ironpeddler
Ye Old Newbie
- Joined
- Apr 8, 2008
- Messages
- 6,656
My reason for tackling this dish was that I eat them frequently while on the road for a quick lunch and recently had a bunch of lousy ones which left me saying to myself...'I got to be able to make a better one than this'....and before all you long time empanada makers out there start busting my balls about how I do it and the techniques I'm incorporating, please remember I'm new at making them and hopefully will get better at it over time.
I did minimal trial & error with the dough recipes (with mostly great results) and what I'm posting is what I've now made a half dozen times. I made one batch of dough for each type of meat.
Dough....
3 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup peanut or vegetable oil
1 cup warm water
1/2 teaspoon annato seed (for color)....I did this once and I didn't care for the reddish color
When I make the dough, I use my KitchenAid mixer because it makes this part so easy. First thing I do is sift the flour into the mixing bowl because I find it makes a nice smooth dough with no lumps. If you don't have a sifter, use a wire strainer and shake the flour into the bowl...same thing. Then I add the salt, the baking powder & baking soda, and then mix all the dry ingredients together before adding the liquids. I warm the water in the microwave and then add the oil to that so they are both warm. Slowly add in the liquid as the mixer is running and before you know it, you have a nice ball of dough. I switch over to the dough hook and let that run for 5-6 minutes. Put the dough aside so it can rest while you make the meats. This recipe yields 12 empanadas of about 6" in length.
Now I start making the meats. For the chicken, I use the tried & true method of making shredded chicken breast. All you do is trim the breast, lightly season it with salt & pepper ( I use Montreal Chicken Seasoning), sear it in a pot (not a frying pan) with some olive oil for 2 minutes on each side, and then pour in 4-6 cups of chicken stock to cover the meat. Simmer that for 90 minutes and it's done. Let them cool a bit and the meat is easy to shred with a fork. The beef is easy, just brown it in a pan and drain.
The recipe I use to season the meat is a combination of a few I found on the web. I do basically the same for both the beef & chicken. I used a sweet red pepper in this batch because I had one in the fridge. Normally I like the tartness of the green pepper with beef and the sweetness of the red pepper with chicken...just personal preference. The one thing I'll add here is that the Sazon makes all the difference in taste....seek it out.
Filling....
1 lb. browned ground beef or cooked shredded chicken
1/2 medium onion, diced
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 green bell pepper for the beef and sweet red pepper for the chicken
4 garlic cloves, crushed...I use the minced stuff in a jar from Costco, 2 tablespoons
1/2 of a small can (4oz.) of sliced green or black olives
Salt and Pepper to taste
1/3 canned roasted poblano peppers
1 tbsp. tomato paste
1 packet of Goya Sazon
....and a small amount of water to moisten it and to help incorporate the flavors into the meat.
Basic stuff, saute the onion in the olive oil, add in the garlic, then I throw in the poblano peppers & olives...cook for a few minutes, then add the tomato paste and Sazon....then add the meat and mix well. Once they are both done you have to let the meat cool off before making the empanadas.
Beef....(sorry for the blurriness)
Chicken...
Now that the dough has rested, I divide it up into 12 equal sized balls. You lightly dust a cutting board with flour and roll them into an oblong shape. Make sure you don't roll it too thin because it will tear when you fold them in half and oil gets inside and burns the meat when you fry them.
Once the dough has been rolled & shaped, I add about 2 heaping tablespoons of filling because one of the things I dislike the most when buying them out, is that they hardly have any filling. Here is where I add something that is different from the traditional versions...whether Cuban or Puerto Rican. I like to add a small amount of cheese to the filling. In this batch, I diced up some white horseradish cheese.
Now it's time to close the empanada. First you make a small bowl of water and wet the entire perimeter of the dough with your finger to help it stick together when you do the fold-over....just a fingers width is fine. Once that's done, fold it in half matching the two edges and gently press them until they looked fused together. I don't use a fork or an empanada press to do the final seal...I do the traditional method of fluting the edges with a series of folds.
Now it's time to fry them. I use a pot with canola oil heated to 375 degrees. Once up to temp, drop them in slowly and fry them for about 5 minutes...until golden brown or a shade darker the way I like them.
Once done, take them out and place them on a paper towel to drain.
Here is a picture of the beef after I cut one open...
The chicken...
You'll notice there are no pockets of cheese, it completely melts and makes the meat a bit more moist like a sauce. As for the taste? When my son Anthony bit into one for the first time he said it was the best empanada he ever had... :laugh:...and quite frankly, they were better than most I've eaten over the years mainly because the meat was more tasty.
