to use more anything else and you're gonna be down on me because i forgot to bring it to the wagon and it's 24 mile to town so i ain't trotting back is some of our green chile chipotle relish lay a thin layer of that right on top and then go to putting stuff on there ranch would be good too yes ranch would be good but also some salsa just a little bit of salsa down through there so i got me some canadian bacon here and we're gonna lay it on there and then i'm gonna come back with some pepper jack cheese and lay it on there and then guess what shane let's try to try to get this bad boy put to bed now folks it's just a roll and a tuck method try to keep everything to where when you come over the seam is going to be on the bottom that's what we're after so get the ends tucked under seam is on the bottom and guess what we have our first homemade hot pocket right there you go as simple as that can be so bear with me while we get another undergoing and i will make a jumbo style here for shan and her pepperoni well got our field skillet over here and you see me pour a little avocado oil in there and just get it good and hot folks because we're going to fry this really on all four corners on a round circle so let's just get our first participant in there seam side down first and you just want him to give him a good little frying make everybody happy pardon my reach right into your living room but we're just going to let them fry till they get golden brown turn them up on the edge roll them over to the side they're going to puff just a little we talking about hot pocket do i know some of you be thinking while you're sitting there and you're seeing that b-roll footage of them frowning in here cowboy kent rollins you bake them in a microwave or you bake them in the oven folks i have baked a batch of these in a cast iron skillet and to me they always turned out better fried and it is quicker that way and i'm gonna give you another little tip this stuff make a good pizza dough if you're in a hurry you just roll it out there good to go but you see me when i was frying let them get golden brown on both sides and then just sort of stand them up on the edge let them get a little brown there and a little brown on that side you are good to go and then right there at the end take some of that good garlic butter spread it back over painted on there like michelangelo was a painting of sistine chapel i mean make it look pretty and then what get you some of that parmesan cheese and sprinkle all on there and you are good to go and there is some cheesy goodness going on in there i i do be liking me some cheesy goodness but i've had some really good help today so first right off the bat we'd like to feed the participants of the cooking challenge duker come on over it's hot pocket time major said i'm about to figure this out on the second week come on duke hurry up and get in here in the picture we're holding up progress everybody's ready now hot pocket hot pocket and a hot bucket any tail wags where the beak says major can you wag that little nub you got there buddy guess it ain't gonna happen is it so get wound up going do the hopscotch keep it hop in a hop back for what a hot pocket there's some great flavor just coming out of that dough remember what i told you that you could just take that dough make you some bread sticks out of it folks it is good but hey sorry i didn't have that relish with me today but you can get it because that's what's going to kick this over the top of the flavor ladder plum over there on top of the roof of the neighbor's house so let me have one more bite well i know y'all been waiting and i've been waiting too hot pocket versus hot pocket pretty similar in size and shape yes and there's here let me see yeah ours will fit right in the little suitcase as well so we're going to get a little knife and we're going to finally went and look in there cheesy goodness don't look so bad does it and let's see what this can cut like you don't do i mean the homemade bread flavor is really the kicker so there you have it folks hot pocket versus hot pocket versus idiot easy to do and remember everything that we used in this video will be listed down there in the little link below this is an easy recipe get the kids in there let them pick out their favorite toppings to put on it hey and just have a good time because that's what cooking is meant for to bring people together and enjoy the food and fellowship as always i tip my hat to all our service men and women and all the veterans and everybody that's keeping us safe and we just lift them up hey god bless y'all each and every one we thank you and for all you folks out there guess what god bless you each and every one and i'll see you down the hot pocket trail we think flower flew off of it too whoa time out you wanna ever set it on bertha yeah she ain't no microwave i don't know we'll find out here in a minute see what bertha that's the first hot pocket she's ever had on her now she's made my pockets hot standing by her but we'll see what happens to the hot pocket that ain't gonna hold in the water sure youhey folks you ever been shopping in a grocery store and you get lost in the wrong aisle and what was you looking for bear with me hot pockets well folks you really don't need them because i'm going to show you how to make them homemade and that dough that we put on there is butter oh my gosh and the flavor that comes out with the pepperoni and the cheese and hot pockets let's go i'm getting the fire ready welcome to camp and what are we talking about today folks something that you can put in your pocket and keep you warm forever no i'm not talking about a hot coal that you drop in there i'm talking about a hot pocket but look around here pan around here shannon do you see electric pole anywhere solar panel generator beagle running a squirrel cage to conduct electricity no so how we gonna cook a hot pocket well folks i'm finna show you how and let me tell you my kids and my grandkids have probably made this company a fortune i mean they have eaten so many of