When we were younger Mom used to make delicious empanadas and its miniature dessert version empanaditas. The most laborious task when making these meat pies is making & preparing the dough: one of the reasons I haven’t bothered. But then not too long ago, Mom told me that Uncle Manny had given her a tip: use Goya brand empanada “skins”.
I found some at our local Kroger’s a couple of weeks ago & decided to give it a try. Naturally, I called Mom from Kroger’s to ask for the ingredients…again.
Ingredients:
- Ground beef, pork or shredded chicken
- olive oil
- 1 medium chopped onion
- chopped garlic
- 2 diced potatoes
- 1 small can of chopped olives (green or black)
- frozen peas
- raisins
- soy sauce, salt & pepper to taste
- Goya empanada discos
- water
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Yesterday I bought a cooked rotisserie chicken, pulled the meat off (after first simmering to make some stock), shredded and then cooked it up for empanadas. Here’s how:
- Sautee garlic and onions in olive oil until translucent.
- Add diced potatoes & cover. Cook until tender.
- If using ground beef or pork or uncooked chicken, add now & brown. If using rotisserie chicken, add peas, chopped olives & raisins. Mix well then add shredded chicken.
- Add soy sauce, salt & pepper.
- Let simmer; beef or pork mixture may have to drain due to drippings. You do not want to use “wet” mixture on wrapper as it will tear.
- Once meat mixture is properly cooled, take wrapper & roll out slightly (per pkg directions)
- Add meat filling & fold over so that edges of wrapper meet. Slightly wet the top edge & press edges together.
- Next, fold the edges of the dough using your fingertip, fold one corner of the empanada over, pressing down firmly, repeating all around, pressing firmly each time to maintain a seal around the edge of the empanada in a spiral pattern. This is the way Mom taught me but you can also use a fork to make the seal.
- Deep fry in hot oil – this only takes a minute or two depending on how hot your oil is & how many you place in pan so watch carefully. When golden brown, remove & let drain.
If you would prefer to bake the empanadas, place empanadas on a greased (spray Pam) cookie sheet & then lightly brush each empanada with an egg wash. Bake for 12-15 min in a pre-heated 400* oven. 
Options: Home-made empanada wrapper (see recipe below), boiled egg, chopped carrots, sugar.
Home-made Empanada Wrappers
I’m not currently this adventurous, but if you are, here’s a relatively simple recipe to make the wrappers from scratch.
Ingredients:
- 3 cups flour
- 1 egg yolk
- ½ cup of grasa – lard or butter or mix of both
- ¾ cup to 1 cup of warm milk
- ½ tsp salt
Directions:
- Mix the flour and salt in a food processor, pulse until well combined.
- Add the lard or butter, blend well.
- Add the egg yolk and the milk in small amounts, pulse until small dough clumps start to form.
- Make a couple of balls, flatten into disks and chill in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes.
- On a lightly floured surface roll out the dough into a thin sheet and cut out round disc shapes for empanadas (use round molds or a small plate).