That's it guys, not that hard to make at all. I have it down to about a little over an hour from making the dough to eating fried empanadas. We like the beef more than the chicken...but the chicken is a nice change of pace. Next up...I'm going to slow roast some pork and stuff that inside.
Enjoy!
I did minimal trial & error with the dough recipes (with mostly great results) and what I'm posting is what I've now made a half dozen times. I made one batch of dough for each type of meat.
Dough....
3 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup peanut or vegetable oil
1 cup warm water
1/2 teaspoon annato seed (for color)....I did this once and I didn't care for the reddish color
When I make the dough, I use my KitchenAid mixer because it makes this part so easy. First thing I do is sift the flour into the mixing bowl because I find it makes a nice smooth dough with no lumps. If you don't have a sifter, use a wire strainer and shake the flour into the bowl...same thing. Then I add the salt, the baking powder & baking soda, and then mix all the dry ingredients together before adding the liquids. I warm the water in the microwave and then add the oil to that so they are both warm. Slowly add in the liquid as the mixer is running and before you know it, you have a nice ball of dough. I switch over to the dough hook and let that run for 5-6 minutes. Put the dough aside so it can rest while you make the meats. This recipe yields 12 empanadas of about 6" in length.
Now I start making the meats. For the chicken, I use the tried & true method of making shredded chicken breast. All you do is trim the breast, lightly season it with salt & pepper ( I use Montreal Chicken Seasoning), sear it in a pot (not a frying pan) with some olive oil for 2 minutes on each side, and then pour in 4-6 cups of chicken stock to cover the meat. Simmer that for 90 minutes and it's done. Let them cool a bit and the meat is easy to shred with a fork. The beef is easy, just brown it in a pan and drain.
The recipe I use to season the meat is a combination of a few I found on the web. I do basically the same for both the beef & chicken. I used a sweet red pepper in this batch because I had one in the fridge. Normally I like the tartness of the green pepper with beef and the sweetness of the red pepper with chicken...just personal preference. The one thing I'll add here is that the Sazon makes all the difference in taste....seek it out.
Filling....
1 lb. browned ground beef or cooked shredded chicken
1/2 medium onion, diced
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 green bell pepper for the beef and sweet red pepper for the chicken
4 garlic cloves, crushed...I use the minced stuff in a jar from Costco, 2 tablespoons
1/2 of a small can (4oz.) of sliced green or black olives
Salt and Pepper to taste
1/3 canned roasted poblano peppers
1 tbsp. tomato paste
1 packet of Goya Sazon
....and a small amount of water to moisten it and to help incorporate the flavors into the meat.
Basic stuff, saute the onion in the olive oil, add in the garlic, then I throw in the poblano peppers & olives...cook for a few minutes, then add the tomato paste and Sazon....then add the meat and mix well. Once they are both done you have to let the meat cool off before making the empanadas.
Beef....(sorry for the blurriness)
Chicken...
Now that the dough has rested, I divide it up into 12 equal sized balls. You lightly dust a cutting board with flour and roll them into an oblong shape. Make sure you don't roll it too thin because it will tear when you fold them in half and oil gets inside and burns the meat when you fry them.
Once the dough has been rolled & shaped, I add about 2 heaping tablespoons of filling because one of the things I dislike the most when buying them out, is that they hardly have any filling. Here is where I add something that is different from the traditional versions...whether Cuban or Puerto Rican. I like to add a small amount of cheese to the filling. In this batch, I diced up some white horseradish cheese.
Now it's time to close the empanada. First you make a small bowl of water and wet the entire perimeter of the dough with your finger to help it stick together when you do the fold-over....just a fingers width is fine. Once that's done, fold it in half matching the two edges and gently press them until they looked fused together. I don't use a fork or an empanada press to do the final seal...I do the traditional method of fluting the edges with a series of folds.
Now it's time to fry them. I use a pot with canola oil heated to 375 degrees. Once up to temp, drop them in slowly and fry them for about 5 minutes...until golden brown or a shade darker the way I like them.
Once done, take them out and place them on a paper towel to drain.
Here is a picture of the beef after I cut one open...
The chicken...
You'll notice there are no pockets of cheese, it completely melts and makes the meat a bit more moist like a sauce. As for the taste? When my son Anthony bit into one for the first time he said it was the best empanada he ever had... :laugh:...and quite frankly, they were better than most I've eaten over the years mainly because the meat was more tasty.
That's it guys, not that hard to make at all. I have it down to about a little over an hour from making the dough to eating fried empanadas. We like the beef more than the chicken...but the chicken is a nice change of pace. Next up...I'm going to slow roast some pork and stuff that inside.
Enjoy!