them things and i just want to see if they're still the same because i ain't seen one in about 15 20 years and i want to see if they give you that deal they used to come with a little silver deal and uh oh there it is you take it out of that we could set that out there in the sunshine and then maybe about a week if a possum or a cow didn't come by and get it we could have a hot pocket everything you need to know about this recipe and any products that we use down there will be in the little link down there below the video now i'm not talking when you're watching it's just going to pop up you got to scroll on down where it says show more hit the show mower yep and you'll find it right down there printable recipe take you over to the blog and folks there's more than just a hot pocket recipe on there there is a bunch of stuff on there well we need to put us some hot pocket dough together and folks this is very simple there's very few ingredients in there i need you to get a cup of warm water not hot it'll kill that yeast but we need to proof the yeast and i want you to have a full level cup of warm water and then yeast make sure it's good yeast don't buy the off-brand cheap stuff that says i'm gonna save you a lot of money yeast is what's happening and you need it to be good and for sure check the date on there make sure that it is good but we're going to proof it and see that it's good because when you proof yeast and you stir it up there it's going to foam a little bit and go to bubbling and that's what we're after so let's stir that up well you seen the yeast is a leaving creature it is and things are good make sure that if you dump that in there folks and it ain't frothing up like that you don't see another bubbles throw that batch out and get you another now you can use olive oil avocado oil whichever you prefer i prefer avocado and about a tablespoon and a half and that is a guaranteed amount right there and we need to give it some salt which is that much and folks i like to give mine a little black pepper just coarse ground black pepper and just shake you some in there i like to put three or four teaspoons in there because it just gives it a little more flavor to me and now get your whisk back out stir it all up really well and now we can think about what as you all say on youtube he's fixing to get the fleur out no i'm going to get the flour out y'all just sometimes don't hear it as well for all-purpose flour yeah fleur uh-huh pretty close to that it is and we're gonna start with about a cup and full three-fourths to two cups but just like with anything that you're making when you're using flour to mix it in only use some at a time stir it and use some more that way it ain't never going to be too dry so we're going to put about a cup and a little say a half in there and then we're going to find a spoon i hope and i need you just to stir this around because we got to get it all incorporated there well and we want this to be able to form into a ball shape here in a minute and you can see we're definitely going to have to add some more flour but i like to put it in in about half at a time so we'll add us some more in there that ought to get us pretty close maybe and if you're using this with one of them fancy mixers it's got that doe paddle on it just go ahead and add that flyer in there and just let it run on three or four whatever half speed you got there until it'll sort of turn loose of that hook and just begin to form a dog a good dough ball in there and you'll be in good shape a little bit more let's get us some to go ahead and greet oh which way is the wind out of it's a little out of everywhere today so we just hope it get there somewhere because folks we need to knead this it's just a tad when we get it out there and you'd be telling yourself when you see that little dab of dough dump out there he ain't gonna make but one hot pocket's all all he gonna get out of that folks this is a very deceiving thing it is because time we get this all put together then we're gonna get it in a little grease bowl cover it set it in a warm spot and let it rise for what about two hours so if you're going to make these for lunch you need to start about 9 30 okay you'll be in good shape i just need you to roll this around there just make sure it ain't sticking to your fingers like i say we're just going to need it about five five minutes or five times about five minutes oh damn which ain't bad you just keep her going there just make sure you keep your hands flowered in your board floured and it feels good and it smells good and then i need you just to take it when you get close to the end of that five minutes and just sort of pull that dough to the bottom keep rolling it around pulling it to the bottom put it in a greased pan make sure that you grease it really well cover it with some plastic wrap set it in a warm spot let it rise two hours but shut your eyes just a minute and just hold on just a second and due to the magic of tv and kent starting early the magic tv hands everest cadabras yes we have what we call doubled in size dump it out on a floured surface you're going to have to have a little flyer on your hands again flour the top of that i just need you to pat it down pretty flat just with your hands i never put a rolling pin on this to start out with oh it's major major the doe inspector hey are you a doe inspector for those of y'all that are new major come during the bad snowstorm he did we rescued him and we're trying to make a wagon dog out of him you can see their job here is what they got to do with the wagon so they're in pretty good shape you can see we got her in there into a trapezoidal-like figure that is pretty close to one inch thick because folks we need to try to get eight pieces out of it so one two three four five six seven one two three four five six seven eight that's not even okay we got the first participant we're gonna call this fellow right here now these others to keep that wind that's coming through here out of the northeast from just wearing it out i want you to go ahead and