Empanadas Puerto Rican Style Recipes

BEEF EMPANADAS (PUERTO RICAN EMPANADAS)

Steps:

• Add 2 ½ cups AP flour, 1 stick of cold butter cut into small pieces, 1 egg, ¼ cup cold water, and a pinch of salt to a food processor. Pulse until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Pour dough mixture onto a piece of plastic wrap. Form mixture into a ball with your hands. Wrap the ball of dough tightly in the plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
• After 30 minutes, remove dough from the fridge. Sprinkle some flour on a clean surface. Roll the dough out with a floured rolling pin as thin as possible. Place a 5-6 inch round bowl or plate onto the dough. Run a knife along the edges of the bowl until you have cut a round disc. Remove the dough round and set aside.Repeat with the rest of the dough. The dough will need to be formed into a ball and rolled out a few more times to cut the rest of the dough rounds. Repeat until all the dough has been cut into rounds.
• Parboil a medium potato for 7 to 10 minutes, then peel and dice into small pieces. Mince 20 Spanish olives.Heat a large skillet to medium and add ground beef. Cook completely and chop it into pieces as it cooks. Drain any excess grease when finished cooking. Add the potato, sofrito, and ¼ cup water to the pan.Cook for 10 minutes, stirring often to prevent the potatoes from sticking. Add tomato sauce, 1 Sazon con Azafron seasoning packet, ¼ cup water, and a pinch of salt.Cook for an additional 5 minutes, stirring often. Toss the olives into the pan and stir.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.Place the pastry rounds onto a clean surface. Spoon 2 Tbsp. or so of the meat filling into a pastry round. Top it with a sprinkling of Monterey Jack cheese. Rub the edges of the pastry round with a little bit of water.Pull one side of the pastry over the other and press the edges together with your fingers. Seal the edges tightly and crimp them together with your fingers or a fork.Try not to over-stuff the pastry rounds or they will break as they cook. Repeat with the remaining pastry rounds.
• Spray a baking sheet(s) with cooking spray. Place half of the empanadas on each pan. Place the pan(s) in the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes or until the dough is golden brown. You can use two separate pans or bake them in two separate batches. Serve, and enjoy!

EMPANADAS - (PUERTO RICAN STYLE)

Steps:

• In a skillet, heat oil on medium heat. Stir in ground meat and cook just till sizzling and half browned. Stir in the remaining ingredients, (except cheese, egg, discos and frying oil). Lower heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes until mixture thickens. With your thawed Goya discos, spoon about 1 tbsp of the mixture into the middle with a sprinkle of cheese, fold-over and moisten edges with the egg and seal with a fork. Heat 2 1/2 inches of oil in a deep sauce pan on medium heat. Cook empanadas in batches, turning till lightly browned on both sides. Drain on paper towels and enjoy one of my favorite foods on earth!

EMPANADILLAS (FRIED PUERTO RICAN TURNOVERS)

Steps:

• Make the pie dough (skip to step 3 if using store-bought dough.) Start by pulsing flour and butter in a food processor until pea sized pieces begin to form. Pulse in the water a few tablespoons at a time until a ball of dough forms. Chill for at least 2 hours.
• Make the Picadillo filling. Start with oil, onions, and peppers in a pan over medium heat. Once onions become translucent, add sofrito and sauté another minute before adding ground beef. Break the ground beef into smaller pieces as it cooks. Add sazon, adobo, bay leaves, tomato sauce, olives, and water. Bring it to a boil before simmering with a lid partially on, for 10 minutes or until the beef is fully cooked.
• Prep the dough. Dust a clean surface with flour and roll dough out to about ¼ inch thickness and cut out circular discs using a large cookie cutter or small bowl. Spoon picadillo over half of each disc, fold the empty dough over top and pinch together with a fork.
• Fry. Heat oil to around 350 degrees before frying empanadas on each side for 3-4 minutes or until golden brown and crispy on the edges. Enjoy!

PUERTO RICAN FRIED MEAT PIES: EMPANADAS

Steps:

• DOUGH: combine all the dry ingredients in electric mixer, add all the wet ingredients. Mix for about 3 minutes until well combined. Dough will form.
• Take it out and knead for about 3 minutes, let sit wrapped in plastic-wrap for another 15 minutes.
• Divide into 12 pieces, then roll into 4 inch circles.
• FILLING: Brown ground beef (drain excess grease), or sauté shredded chicken in 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil. Add all the ingredients and cook for an additional 10 minutes stirring occasionally. Let cool.
• COOKING: Preheat the oil in a frying pan at about a medium temperature. Place about 2 tablespoons of the filling in the dough and seal the edges with a fork.
• Fry for about 5 minutes on each side, then place on dish lined with paper-towels.