Say it with me: Steak. Mushrooms. Caramelized Onions. Pub Cheese. PRETZEL CALZONES.
This recipe is thanks to Kirk, who thought his restaurant calzone was pretzel dough (it wasn’t) and then requested an actual pretzel calzone (yeah okay, twist my arm). Beer cheese and pretzels are BFFs, and then you want some steak with that cheese, and of course you can’t have steak without mushrooms… and caramelized onions make everything better.
So here we are. It is a really, really good place to be and you should definitely join us.
This makes four BIG calzones – like, size-of-your-head giant calzones. They’re on the thin side for calzones, just the right size to eat with your hands without risking a total collapse.
It seems like there’s too much dough as you’re rolling them out and that’s okay. This means the pretzel crust puffs up and the thick pinched edge becomes a wonderfully fluffy pretzel stick. We most definitely want this to happen.
I went with convenience here and used pub cheese from Trader Joe’s – homemade would be amazing, more power to you if you make your own! But going the easy route here is just so darn convenient because the filling all comes together in just one skillet. Laziness wins out and it tastes so good.
Pub Pretzel Calzones
Ingredients
- 1½ cups warm water
- 1 T. sugar
- 2 ¼ t. active dry yeast
- 4 T. butter melted
- 2 t. salt
- 4 ½ cups flour
- 1 lb. steak
- 1 onion sliced
- 4 oz. whiskey
- 8 oz. mushrooms
- 6 oz. pub cheese
- 8 cups water
- ½ cup baking soda
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 T. water
- pretzel or coarse salt
Instructions
- Combine water, sugar, and yeast in a large mixing bowl. Let sit for 5 minutes until foamy. Stir in butter and salt, then slowly add flour.
- Use the dough hook of a mixer or your hands to knead the dough for at least 5 minutes. The dough should be elastic and pull away from the bowl.
- Cover the bowl with a damp towel and set in a warm place to rise until doubled, about an hour.
- While dough is rising, sear steak quickly in a large skillet over high heat.
- Remove steak from pan, lower heat to medium, and add onion. Stir occasionally as onion browns; when onion is translucent, add whiskey. Continue cooking until onion caramelizes to golden brown.
- Add mushrooms to the skillet and cook for 8-10 minutes until mostly cooked through.
- Remove skillet from heat and add steak back to skillet. Stir in pub cheese and set aside.
- Preheat oven to 400º and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Combine water and baking soda in a large pot and bring to a rolling boil.
- Divide dough into eight equal balls. Roll each ball into an 8” circle on a lightly floured surface.
- Spoon an eighth of the filling in the center of each circle and fold dough in half. Pinch tightly around the semi-circle to seal.
- Use a slotted spoon or spatula to gently lower one calzone into the boiling water. Cook for about 20 seconds on each side and set on prepared baking sheet, then repeat for remaining calzones.
- Whisk egg yolk and water together and brush over calzones. Sprinkle generously with coarse salt.
- Bake at 400º for 15-20 minutes until golden brown. Let sit for 5-10 minutes before serving.
Thanks Kirk, and Katy, t
These sound amazing and pretty easy for one skillet cooking.