Meat Pastry (Empanadas de Carne)

Recipe from: cubaninthemidwest
Image Credit: Ivonne

Meat Pastry (Empanadas de Carne)

“Here I go again, trying another recipe for empanada dough. I searched the internet and finally decided that this recipe would afford me my next adventure, but as usual, I had to make small adjustments. Here are the ingredients I used for the dough... and by the way, the dough turned out really tasty and flaky.” Ivonne

Ingredients for dough:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1-2 teaspoons sugar

4 tablespoons butter

4 tablespoons vegetable shortening

½ cup water

1 egg yolk

1 egg for wash

I made a simple meat filling for these:

1¼ lb ground beef, browned and drained

1 medium onion, finely chopped

½ green bell pepper, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon paprika

½ tablespoon cumin

1 teaspoon salt

Olive oil

1 cup water

Preparation of dough:

Mix your dry ingredients with the butter and shortening using a pastry cutter or two butter knives, 

until fairly well blended.

Form a well.

Whisk the egg yolk with the water, and drop into the center of your flour mixture.

Use a fork to first blend it together and then your hands to knead it into a ball.

Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least one hour.

Separate your dough to form about a ten small balls.

Sprinkle a work station with flour and roll out the individual balls into a circular shape about the 

thickness of pie crust. (I left my shape ragged because I was lazy and I knew how to fold them to 

make them look like they were round, but if you want to make them perfect you can use an 

empty coffee can to form the circle). 

Coat the bottom of a skillet with olive oil and Sauté your onions, pepper and garlic.

Add the browned ground beef, the water and spices and let simmer for about 15 minutes on 

low heat.

Pour about a tablespoon of your filling in the center and fold the dough over.

Pinch and fold the edge together (there are many videos on how to do this, search "how to fold 

an empanada") or just use a fork to press the edges together.

Place your empanadas on a cookie sheet (I put parchment paper on the sheet) and brush the 

tops with an egg wash.

Bake at 350°F until golden brown, about 25 minutes.

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