Meat Stuffed Empanadas

These are delicious and crispy crunchy and baked in the oven. Since the dough is similar to a pie dough, if you are feeling the crunch of time, and you wish to buy the dough, that’s the type of dough to go for. I have the recipe for the dough below, as you see fit.

Regarding the meat filling, I just wasn’t in the mood to cook the chopped meat in a frying pan and drain it. Just didn’t wanna. So I did a little cheat and cooked it at high heat in the oven and took out after 20 minutes and just lifted it out of the fat and crumbled it. Boom, done. It worked a treat. So let’s get started, onward!

Take your chopped meat and spread it out in a pan in a layer on parchment paper.

Preheat your oven to 400 F. When hot, pop the chopped meat into the oven and cook for 20 minutes. If it isn’t totally totally cooked, no worries, it’ll keep cooking in the dough.

Remove the chopped meat from any drippings in the pan and crumble into a bowl. Now, if you don’t have prepared chopped fried onion, it’s the time to fry up an onion. Then add the spices, cinnamon, cumin, onion powder, garlic powder, turmeric, smoked paprika and regular paprika to the bowl with the meat and the fried onion.

Mix well. I use my hands with latex gloves on. The mixture will lightly stick together, like so:

Now set aside and make your empanada dough. This is easy peasy, all in the food processor. You can make it in a mixer as well.

First whirl the flour and salt and then pulse in the marg till crumbs form. Add the egg, pulse briefly and add the water, a bit at a time just till the dough comes together. Scoop out the dough and let rest in the fridge about 20 -30 minutes.

Lower the temp of the oven to 350 F and start rolling out the dough of the empanadas, using two sheets of parchment paper, the bottom paper lightly sprinkled with flour, sandwiching dough between them and using rolling pin on parchment. This prevents sticking and needs less flour. and then cutting out circles.

Now I have a nifty little gadget to cut out and form the pastries but you can use a glass or a biscuit cutter just as easily. The gadget helps form them as well but again, you can just fold the dough in half, sandwiching the filling inside and use a fork to crimp all around.

For the gadget, center the beef filling like so:

If you do this without the gadget, put the beef closer to the edge of the circle, keeping in mind you need enough room to seal the pastry. Now you beat an egg, and you can brush the edges to help seal them (I find I don’t need to but if you’re afraid they’ll open up on you do so) and save enough egg wash to brush the tops of the finished empanadas for a deep golden crust.

The great part of this little (super inexpensive, it’s plastic) gadget is that it does the whole thing in one go. Forming and sealing the pastry all at once. Don’t worry, I’ve done this without the gadget and it’s a bit more work but not a biggy. Make sure the dough is firmly pressed together with the fork making a pretty crimp and a half moon shape. It’s important not to overstuff with filling or the empanadas will open up on you and that’s a shame.

So form them till you use up your meat filling and dough and place on a parchment paper lined baking tray.

and you see they are brushed with the egg wash.

Pop them into your preheated oven for 20-25 minutes or till the empanadas are golden brown and crispy. They are delish as is but can be served with techina on the side, if you wish My darling eggplant with lucious tehina dressing and scroll down to techina recipe or salsa or guacamole. Delicious as a first course, a side or a snack, they will disappear before you can turn around!

Meat Stuffed Empanadas

Meat Filling:
2.2 pounds or 1 kilo chopped meat
1 small onion, peeled and chopped and fried in 1-2 tablespoons oil
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 -1/2 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 – 1 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon paprika

Directions:

There are two ways to cook the chopped meat- either in the pan after frying the onion, but then you have to drain it, or in the oven at 400 F for 20 minutes till browned. Cool and remove from liquid in pan and crumble with your hands (I put on latex gloves) and put in a bowl. Add the fried onion, the cinnamon, cumin, onion powder, garlic powder, turmeric, 2 kinds of paprika and mix into the beef. It will stick lightly together. Set aside.

Empanada Dough

3 cups (360 grams) flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 ounces or 3/4 US cups (170 grams) margarine
1 egg
1/4 cup (60 ml-118 ml) – 1/2 cup of water adding gradually just as needed
An additional egg for egg wash, beaten
Flour for sprinkling

Mix the flour and salt in a food processor. Add the marg and pulse just till crumbs form. Add the egg, pulse again and start adding the water, a bit at a time just till the dough comes together. This can be made in a mixer in the same manner.

While you can use the dough right away, I find it’s much easier to use after 20-30 minutes of refrigeration and minimal flour is needed to prevent sticking.

Preheat oven to 350 F.
Take 2 pieces of parchment paper and sprinkle bottom with flour. Place half of dough on paper and cover with other parchment paper. Roll with a rolling pin into a circle, not too thin or thick. Cut out circles of dough and prepare a baking sheet with a piece of parchment paper on it. Place a flat tablespoon of meat mixture into the circle of dough and fold over the filling in half (less filling is important so it will seal properly) and crimp in a half moon with the tines of a fork, pressing firmly to seal. Remove to baking sheet. Use up your dough and filling and place all on the sheet. Take the beaten egg and brush over the tops of the empanadas.

Bake 350 F for 20-25 minutes or till nicely browned.