There are empanadas in most countries in South America, but, despite I’m a bit biased, there are none like Chilean Beef Empanadas.

One of the foods that many Chileans love is empanadas. Not only they are an unofficial symbol of the National Holiday season for September 18, but for many family gatherings or a quick lunch anywhere.

Many families keep the recipe for the dough and filling as a big secret, some make them fried but my favorite is the baked version and with a juicy meat filling, called Pino.

I love food in general and Chilean food is attached to my feelings and memories, so when I came to live in Germany, one of the first things I missed was the empanadas and I tried several recipes until they turned out as I wanted.

Interested in all Chilean Food? CLICK HERE to read more about the best dishes and drinks in the country

 

Cooking Empanadas de Pino outside Chile

One of the things that cost me the most when cooking Chilean dishes is the cuts of meat.

At least in beef, the cuts of meat that are typically found in Chile are not the most common in other countries or simply are not found and it’s time to find the closest thing or make friends with a butcher who wants to cut that piece we need.

What I recommend you is to try to find the ingredients that are more similar and adapt the recipes to whatever you find available wherever you are.

Here I share with you the recipe, with the options of cuts of meat to buy in Germany in case you can cook them here.

 

Baked Beef Empanadas Recipe

With this recipe, approximately 20 units come out.

Something important to have a juicy filling and that it’s easy when assembling the empanadas is to prepare the filling the day before or at least an hour before and let it cold in the refrigerator.

The meat should be a cut without much fat, it can be half chopped and half ground.

In Germany in winter I simply leave it outside, sometimes it is colder there than in the refrigerator!

The most important thing to keep in mind is that the process of making empanadas takes two days.

>> The day before you prepare the filling and the dough discs and the day you are going to bake the stuffed, shaped and baked.

Ingredients for filling or Pino

• 100ml  (3.4oz) or ½ cup Vegetable Oil, Wonder Oil or Butter
• 1 kilo (2.2 pounds) of onion chopped in small cubes.
• ½ Kilo (1.1 pounds) of beef. In Chile called Posta o Asiento, it’s something like sirloin. In Germany, I buy usually Tafelspitz
• 2 teaspoons of oregano
• 1 teaspoon Cumin powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 100ml  (3.4oz) or  ½ cup of cold water

Optional ingredients for the filling

• 2 teaspoons chili powder or spicy paprika
• 1 teaspoon of Merkén, a Chilean specialty consisting of smoked chilli flakes and coriander seeds
• 5 hard-boiled eggs
• 20 black olives
• 20 raisins

Ingredients for the dough

• 1 Kg (2.2 pounds) of flour, unbleached all-purpose
• 1 large egg or 2 small eggs
• 375 cc (12.6oz)  of boiling water
• 100 cc (3.4 oz) of White Wine
• 130 grams (0.2 pounds) of hot Lard
• 2 teaspoons of salt

For painting the Empanadas

• 1 Egg
• 2 teaspoons milk

Elements needed for the process

• 1 large pot
• Baking paper or extra flour
• Rolling Pin or bottle of wine
• Cutting board
• A plate
• Plastic paper, a clean plastic bag or a container with a lid

 

TIP: Always remember to prepare the filling and the dough the day before or at least about 4 hours before starting to assemble the empanadas. You will have more juicy empanadas and it will be easier to put them together.

 

INSTRUCTIONS

Preparation for the filling or Pino
Time: 1 hour total

1. In a large pot, heat the oil or butter and fry the onion, stirring constantly. Add seasonings and then salt. Here you can rectify the taste.
2. Cook for 30 minutes over medium heat until the onion is caramelized and soft.
3. Add the meat until it begins to brown and take color, it is important to mix it well and that no large pieces of meat remain, but mix well with the onion.
4. Add the broth and let cook 30 minutes over low heat.
5. Let cool and refrigerate until the next day.

 

 

Preparation of the dough

1. In a large bowl put all the flour, salt, add the eggs and 100cc of white wine, stirring with a wooden spoon. You want to get a mix of different thicknesses.
2. Add the 375cc of boiling water and the 130gr of hot Lard and mix again with the wooden spoon.
3. Just here we put our hands and start working the dough until we reach an elastic and soft dough. This should not take more than 5 minutes.
4. If the dough is too dry, add a little more water and on the contrary, if it is very wet add a little flour until you achieve the ideal texture to stretch it with the rolling pin.

 

To prepare the dough disks

1. Separate the dough into 15 to 20 portions and cover with a damp cloth if there is a lot of temperature in the room that you will cook.
2. Spread and flatten a piece of dough with your hands and roll it until it is approximately 1mm (0.4 in) thick.
3. Put the plate on top of the stretched dough and cut it, so you will have empanadas all of the same size. You can cut them up to three together, but always remember to put flour between them so that they do not stick.
4. Leave the already cut disc on a plate and spread a little flour on top so that you can stack the following dough disks you make.
Between 15 to 20 discs should be made depending on the thickness and size of the disc you cut.
5. The pieces of dough that remain when cutting the discs can be joined again, you knead them a little and you extend again.
6. Refrigerate until the next day covered with a bag or sticky plastic.

 

To make the Empanadas

** From this step on it is done the same day you are going to bake them

Preheat the oven to 180 °C or 220 °C c(356F to 428F) to bake the empanadas. If you don’t have a temperature reader in your oven, just put it to the maximum. Each oven is different so look at them while you bake them.

If you are adding hard-boiled eggs, cook them before starting the process so that they are already cold and you can cut them into quarters.

Also, have the olives and raisins on hand if you add them. For me, empanadas must have hard-boiled eggs and olives, but I don’t like raisins, for example.

The filling and dough leave them refrigerated until you start to assemble the empanadas.

 

To fill the Empanadas

When you have all the discs ready you can start filling them one by one. I recommend having the baking sheet ready to put them directly as you have them ready.

To prepare the baking sheet, you can spread a little oil, butter or butter on a piece of absorbent paper or brush and spread it all over the baking sheet, then some flour and move the baking sheet until it is covered. That way you will not stick the empanadas to the baking sheet.

In Germany we use a baking paper that is wonderful and saves this previous step, making the process cleaner, faster and easier.

1. Paint On a dough disk put 1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons of the filling, 1/4 of boiled egg, one olive and some raisins if you like them a little sweet.
2. Put the dough in half and form a croissant. With the base of your hands close it and squeeze the edges.
3. Then you take an edge with your fingers and squeeze the corners.
4. Take the other shore and press the corners
5. Then you take the top edge and squeeze the corners with your fingers. Your Empanada is shaped!
6. When you have them ready and ordered the pints with the rest of the egg mixture, this will give them a golden color when baked.
7. Bake for 30-35 minutes until golden brown, watch them during cooking if they inflate, bury a toothpick to deflate them so they do not open.