Mini Panamanian Beef Empanadas Recipes

PANAMANIAN BEEF EMPANADAS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Filling:.
• Place oil in skillet and brown the beef, then drain the grease.
• Add rest of ingredients, cover and simmer for about 30 minutes. Remove the bay leaf.
• If needed, add a little bit of flour to thicken the consistency of the filling. Salt and pepper to taste.
• For Crust:.
• Roll out on a lightly floured board-1/8th inch thick. Cut with cookie cutter or glass for appetizer sized empanadas. Use a small plate for luncheon size empanadas.
• On each round, put about 1/2 teaspoon filling. Fold over and flute edges with fork. Brush tops with beaten egg. Bake at 400 degrees until the crust is golden brown.
• You can also deep fry these in a deep fryer or in a deep skillet with enough oil to cover them. that's the way they eat them there, but baking is lower fat! But fried is sooo good! If frying don't brush the tops with egg!
• Enjoy!

MINI PANAMANIAN BEEF EMPANADAS

Steps:

• MAKE THE DOUGH: In a food processor, pulse the flour with the sugar and salt. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Beat the eggs with the wine and vinegar and drizzle over the flour mixture. Pulse until the dough just comes together. On a lightly floured work surface, gently knead the dough until smooth. Wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.
• PREPARE THE FILLING: In a medium skillet, heat the oil. Add the achiote seeds and cook over moderately high heat until the seeds darken and the oil is orange, about 1 minute. Discard the seeds. Add the ground beef to the skillet and cook, breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon, until no pink remains, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic, onion and bell pepper and cook over moderate heat until the onion is softened, about 5 minutes. Add the tomato, tomato paste and chicken stock and simmer over moderate heat until the liquid has nearly evaporated, about 3 minutes. Stir in the cilantro and season with salt and pepper. Let cool.
• On a generously floured work surface, roll out the dough 1/8 inch thick. With a 3-inch round biscuit cutter, stamp out as many rounds as possible (you should have about 24). Reroll the dough scraps and stamp out additional rounds if possible. Brush the excess flour off the rounds. Working with 1 round at a time and keeping the rest covered with plastic wrap, form the empanadas: Spoon 2 teaspoons of the filling on one side of the dough round. Fold the dough over to enclose the filling and crimp the edges with a fork to seal. Cover with plastic wrap while you form the remaining empanadas.
• Preheat the oven to 350°. In a deep skillet, heat 1/2 inch of oil to 350°. Fry 4 empanadas at a time, turning once, until browned and crisp, 2 minutes. Drain on paper towels and transfer to a baking sheet. When all of the empanadas have been fried, reheat them in the oven and serve.
• MAKE AHEAD.
• The filled, uncooked empanadas can be frozen on a baking sheet, then transferred to an airtight bag. Bake them in a 350° oven without thawing.
• NOTES.
• Alternatively, you can bake the empanadas: Preheat the oven to 350°. Beat 1 egg with 1 tablespoon of milk. Evenly space the uncooked empanadas on 2 baking sheets lined with parchment paper and brush with the egg wash. Bake in the upper and lower thirds of the oven for about 25 minutes, until golden brown.

CHICKEN MINI EMPANADAS

Steps:

• Prepare the pie dough according to the package directions for a double-crust pie. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. In a medium saucepan, combine the chicken, salsa and olives. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the cheese. Cool slightly.
• On a flour-dusted surface, roll out the dough to inch thick. Using a 3-inch-round cutter, cut out 36 circles, rerolling the scraps as needed. Place about 1 tablespoon chicken mixture in the center of each circle. Moisten the edges with water.
• Fold the circles in half and pinch to seal. Pierce the tops with a fork.
• Place the empanadas on a baking sheet and bake 15 minutes, or until golden. Serve hot.

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.

MINI CHICKEN EMPANADAS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°. In a small bowl, combine the first 8 ingredients. On a lightly floured surface, roll each pie crust into a 15-inch circle. Cut with a floured 3-in. round biscuit cutter., Place about 1 teaspoon filling on 1 half of each circle. Moisten edges with water. Fold pie crust over filling. Press edges with a fork to seal., Transfer to greased baking sheets. Bake until golden brown, 12-15 minutes. Remove to wire racks. Serve warm.

ARGENTINIAN BEEF EMPANADAS

Steps:

• Set racks in upper and lower thirds of oven, and preheat to 450 degrees F. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Cook beef in a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat, stirring and breaking up lumps, until no longer pink, 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer beef to a small bowl with a slotted spoon, and pour off grease from skillet. Melt butter in skillet and saute onions and green onion, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 5 minutes. Return beef to skillet and stir in hard-boiled eggs, olives, raisins, cumin, salt, and pepper. Transfer mixture to a shallow bowl and chill until cooled, 10 to 20 minutes.
• Unfold 1 pastry sheet, keeping remaining chilled, onto a lightly floured surface, dust lightly with flour, and roll out into a 12-inch square. Cut 4 (5 1/2-inch) rounds from pastry. Brush a 1/2-inch border around edges of 1 round with water, using a small brush or fingertip. Spoon about 3 tablespoons of filling onto half of round. Fold other half over filling and press edges together firmly. Crimp edges with a fork and transfer to one of prepared baking sheets. Repeat with 3 remaining rounds. Form 12 more empanadas in same manner with remaining pastry and filling, arranging them about 1 1/2 inches apart on baking sheets.
• Brush tops of empanadas with beaten egg. Bake, switching position of sheets halfway through, until golden brown, about 15 minutes.