Salmon Pockets

I'm back in the kitchen! We have relocated to Michigan and things are finally starting to settle down enough for me to think about cooking again. Seems like it has been so long.

I read an article in the local paper about putting shrimp inside a biscuit and baking it. I'm not really a shrimp lover, and never make it at home, so I began to think of what else I could put in there. Naturally, my first thought was salmon. I really like the kind that comes in a pouch, Chicken of the Sea.

The article listed only canned shrimp, cream cheese, and salt as ingredients in the filling. I thought that sounded awfully bland. I kept the cream cheese, but I got a flavored kind, garlic and herb. (Actually it was the kind that was swirled, half regular and half flavored.) Then I used my standard salmon salad seasonings: dill, minced garlic, and onion (I usually use shallots, but couldn't find them at this grocery store in my new town.)

When I mixed it all together, it seemed slightly dry and not creamy like I had imagined it. I added a touch of light sour cream and that seemed to loosen it up a bit.

I then pried open some Grands biscuits and put in a spoonful of filling. After they were done, realized I probably could have put in a little more filling than I did, but a spoonful is an okay amount.

The article I read also mentioned brushing the tops with egg white before you bake them. I wasn't sure about this. Was it really necessary? I mean, the biscuits always brown up really nice on their own, don't they? I decided to experiment with it; I brushed two of them with egg white and left the other two alone. The result? They were all equally golden brown. The ones with egg white were just a bit more crispy on top than the naked ones. Not unpleasantly crispy, just crispy. Personally, I don't think it's worth wasting the time, dirty dishes, and the egg on it.

The finished product was pretty good. Like I said, they could have used more filling to even out the salmon to bread ratio. I only made four of these, but even if I had made eight, there would have been lots of filling left. Keep that in mind if you decide to try these. There is probably enough filling for at least 16 biscuits. But you can't exactly open only a half pouch of salmon, so if you are only doing 4 or 8 biscuits, save the rest of the filling for something else.

Here are some pics of the process.

Salmon Pockets

1 7 oz pouch pink salmon

1/2 tsp dill

minced garlic and shallot or onion (I never measure this)

1/4 cup garlic and herb cream cheese

2 tbsp light sour cream

16 refrigerated flaky biscuits (like Grands)

Preheat oven to 375˚. Mix together the first five ingredients until well-blended. Split each biscuit in half using its natural layers. Try to make sure the top and bottom are of equal thickness. Place a spoonful (or a spoonful and a half) of filling in each biscuit and press the edges together tightly to seal.

Bake for 18-22 minutes or until golden brown.

Breakfast Pockets

Since I had biscuits left, I decided to make a breakfast version for Jimmy to reheat in the morning. I made scrambled eggs with cheese (I always use American in scrambled eggs), making sure not to overcook them. Then I placed a spoonful of eggs in a slice of deli ham and wrapped it up in a neat little bundle. I then placed the bundle in the biscuit and sealed the edges. I baked them just like the salmon ones. If these are made ahead of time, they don’t need to be as brown on top when you take them out of the oven. If you use a toaster oven, they will probably get a little more brown during reheating. But if you plan on reheating in a microwave, then brown them all the way in the oven.

Didn't take the time to record nutrition info on these. Sorry. Maybe later.