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Beef Empanadas

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Empanadas-3

Not only had I never made empanadas, but I had never eaten them. But I thought it would be fun to try something new. I am so glad I did! They were really tasty. I made a sausage version for myself and that was ok but not great – so I ended up eating the beef. I think though, if I had chicken and shredded it and made them with that, they would have been fantastic. But I didn’t have any chicken when I went to make these so I couldn’t try that. But the beef was really very tasty – I never thought I would EVER say that. But there it is.

Beef Empanadas
 
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Recipe By:
Recipe type: Dinner
Serves: 6
Ingredients
  • 4 cups vegetable oil
    FOR THE DOUGH:
  • 6 cups flour (plus a little more for kneading)
  • 2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup cold water
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 egg whites
  • 2 teaspoon vinegar
  • 6 tablespoons shortening
    FOR THE FILLING:
  • 2 hard-boiled large eggs, chopped into bits
  • 
1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
  • 
1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • ¾ teaspoon dried oregano
  • ¾ pound ground beef chuck
  • 
2 tablespoons raisins (optional)
  • 1½ tablespoons chopped pimiento-stuffed olives
  • 1 (14-ounce) can whole tomatoes in juice, drained, reserving 2 tablespoons juice, and chopped
Preparation Instructions

  1. FOR THE DOUGH
  2. To make the dough combine the flour and salt in a medium mixing bowl.
  3. Add the shortening and cut in with a pastry cutter until course crumbs form.
  4. In another small bowl combine the water, eggs and egg whites, and vinegar.
  5. Combine the wet ingredients with the dry with a fork, stir just until it starts to come together.
  6. Turn the dough out onto a clean, floured surface and knead just until the dough has come together and is smooth.
  7. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least one hour.
    TO MAKE THE EMPANADAS
  8. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat, add onions and cook until soft. Then add the garlic, cumin and oregano and cook about another minute.
  9. Add the beef, chopping with a spoon (or I like to use my handy-dandy mix’n’chop from pampered chef) to break up any chunks. Cook until no pink remains, about 4-5 minutes.
  10. Add the raisins, olives and can of tomatoes and cook until the liquid is somewhat reduced, stirring occasionally. Add the eggs and spread on a plate to cool.
  11. Put the vegetable oil in a large stock pot and heat to 360º or use a deep fryer. You can also bake these, if you would prefer that method go ahead and preheat your oven to 400º.
  12. To roll out the dough, place a sheet of plastic wrap on a slightly dampened surface. Place a disk of dough on it and cover with another sheet of plastic wrap. Roll out until the disk is about 6 inches. Then place about 3 tablespoons of the meat mixture in the center of the disk. Brush a little water around the edges of the dough and fold the disk in half and crimp the edges down with a fork. (since I made my own dough and was in a massive hurry to get this done, I just rolled mine out and cut rectangles, quick and dirty like and then used the same method to crimp).
  13. To deep-fry:
  14. Heat the oven to 200º.
  15. Once the oil is heated, drop them very carefully into the pot and allow to fry for about 3-4 minutes per batch. Make sure you don’t put to many in and crowd them - they will stick together.
  16. Remove with a slotted spoon and place on a baking sheet in a warm oven while you cook the rest.
  17. To bake:
  18. Make an egg wash by combining one egg and a little water, about 1 tablespoon.
  19. Brush each empanada with a little of the egg wash and place on a baking sheet. Bake for about 25 minutes and remove from the oven, allowing to cool about 5 minutes before serving.
  20. I served these with sour cream and guacamole and we thought it was really pretty amazing.

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Thanks: http://smittenkitchen.com/2009/03/beef-empanadas/

 

Megan
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