Beef Empanadas – First Try

Meat pies can be traced back to 6000 B.C. and I like all forms of them whether they be pasties, dumplings, piroskis, turnovers, pierogis, empanadas, etc. and I've always wanted to make them so today was the day.  I opted for empanadas because they can be made with refrigerator pie dough and I chose the recipe for Beef Empanadas from the “Handle The Heat” blog.  I made the filling by the recipe and ignored the dough part to get the recipe below.

Beef Empanadas

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons olive oil, divided

1 pound ground beef (85-90% lean)

1 small yellow onion, peeled and minced

½ red bell pepper, cored, seeded, and finely diced

½ green bell pepper, cored, seeded, and finely diced

½ cup frozen peas

2 cloves garlic, finely minced

1 teaspoon oregano

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

¼ cup beef broth

1 tablespoons tomato paste

1 small russet potato, peeled, finely diced, and boiled*

3 scallions, trimmed and chopped

1/2 cup shredded “Mexican blend” cheese

For the Egg Wash:

1 egg

3 tablespoons water

Instructions:

Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Saute the beef, cooking until browned, about 10 minutes. Remove the beef with a slotted spoon and set aside. Reserve 2 tablespoons of drippings.

With the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil and 2 tablespoons of drippings, sauté the yellow onion until translucent, 10-15 minutes. Then add the bell peppers, peas, garlic and seasonings.

After a few minutes, deglaze the pan with ¼ cup of beef broth, then add 1-2 tablespoons of tomato paste (to preference).

Once the tomato paste has dissolved, mix in the beef and potatoes. Remove from heat.

When cooled, stir in the cheese.

Lightly beat together the egg and water.

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Cut dough to fit your empanada maker (6” round for us) – our maker has a sharp bottom to do this.

Flour the maker and lay on the round then add 1/3 heaping cup of filling to the middle.

Add egg wash to half of the round to seal it and close the maker.

Place empanadas onto the prepared baking sheet and brush the empanadas gently with the egg wash.

Bake empanadas until golden brown, about 20 minutes. Serve warm.

I topped mine with salsa verde.

The Verdict:

Well, not too bad for a first try but they split open, then stuck to the pan – Bev had told me pie crust didn’t need Pam.  I might have over-filled them to cause the split but they tasted very good and for a person whose favorite part of a pie is the crust, I was loving them.  I ordered a 4½” empanada maker to make the next ones a little smaller.  The one negative was they were a little too dry so I’ll add a little more liquid to the meat next time.

Since we only made four empanadas, we had lots of the filling left over and it was an easy decision to turn it into burritos by adding some refried beans to a tortilla, then the filling and plenty of cheese.  It was delicious and a fine way to start my day.

And when you still have some meat mixture left.

Photos can be slightly enlarged by clicking on them and the blue words are links.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

Larry

8/29/24 meal date