I’ve been looking for new ways to en croûte wheels of brie. Brie en croûte ("en croûte" translates to “in crust") is a staple New Year’s Eve party snack, promising decadence with softly oozing cheese. Plenty of recipes add jam, honey, or nuts to the parcel, but I say we welcome 2024 with a dose of whimsy and ground beef. Instead of serving the same old baked brie, serve the unexpected at this year's New Year's Eve party. Astonish your guests with a Taco Bell-inspired Crunchwrap Supreme brie en croûte.
I’m not ashamed of my love for Taco Bell, and the Crunchwrap Supreme is hands-down their best product. It’s composed of seasoned ground beef, molten cheese, a hard corn tortilla, lettuce, tomato, and sour cream all encapsulated in a soft tortilla. The pouch is griddled on both sides to secure the tortilla and heat it up. It may not be sophisticated, but it’s damn good.
En croûte simply means “in crust,” so it seems to me that everything making the Crunchwrap great can make brie en croûte even better. (What monster could turn down a savory, Taco Bell-inspired baked brie?) I was ready to add seasoned beef and all the fixings to a wheel of brie, but then I wondered, “What do I wrap it in?” A Crunchwrap is secured in a soft flour tortilla, adding chewiness and an easily handheld wrapper. A traditional brie en croûte is wrapped in puff pastry, adding a flaky, rich, and buttery layer. I couldn’t decide, so I did both.
I found the puff pastry version to be a glorious display of bronzed pastry and overflowing lettuce. It’s much more party-perfect as far as presentation goes. I cut into mine a touch too early, which is the gamble with all baked bries, so the cheese was a bit too molten. Otherwise, it delivered as promised: Taco Bell’s Crunchwrap Supreme flavors with a decadent buttery crust and melty brie cheese.
The tortilla-wrapped version was much more of a Crunchwrap clone. I prefer the chewy texture of the flour tortilla to the flaky puff pastry, but many would disagree. Once the cheese cools down to a controlled ooze, this brie en croûte cuts in clean wedges for sharing, and is much easier to hold than the puff pastry one. That being said, visually, the puff pastry brie is much more of a showstopper.
Luckily, there’s no wrong choice. Serve it simply with a small knife and let your guests hack away. Your friends and family are bound to love it for its savory flavor profile, and creativity, of course. Either way you choose, you’ll be kicking off the new year with a taste of adventure.
Crunchwrap Brie En Croûte with Puff Pastry
Ingredients:
5 ounces of ground beef
1 tablespoon Taco Bell seasoning mix
1 sheet of thawed puff pastry (I used Pillsbury frozen puff pastry)
6 or 7 ounce wheel of brie cheese (a wide wheel is better than tall)
1 corn tostada (I used Guerrero tostadas)
½ cup chopped or shredded lettuce
¼ cup chopped tomatoes
1 tablespoon sour cream
Egg wash
1. Brown the beef in a skillet (you can optionally add a pinch of baking soda to aid with browning). Use a paper towel to sop up extra fat and moisture if more than a tablespoon puddles up in the pan. Mix in the Taco Bell seasoning mix. Set aside to cool.
2. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Put a sheet of parchment paper on a sheet tray.
3. Lightly flour a work surface and lay the thawed puff pastry on top. Use a rolling pin to roll it out in both directions for an inch or so of extra area. Place the puff pastry onto the parchment-lined sheet tray.
4. Add the cooled beef mixture to the center of the pastry sheet. Top with the tostada and place the wheel of brie on top of the tostada. Lift the edges up and over to the top of the brie. Begin pleating the pastry so it gathers together. Use a light coating of egg wash on the outside to help secure the pastry and aid with browning. The top won’t close all the way; that’s okay because we’ll put the fresh vegetables on top. However, this may cause the pastry to wilt in the oven, so I wrapped a piece of buttered kitchen string around the midway point to support the pastry.
5. Bake the brie for 20 to 25 minutes at 400°F, or until puffed and well browned. Cool for 15 minutes.
6. Top with the shredded lettuce, chopped tomatoes, and a dollop of sour cream. Remove the string, and serve.
Brie Croûte-wrap Supreme
Ingredients:
5 ounces of ground beef
1 tablespoon Taco Bell seasoning mix
1 ½ 10-inch soft flour tortillas
6 or 7 ounce wheel of brie cheese (a wide wheel is better than tall)
1 corn tostada (I used Guerrero tostadas)
½ cup chopped or shredded lettuce
¼ cup chopped tomatoes
1 tablespoon sour cream
Oil to lightly coat the pan
3 or 4 toothpicks
1. Brown the beef in a skillet (you can, optionally, add a pinch of baking soda to aid with browning). Use a paper towel to sop up extra fat and moisture if more than a tablespoon puddles up in the pan. Mix in the Taco Bell seasoning mix. Set aside to cool.
2. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Place the wheel of brie on a piece of parchment paper inside of a small cake pan. Place the brie into the oven and warm it up for 5 to 7 minutes. This is just to take the chill off and soften the brie. Don’t heat it up too much or it’ll be extremely difficult to work with. Set it aside.
3. In a non-stick frying pan, lightly coat the bottom with a neutral cooking oil. Don’t turn on the heat yet. Take the flour tortilla and put it on top of the warmed brie. Put the cooled pan in your right hand and lay your left hand on top of the tortilla and flip it all over so the brie comes out of the pan and is already centered on the tortilla. Place this in the cold frying pan.
4. Scatter the seasoned beef around the brie and on top of it. Lay the tostada on top of that and smear on the sour cream. Top it with half of the shredded lettuce and tomatoes. If you haven’t guessed already, the 10-inch tortilla will not close over this gargantuan mound, so use half of another tortilla and place in the center, on top of the lettuce and tomatoes. Gather and pleat the first tortilla around the edges to overlap with the second, patchwork tortilla. Use a few toothpicks to skewer the pleats (make sure to catch the center half-tortilla when skewering).
5. Turn the burner on to medium heat and toast the bottom of the crunchwrap, about two minutes. Cover the pan with a plate and carefully flip it over. Use a spatula to lift the parcel back into the pan, tucking in the pleats, to toast the other side.
6. Cool the brie en croûte for 15 minutes. Top with the remaining shredded lettuce and tomatoes. Pull out the toothpicks, and serve.