DIY Hot Pockets: The Perfect Make-Ahead Meal for Busy Days

This is how god always intended hot pockets should be made.

Short Crust Pastry:
3 1/2 cups (500g) + 3 tbsp ( all-purpose flour
big pinch of white or caster sugar
1 tsp sea salt
2 1/2 sticks which are 5 1/2 oz (310 g) unsalted butter
2 whole eggs
2 tbsp whole milk

Bechamel sauce base mix: (this was a lot and you can certainly half the recipe)
8 oz (226 grams) butter
14 oz (386 grams) all-purpose flour
3 quarts (2.83 liters or 6 pints) of whole milk

Chicken Bacon Ranch Hot pocket mix: (1/2 of bechamel sauce)
4 oz (113 grams) mozzarella cheese
5 oz (141 grams) Asiago cheese
5 oz (141 grams) parmesan cheese
1 packet of buttermilk ranch seasoning
1 whole roasted chicken with the meat picked off
1 whole pack of cooked bacon cut into squares
salt and pepper to taste

Philly Cheese Steak Hot pocket mix: (1/2 of bechamel sauce, I would recommend using 1/4 of the mix for a more meaty experience)
2 tbsp cooking oil
2 tbsp unsalted butter
2 medium onions or 1 large onion diced
2 lbs (0.9 kg) steak of choice cut into thin strips
2 roasted and peeled red bell peppers
20 slices Velveeta cheese
5 oz (141 grams) mozzarella cheese
salt and pepper to taste

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[USMCRonin]

I finally know. Made rosemary salt last night to use with your whole chicken recipe. Punched my fridge.

[fheering]

That's it, chef! This video has so much of everything I enjoy on your channel. It has more than one great recipe and all of them can be used in various situations. It has great tips on different cooking techniques. It was spiced with humor and laughter, inspired by food where "sadness and depression" reigned as flavors. Great job, Sonny! Thanks!
I'll be using your pastry recipe today, with a creamy pancetta and mushroom filling, that the kids have been obsessed about lately. But I'll surely try everything you've presented here, in no time! Thanks again!

[warrenpenner]

Throw a 2.0 video out there for air-fryer folks (if possible). Not important for me to see but could be good for those that don't have space. My 5 year old has dented my fridge after watching a few of your videos. A champ and hero to good eats. Thanks.

[paulbush]

I know the feeling of making so much food for a few people. It's hard to recondition your brain. I was in the Navy and while I was on board the Aircraft Carrier, I was making 15, 000 meals a day. 5, 000 portions of food 3 times day. Now that I'm retired; I'm making meals at home and have to remember that I'm only cooking for 2-5 family members.

[seandupuie]

Could totally make pot pies with that extra filling. Pie crust bottom and puff pastry top!

[paulmalcolm]

I’m so happy for you
After working 18 yrs in a challenging industry And now you are doing your own thing

I salute you sir

[scrat]

for me the go to hot pocket was always pepperoni pizza. they usually had a good amount of ronis in there, so there wouldn't look quite as sad as the other flavors

[familylivesmatters]

Great vid per usual dude.

I’d like to hear you include some stories from your career as a chef.

[kencult]

Hey Sonny! For future videos, I would LOVE if you could talk about freezing and re-heating things. These pockets seem like the perfect thing to make in large batches and freeze. I make batch breakfast burritos and Gyoza that I love to reheat for a quick snack/lunch. Would these work if you baked them from frozen? Thanks!

[Kurtwuckertjr]

I watch your videos with my three year old son, and he hits the fridge now when we’re cooking together.

Thank you 🙏🏻

[catmandude]

From one dude to another, I really enjoy your channel, especially the fridge violence.

[burnttavernnj]

New favorite part of these vids is seeing Marcus get to try the food.

[dianac]

A quick help for cleaning the burned peppers. Slice them open, remove the top, seeds, and veins, then roast, or broil them until they’re black. Peel, and use. It saves so much time, and effort cleaning the sticky, slimy yuck when they’re done. Watching you from Mexico City. Love your channel. ❤

[farisidean]

Sonny I just love you and your videos. You make everything so easy for me to follow. Thanks for being you.🥰❤

[kevincrossgrove]

For some reason I remember meatballs and mozzarella as a fave. Great vid as always! Now let’s go!

[MacMcCaskill]

There's no way I'm ever going to make these, but it was fun watching Sonny do it. 😂

[stephaniemiller]

So, this is a pastry hack I picked up off the interweb. I think it's brilliant, but tbh I haven't actually tried this yet; but I totally will when I make this short crust pastry!

Hack is this: Freeze your butter and grate it into the flour.
Saves you from having to freeze your cutter and the time & effort of cutting the butter in (which always feels like it takes forever to me!).

[smusicfanatic]

Sonny, when you likened the stuffing of the hot pocket to that of a beef Wellington, you created a moment of serendipity - Beef Wellington hot pocket!
Gonna try that along with your techniques presented here, and Gordon Ramsay can eat his heart out!

[guachatierna]

great! Im going to make them. So, Let's go! Thank you Soni.

[james.randorff]

I also learned more about Béchamel sauce today, and will be adjusting my baked mac & cheese recipe to use almost double the flour of my butter. Thanks for that!