cover them up so folks i need you to get it about six inches long here i do three to four inches wide because we've got to have enough that we can put our filling on there and then roll it back over but you didn't see me do this did you i snuck it in on you whole stick of kerrygold butter three minced garlic cloves that are set over an old bertha and just get all that flavor to melt it and get it marinated in there and i need you just to get you about that much in a spoon dump her on there my paintbrush apparatus is what broke so we're going to use the short handle methyl mm-hmm put it across there i need everybody to have some of it on there now shane what do you be lacking on a hot pocket pepperoni pepperoni well just let me see what i might can find right here well there is some pepperonis now folks sauce wise you can do this in three or four different variations you can you can get you some of that homemade jarred up marinara sauce what i really love to use more anything else and you're gonna be down on me because i forgot to bring it to the wagon and it's 24 mile to town so i ain't trotting back is some of our green chile chipotle relish lay a thin layer of that right on top and then go to putting stuff on there ranch would be good too yes ranch would be good but also some salsa just a little bit of salsa down through there so i got me some canadian bacon here and we're gonna lay it on there and then i'm gonna come back with some pepper jack cheese and lay it on there and then guess what shane let's try to try to get this bad boy put to bed now folks it's just a roll and a tuck method try to keep everything to where when you come over the seam is going to be on the bottom that's what we're after so get the ends tucked under seam is on the bottom and guess what we have our first homemade hot pocket right there you go as simple as that can be so bear with me while we get another undergoing and i will make a jumbo style here for shan and her pepperoni well got our field skillet over here and you see me pour a little avocado oil in there and just get it good and hot folks because we're going to fry this really on all four corners on a round circle so let's just get our first participant in there seam side down first and you just want him to give him a good little frying make everybody happy pardon my reach right into your living room but we're just going to let them fry till they get golden brown turn them up on the edge roll them over to the side they're going to puff just a little we talking about hot pocket do i know some of you be thinking while you're sitting there and you're seeing that b-roll footage of them frowning in here cowboy kent rollins you bake them in a microwave or you bake them in the oven folks i have baked a batch of these in a cast iron skillet and to me they always turned out better fried and it is quicker that way and i'm gonna give you another little tip this stuff make a good pizza dough if you're in a hurry you just roll it out there good to go but you see me when i was frying let them get golden brown on both sides and then just sort of stand them up on the edge let them get a little brown there and a little brown on that side you are good to go and then right there at the end take some of that good garlic butter spread it back over painted on there like michelangelo was a painting of sistine chapel i mean make it look pretty and then what get you some of that parmesan cheese and sprinkle all on there and you are good to go and there is some cheesy goodness going on in there i i do be liking me some cheesy goodness but i've had some really good help today so first right off the bat we'd like to feed the participants of the cooking challenge duker come on over it's hot pocket time major said i'm about to figure this out on the second week come on duke hurry up and get in here in the picture we're holding up progress everybody's ready now hot pocket hot pocket and a hot bucket any tail wags where the beak says major can you wag that little nub you got there buddy guess it ain't gonna happen is it so get wound up going do the hopscotch keep it hop in a hop back for what a hot pocket there's some great flavor just coming out of that dough remember what i told you that you could just take that dough make you some bread sticks out of it folks it is good but hey sorry i didn't have that relish with me today but you can get it because that's what's going to kick this over the top of the flavor ladder plum over there on top of the roof of the neighbor's house so let me have one more bite well i know y'all been waiting and i've been waiting too hot pocket versus hot pocket pretty similar in size and shape yes and there's here let me see yeah ours will fit right in the little suitcase as well so we're going to get a little knife and we're going to finally went and look in there cheesy goodness don't look so bad does it and let's see what this can cut like you don't do i mean the homemade bread flavor is really the kicker so there you have it folks hot pocket versus hot pocket versus idiot easy to do and remember everything that we used in this video will be listed down there in the little link below this is an easy recipe get the kids in there let them pick out their favorite toppings to put on it hey and just have a good time because that's what cooking is meant for to bring people together and enjoy the food and fellowship as always i tip my hat to all our service men and women and all the veterans and everybody that's keeping us safe and we just lift them up hey god bless y'all each and every one we thank you and for all you folks out there guess what god bless you each and every one and i'll see you down the hot pocket trail we think flower flew off of it too whoa time out you wanna ever set it on bertha yeah she ain't no microwave i don't know we'll find out here in a minute see what bertha that's the first hot pocket she's ever had on her now she's made my pockets hot standing by her but we'll see what happens to the hot pocket that ain't gonna hold in the water sure you\n"