Joshua's Empanadas

Ingredients:

4-5 pounds of ground beef (less if it’s really lean)
1-2 whole onions diced
1-2 bell peppers diced
A few tables spoons worth of minced garlic
1 can of crushed tomato (or manually crush a can of whole stewed tomatoes for bigger chunks – don’t add remaining liquid)
1 can of plain tomato paste
1 can of LeSeur new peas
A few table spoons of molasses
2 very hard boiled eggs (chopped pretty small)
1 to 1 ½ cups of raisins (re-hydrated in hot water for an hour or two)
Sliced Olives
Ketchup
Salt/Pepper
Empanada Shells
1-2 eggs for egg wash
1 Gallon of Peanut Oil (if frying)

Meat Filling:

Start by sautéing a sofrito… onions, bell peppers and garlic in olive oil. Start with the bell peppers first… let them cook a bit, then add the onions and cook till translucent. Add the garlic and let cook for a bit more.

I tend to make a large helping, so I usually do 1 to 2 onions, and 1 to 2 bell peppers… and a generous amount of minced garlic.

Once the sofrito is complete, add the ground beef and brown. Drain excess fat off when the meat is fully cooked.

Add can of crushed tomatos, tomato paste and a generous squirt of ketchup. Stir well.

Turn heat down to low, and add peas, olives, eggs, and raisins.

Now is when to start tasting and tweaking to your personal taste. I like the meat filling to be just a hint sweet. So I add a drizzle of molasses and some salt and pepper and taste. Adjust as necessary.

The finished filling should be thick. If it’s too soupy for some reason, just let boil at a higher temp with the lid off and allow it to reduce.

Shells:

It’s imperative to find actual Mexican empanada shells. Goya is a good brand. They are sometimes referred too as “discs.” Most Mexican grocers will have them.

When you get them, follow the directions to defrost them. Usually just allowing them to sit out for a period of time.

Once they are fully defrosted and pliable, you are ready.

Final Preps:

Create a quick egg wash… 1 or 2 eggs scrambled thoroughly with a bit of water to thin them out. Place these in a small bowl next to the work area.

You’ll need a large work surface. Make sure you have some flour to work with and keep the dough dry.

Spread the flour generously over the work surface. Start peeling the empanada shells apart from each other. They should be 1/8 of an inch or so… if they seem thick, they’re probably stuck together. Dust each side of each shell and set them on the side.

Grab a staging bowl and add a generous amount of meat filling there.

For the assembly you will need a tablespoon for the filling, and a fork to crimp the edges.

Assembly:

Grab a shell and set it down in the middle of the work surface. Paint the entire edge with about a ½ inch of egg wash. You can either use your fingers, or a little cooking brush.

Add a tablespoon or two in the center of the shell. You will get a feel for how much you can add. The general rule is to add as much filling as you can without it squishing out the sides when you fold over the shell.

So, go ahead and fold the shell over and press down along the edge of the shell to seal. Then with a fork, you want to crimp all around the edge of the shell with the fork. I’ve found if you roll the tip of the fork down so the points of the tines press downwards to almost pierce through to the bottom of the shell this create a really solid seal.

Cooking:

There are two options for cooking the empanadas.

Baking:

Bake the empanadas at 375 until GBD (golden brown delicious)

When placing the empanadas on the cookie sheet, poke a fork into the top of them to vent.

This method is arguably the healthier method, however the alternate method if done properly really is not much additional fat. You can try both and see which you like better… generally it’s frying hands down.

Frying:

I strongly recommend Peanut Oil. It is a preferred frying oil as it has a very high smoke point. It’s also usually easy to get in large quantities.

Find a large pot and fill 2/3 of the way with oil. Bring oil up to 375 temp. Make sure to measure the temp. You want to try to dust off any excess flour or debris from the empanada so the oil won’t get dirty too fast. Slowly lower the empanadas into the oil. The oil will drop usually down to around 350 degrees which is the ideal temperature. Cooking is pretty fast, usually just a few minutes. Just check them and when they look GBD, remove them with a slotted spoon or wire spider. If possible, drain the cooked empanadas on a wire cake cooling rack set in a lipped cookie sheet. When you use paper towels, it keeps the oil close to the food and therefore it retains more oil/fat. When placed on a wire rack, they drain perfectly.

Make sure to get to keep the temperature of the oil at or above 350.

Be very careful when eating the empanadas after frying… they retain and amazing amount of heat... let cool for at LEAST 10 min. otherwise, they will be scalding hot inside.

This recipe will usually generate approximately 40 to 60 empanadas, so make sure you have some help during assembly.

Anyway, that’s it… have fun!

Any Questions? Email me