Ground Beef Empanadas Recipes

BEEF EMPANADAS

Steps:

• Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onions, scallions, and bell pepper. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are translucent, 10 to 15 minutes.
• Add ground beef, oregano, salt, cayenne pepper, and cumin to the onion mixture. Cook and stir beef until no longer pink, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly, then cover and place in the refrigerator until meat is completely cooled, about 1 hour.
• Remove filling from the refrigerator and transfer into a colander to drain. Return filling to the Dutch oven.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Liberally grease a baking sheet with butter.
• Place about 2 tablespoons filling into the center of an empanada disc. Fold empanada in half into a crescent shape, press the edges of the dough together with a fork or your fingers to seal, and place onto the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with remaining empanadas and filling. Brush tops with egg white.
• Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown, about 20 minutes.

GROUND BEEF EMPANADAS (PICADILLO)

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Heat the oil in a heavy saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the ground beef chuck and cook until browned, about 7 minutes. Season with the salt and pepper. Add the olives, raisins, carrots and onions and saute for just a couple minutes until softened. Add the tomato puree and simmer for 10 minutes. Turn the heat off and cool to room temperature before filling the empanadas.
• Grease a large baking sheet with some nonstick cooking spray. Unfold one sheet of puff pastry onto a lightly floured surface. Using a floured rolling pin, roll the pastry out to a 1/4- to 1/8-inch thickness. With a knife, cut out 4 equal squares measuring 4 1/2-by-5 1/2-inches. Add 2 tablespoons of the cooled beef mixture to the center of the square. Brush the edge of each square with some egg wash and fold to shape into triangles. Crimp the edges with a fork. Transfer the empanadas to the prepared baking sheet and brush them with the remaining egg wash. Bake until golden brown, about 25 minutes.

BEEF EMPANADAS

Steps:

• For the filling: Add the oil to a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onions, sofrito, and peppers, stirring occasionally until soft. Add the tomato paste, adobo, and cilantro, stirring occasionally until combined. Add the ground beef, season, and stir until the mixture reaches 160 degrees F. Remove from the heat, strain, and allow the mixture to cool.
• For the empanada dough: Sift the flour, sugar, and salt onto parchment paper. Place the sifted dry ingredients into a food processor. Add the remainder of the ingredients to the food processor and process until the dough looks like a ball. Remove the ball from the food processor and cover it with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 1 hour.
• Transfer the pastry onto a lightly floured board and roll out until it is 1/16-inch thick. Cut into segments with a 4-inch dough cutter. Each cut will create a dough round. Put 1 tablespoon of the filling onto the upper half of each round, and then fold the bottom pastry up into a half-moon shape. Crimp the edges closed with your finger to fold the upper and bottom halves together. Repeat this step until all the edges are closed.
• For the guava sauce: Blend all the ingredients in a food processor until the mixture is silky and smooth. Pour the sauce in a separate dish or bowl for dipping.
• Put about 2 inches of oil into a heavy, deep skillet over medium heat and heat to 350 degrees F. Add the empanadas, a few at a time, and cook until golden brown on both sides, about 5 minutes per side.

WEEKNIGHT GROUND BEEF EMPANADAS

Steps:

• In food processor, add diced peppers, juice of lime, entire can of Rotel, and salt. Mix until all green serrano peppers are small, with no large chunks. Set aside.
• In large skillet, brown ground beef until done. Drain and set aside.
• In same skillet, add olive oil and heat over medium heat. Add onions, red bell pepper, and garlic cloves. Sauté 3 minutes.
• Add chili powder, seasoning salt, cumin, and black pepper. Sauté 1 minute. Add cider vinegar and cook 3 minutes.
• Add cooked ground beef, puree from food processor, and bring to a boil.
• Turn down to a simmer, and add cilantro. Simmer 5-10 until desired consistency.
• When ready to cook, preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil.
• Roll out refrigerated dough and make a bit thinner with rolling pin. Use a round cookie cutter, or a drinking glass, and cut out round pieces. Re-roll scraps and cut out more circles until gone.
• Place 1 to 1 1/2 tablespoons meat mix in the middle of each circle and fold in half. Seal edges with fingers. Crimp the edges with a fork.
• Place on foiled baking sheet and cook at 400°F for 25 minutes or until golden brown.
• Serve with salsa and sour cream for dipping.

