Star Anise Beef Empanadas Recipes

ARGENTINE MEAT EMPANADAS

Steps:

• In a saute; pan melt the shortening and add the chopped onions. Cook the onions until just before they begin to turn golden. Remove from the heat and stir in the sweet paprika, hot paprika, crushed red pepper flakes and salt to taste.
• Spread the meat on a sieve and pour boiling water on it for partial cooking. Allow meat to cool. Place meat in a dish add salt to taste, cumin and vinegar. Mix and add the meat to the onion mixture. Mix well and place on a flat to dish to cool and harden.
• Cut puff pastry dough into 10 round shells. Place a spoonful of the meat mixture on each round; add some of the raisins, olives and hard boiled egg. Avoid reaching the edges of the pastry with the filling because its oiliness will prevent good sealing. Slightly wet the edge of the pastry, fold in two and stick edges together. The shape should resemble that of a half-moon. You should have a 2/3 to 1/2 inch flat edge of pastry to work with. Seal by twisting edge, step by step, between thumb and index finger, making sure to add pressure before releasing the pinch and moving on to the next curl. Other sealing procedures like pinching without curling or using a fork to seal will not prevent juice leaks during baking, and empanadas must be juicy.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C). Place empanadas on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Be sure to prick each empanada with a fork near the curl to allow steam to escape during baking. Glaze with egg for shine and bake until golden, about 20 to 30 minutes.

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.

ARGENTINE EMPANADAS

Steps:

• Heat olive oil over medium-low heat. Add onion and cook for 10 minutes, stirring often.
• Add garlic and diced red pepper. Cook for another 10 minutes, stirring often. Add chili powder, cumin, sweet paprika, and oregano. Cook for 2 minutes.
• Increase heat to medium and add the ground beef. Season with salt and pepper and cook, crumbling into small pieces, until browned. Stir in beef boullion.
• Remove from heat and transfer mixture to a bowl to cool for 10 minutes. Then, stir in green onion, olives, parsley, and hard-boiled eggs.
• Cover and chill mixture for at least 1 hour or up to 3 days (depending on freshness of ingredients). It's important that the mixture is chilled before filling the empanadas.
• Add flour and salt to a large bowl and stir to combine. Add egg and butter and stir well to combine. Add oil and warm water and stir until the mixture starts to come together into a dough ball. Add more water if it's too dry.
• Place dough in clean greased bowl and cover tightly. Allow to rest at room temperature for 1 hour. (Or, refrigerate for up to 1 day, removing from the fridge 20 minutes before using.)
• Divide the dough into two pieces. On a greased countertop roll each piece into a very large circle, about 1/8in thick (not so thin that it might break when filling or baking).
• Use a small bowl or round cookie cutters to cut the dough into circles about 6in in diameter for regular size empanadas or 3 inch for mini empanadas (empanaditas).
• Remove the excess dough from around the cut circles and keep the circles where they are for filling them (so they hold their perfect circle shape). Leftover scraps can be re-rolled to make more dough to cut out.
• Place about 2 tablespoons of filling (for regular size empanadas) in the center of each circle, leaving plenty of space around the border. Moisten the edges of the circle with water, then fold the dough over and match the ends together to form a semi-circle.
• Pinch the edges together and then seal the ends by crimping them with a fork or pinching and twisting/folding it over.
• Baked Empanadas: Place empanadas on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Brush with a little bit of egg wash and bake at 375° For 25-30 minutes until golden brown and fully cooked.
• Fried Empanadas: (I've found it best to refrigerate the empanadas for 20 minutes before frying to help the dough firm up and hold its shape before placing in the hot oil). Add several inches of hot oil to a pot and heat to about 365° F. Fry one or two empanadas at a time, flipping once, until golden on both sides (1-2 minutes per side). Place on a paper-towel lined plate.

STAR ANISE BEEF EMPANADAS

Steps:

• For filling: Combine water, soy sauce, Scotch, sugar, gingerroot, cinnamon, zest, and star anise and simmer mixture 10 minutes. Add beef shanks and cook, partially covered, at a bare simmer 2 hours, or until meat is very tender. Transfer meat with a slotted spoon to cutting board. Remove gingerroot, cinnamon sticks, zest, and star anise from broth and discard. Toss carrots and kabocha squash with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and roast for about 30 minutes until tender. While roasting vegetables, discard bones and gristle and cut meat across grain into thin slices. For Dough: Sift flour with salt into a large bowl and blend in butter with your fingertips or a pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse meal with some butter lumps. Beat together egg, water, and vinegar in a small bowl with a fork. Add to flour mixture, stirring with fork until just incorporated. Turn out mixture onto a lightly floured surface and gather together, then knead gently with heel of your hand once or twice, just enough to bring dough together. Form dough into a flat rectangle and chill, wrapped in plastic wrap, at least 1 hour. Form and bake empanadas: Put oven racks in upper and lower thirds of oven and preheat oven to 400°F. Divide dough into 12 equal pieces and form each into a disk. Roll out 1 piece on a lightly floured surface with a lightly floured rolling pin into a 5-inch round (1/8 inch thick). Spoon about 2 tablespoons filling onto center and fold dough in half, enclosing filling. Press edges together to seal, then crimp decoratively with your fingers or tines of a fork. Transfer empanada to a baking sheet. Lightly brush empanadas with some of egg wash and bake in upper and lower thirds of oven, switching position of sheets halfway through baking, until golden, about 25 minutes. Transfer empanadas to a rack to cool at least 5 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.