Baked Spicy Beef and Cheese Empanadas is a traditional Mexican recipe for a classic baked flaky wheat flour pastry empanada with a spicy minced beef and cheese filling using chipotles in adobo sauce. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Mexican version of: Baked Spicy Beef and Cheese Empanadas.
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Flaky, tender dough make these empanadas a recipe worth repeating. They’re filled with a delicious spicy beef mixture to kick them up a notch. Though, of course, you could use this site’s chicken empanada filling or the black bean and cheese empanadas recipe for a vegetarian filling.
Ingredients:
For the Dough:
500g plain (all purpose) flour
175g butter, cold
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 small eggs
120ml ice cold water
1 ½ tbsp cider vinegar (or white vinegar)
115g Monterey Jack cheese (or Mozzarella), cut into chunks
1 egg (for the egg-wash)
For the beef mixture:
500g minced beef
1/2 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2-3 chipotles in adobo, minced
1 tablespoon adobo sauce
1–2 tbsp chili powder
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp salt
freshly cracked black pepper
splash of water
Method:
For the dough; Sift together the flour and salt into a bowl. Dice the cold butter, add to the flour and rub in with your fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs (you do not need to mix in all the butter until it disappears, having a few chunks of butter left over is fine).
In a small bowl beat together the eggs, vinegar and 120ml ice cold water. Add this mixture to the flour mixture, using a fork to roughly combine.
Scrape the mixture onto a work surface working it just enough to form a cohesive ball (resist the temptation to knead). Cover the ball of dough with clingfilm and chill in the refrigerator for at least two hours.
In the meantime, prepare the filling. Set a frying pan over medium-high heat. Once hot add a glug of oil and use to fry the ½ onion for about 4 minutes, until just soft. Add the minced beef and cook until evenly browned. Drain off any excess fat at this point. Now add the minced garlic and fry for about 90 seconds, or until no longer raw.
Stir in the chipotles in adobo sauce and the adobo sauce along with the chilli powder, cumin, salt and cracked black pepper. Add a splash of water, bring the mixture to a simmer and cook over medium heat, stirring well to combine.
Once the dough has chilled for at least 2 hours, turn out onto a lightly-floured work surface and roll out to a thickness of at least 6mm (preferably less).
Use a pastry cutter, glass or bowl to cut out circles from the empanada dough (about 10cm diameter is good). Fill these with 1–2 tbsp of the beef filling and the cheese chunks. Lift both edges of the pastry around the filling and seal the edges by plaiting with your fingers. If desired, use the tines of a fork to seal the edges even further.
For the egg-wash crack and egg into a bowl. Add a splash of water or milk and whisk to combine. Brush this mixture over the upper surface of the empanada.
Transfer to the centre of an oven pre-heated to 200°C and bake for 20–25 minutes until gold-en brown.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool for a few minutes accompanied by your choice of salsa.
