I first made this recipe from America’s Test Kitchen for a huge open house we had. My son and I had made up dozens of these the day before, and then all we had to do was to bake them as needed. I made somewhat of a miscalculation during the party, thinking that we didn’t need that last panful, and then people scarfed up all the ones I’d baked and it was really too late to put in the rest, as they have to bake about 30 minutes. So be sure to make plenty. I’m saying that this recipe will make a dozen empanadas, but that yield will depend on how many optional ingredients you include. If you’re adding all of the add-ins you’ll want to make extra dough.
Beef Empanadas
This is a great party dish as it can be put together ahead of time, and people can eat them as finger food (unless they put a lot of salsa on them).
Ingredients
Filling
- 1 slice hearty white sandwich bread, torn into quarters, or 1/2 cup breadcrumbs
- 2 tablespoons plus 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 1 pound 85 percent lean ground chuck This is what Costco sells; you don’t want the 80% lean stuff.
- ¾ tsp . salt
- ½ tsp . pepper, preferably freshly ground
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 medium onions, finely chopped
- 4 cloves medium garlic, minced or pressed through garlic press (about 4 teaspoons)
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne
- 1/ 8 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/2 cup packed cilantro leaves, coarsely chopped
- 2 hard-cooked eggs, coarsely chopped--optional
- ¼ cup green or black olives, coarsely chopped. The recipe says “pitted,” which I assume would be self-evident!
- ½ cup corn kernels, fresh or frozen, optional
- ½ cup black beans, rinsed and drained, optional
- 4 teaspoons cider vinegar, optional, if you want a tart note. I leave it out.
- 1/3 cup raisins, coarsely chopped, very, very, very optional, indeed, as far as I’m concerned, forbidden!
Dough
- 3 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for work surface
- 1 cup masa harina, finely-ground corn flour used for tortillas, available nowadays in most grocery stores. If you can't find this ingredient just add in an additional cup of flour.
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 12 tablespoons 1 1/2 sticks, unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes and chilled
- 1/2 cup cold vodka or tequila, which helps with the crust texture. Don't just use all water unless you absolutely have to do so.
- 1/2 cup cold water
- 5 tablespoons olive oil, for baking empanadas
Instructions
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FOR THE FILLING:
Process bread and 2 tablespoons chicken broth in food processor until paste forms, about 5 seconds. Add beef, ¾ teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper and pulse until mixture is well combined, six to eight pulses.
Heat oil in 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add onions and cook, stirring frequently, until beginning to brown, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic, cumin, cayenne, and cloves; cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add beef mixture and cook, breaking meat into 1-inch pieces with wooden spoon, until browned, about 7 minutes. Add remaining ½ cup chicken broth and simmer until mixture is moist but not wet, 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer mixture to bowl and cool 10 minutes. Stir in all additional filling ingredients that you are using. Taste and season with additional salt and pepper to taste if needed and refrigerate until cool, about 1 hour. (Filling can be refrigerated for up to 2 days.)
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FOR THE DOUGH:
Process 1 cup flour, masa harina, sugar, and salt briefly in food processor until combined. Add butter and pulse until homogeneous and dough resembles wet sand, about 10 seconds. Add remaining 2 cups flour and pulse until mixture is evenly distributed around bowl, 4 to 6 quick pulses. Sprinkle vodka or tequila and water over mixtureand pulse until dough comes together into a sticky mass.
Dump dough out onto lightly-floured surface and form into a ball. Divide dough in half, then divide each half into 6 equal pieces. If you’re not ready to assemble the empanadas you can put the dough pieces on a plate, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until needed.
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TO ASSEMBLE:
Adjust oven racks to upper- and lower-middle positions, place 1 baking sheet on each rack, and heat oven to 425 degrees. While the preheating is going on you can roll out the dough and assemble, or you can assemble the empanadas completely ahead of time and keep them covered and refrigerated until you’re ready to bake them. The easiest way to roll out the dough is to put it between two sheets of wax paper or parchment paper, which you can cut into smaller squares so that you’re not wasting so much. You want the dough circles to be about 6 inches in diameter. Just leave the dough stacked between the paper, which will prevent them from drying out. Start putting in the filling, placing about 1/3 cup filling in center of each dough round. Brush edges of dough with water, fold dough over filling, then fold edges over again. Crimp edges of empanadas using fork.
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TO BAKE:
Drizzle 2 tablespoons oil over surface of each hot baking sheet, then return to oven for 2 minutes. Place as many empanadas on each baking sheet as you can without their touching and cook until well browned and crisp, 25 to 30 minutes, rotating baking sheets front to back and top to bottom halfway through baking. Serve with salsa.