FRIED BEEF EMPANADAS

Steps:

• Heat olive oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat; add onion and bell pepper. Cook and stir, 3 to 4 minutes. Add beef, garlic, and adobo; continue to cook and stir until meat is browned, crumbly, and no longer pink, 5 to 7 minutes. Drain mixture in a colander to remove most of the liquid and allow to cool for 10 minutes.
• Transfer cooled mixture to a mixing bowl with raisins, tomato paste, eggs, olives, and vinegar. Mix to combine and season with salt and pepper.
• Lightly dust a work surface with flour and lay out empanada discs on top. Place a spoonful of stuffing on the bottom half of a disc and moisten the edges with water. Fold disc in half over the stuffing and press with a fork to seal the edges. Dust with flour and transfer to a plate. Repeat to form remaining empanadas, stacking on the plate between layers of waxed paper.
• Heat vegetable oil (3/4 inch deep) in a large frying pan over medium heat. Place empanadas in the hot oil, working in batches, and fry until browned and crisp, 2 to 4 minutes; flip. Continue frying on opposite side until browned, 3 to 5 minutes more.

BEEF EMPANADAS

Steps:

• Prepare the empanada dough: In a medium bowl, beat the eggs with the milk and 1/2 teaspoon salt. In a large bowl, combine the flour and 1 tablespoon salt, and mix well. Add the butter and incorporate it into the flour using your hands or a food processor. Combine until mixture is sandy. Combine the egg mixture, vinegar and 2/3 cup ice water, whisking to break up the egg. Add egg mixture to flour mixture, and beat with a fork to bring dough together.
• Sprinkle a light layer of flour over a work surface. Place the dough on top. Bring dough together by pressing and folding dough onto itself a few times with the palms of your hands. Being careful not to overwork, split dough in half and form into two equal logs about the thickness of a small sausage, 1 1/2- to 2-inches thick. Wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.
• While the dough rests, prepare the filling: In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high and bring to a shimmer. Add the tomato paste and toast, stirring frequently, until darkened and caramelized, about 3 minutes. Add the onion, bell peppers, garlic, salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly softened, about 5 minutes.
• Add the potato and raisins, and cook, stirring, until mixture starts to caramelize, 8 to 10 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes.
• Add the beef, increase the temperature to medium-high and cook, stirring occasionally, until beef is cooked through, about 10 minutes. Stir in oyster sauce and soy sauce until coated, then stir in chicken stock. (Mixture should be glossy but not overtly wet; cook for another 5 minutes or so to reduce liquid, if need be.) Transfer to a sheet pan, dispersing in a thin layer, and refrigerate until chilled, at least 20 minutes.
• Fill a small bowl with some cool water for sealing your empanadas, and another small bowl with flour for dusting. Working with one log at a time, remove dough from fridge. Cut each log in half crosswise, then cut each half crosswise into 10 equal pieces, which will be the shape of thick coins. Using a bit of flour, dust your work surface. Round each coin slightly using your thumb and forefinger and on your surface with your hands press each coin lightly to coax it into a flat round shape. Switch to a rolling pin and roll each piece of empanada dough into a 4 1/2-inch circle. You can lightly dust and stack your circles off to the side or transfer them to a parchment lined baking sheet and chill until you are ready to assemble (they are easier to work with when kept cool). Repeat with remaining log. When you have all your pieces rolled out, you are ready to assemble your empanadas. Place about 1 1/2 tablespoons of the meat filling in the center of each circle, leaving at least a 1/2-inch border. Using a brush or your finger, wet the edges of the dough with water and fold the crust over the filling, forming half-moon empanada shapes, sealing out as much air as possible. Crimp the edges of the empanada with the tines of a fork to seal.
• In a large heavy Dutch oven or pot, heat about 2 inches of oil over medium-high. Heat oil to 365 degrees. Working in batches so as not to crowd the pan, maintaining an even heat, fry the empanadas, turning frequently, until they start to bob, 4 to 5 minutes. (They should be crisp and golden brown, the pastry should be cooked through and the meat should be warmed through.) Transfer to a paper-towel lined baking sheet and fry remaining empanadas. Serve warm.