Chilean Empanadas de Pino

Chilean Empanadas de Pino — The only reason I put 4 empanadas on this plate was for the picture. They ended up being so good that I literally ate all four. It was over the course of a whole afternoon and night but still….4….I have no regrets.

Empanadas are a favorite of many South American countries and the variations are incredible. I love how versatile empanadas are while also being so convenient! The first time I ever had one was from a food truck…then I went and got another because it was that good. Ranging from savory mealtime foods to sweet dessert goodies, it seems like every South American country has what they would consider to be their favorite – in Chile that would be the Empanada de Pino.

After doing my research on this one I was pretty certain I was going to dislike it – I am not a fan of black olives and the idea of some of the flavor combinations (raisins, beef, olives and hard boiled eggs specifically) kind of weirded me out BUT I was SOOOOO wrong. Once cooked, all of the flavors mesh together perfectly complimenting each other for a great salty, sweet and delicious meal. Paired with Chilean Pebre as a dipping sauce it was darn wonderful. I am so happy I went out of my comfort zone and gave this one a try – recipes like this are exactly why I made this blog.

This recipe was a bit more time consuming and involved than normal but the results were worth it and it makes plenty so there can be leftovers (you will want them)! I broke the recipe down into two separate parts (the dough and the filling) to make it a little easier to manage. I would personally recommend making everything the day before you are planning to cook it. This gave the flavors in the meat mixture a little more time to combine and allowed the dough to chill. The next day I created the actual empanadas and cooked them.

Kim Cooking Incident of the Day: when I was creating this recipe I made a ton of meat mixture thinking that way more fits in the pastry. I was thinking about 1/4 cup would fit in each while it only ended up being about 2 Tbsp – whoops! What you see in the pictures will be what I did while what I included in the recipe is what you SHOULD do 🙂

NOTES ON HOW TO MAKE CHILEAN EMPINADAS DE PINO

For this recipe I prepared the meat mixture and dough the day before I was going to put the empanadas together and bake them. I would definitely recommend doing the same for the best result!

I found folding and sealing the empanadas a little difficult BUT I found this great video by Carmy which was a great tool! Mine didn’t look nearly as beautiful as hers but it still worked great!

Meat Mixture Ingredients:

• 1 Tbsp. Vegetable Oil
• 2 Tbsp. Butter
• 2 Cloves Garlic, minced
• 1 Large White Onion, diced
• 1 lb. Ground Beef
• 1 Tbsp. Paprika
• 1 1/2 tsp. Chili Powder
• 1 1/2 tsp. Cumin
• Salt and Pepper, to taste (I used 1 tsp. salt and 1/2 tsp. black pepper)
• 1 Cup Beef Broth or Stock (I used stock)
• 1 1/2 Tbsp. Flour
• 1/3 Cup Raisins
• 1/4 Cup Sliced Olives, pressed of additional liquids (I did this by squeezing them in a paper towel)

Meat Mixture Instructions:

1. Add the butter and oil to a large skillet on medium heat and stir to combine until the butter has melted.
2. Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until the onions have turned translucent, about 5 minutes.
3. Add the ground beef, paprika, chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper to the skillet and combine well, breaking up the beef as you go.
4. Add the beef stock (or broth) and let simmer, stirring and scraping the bottom of the skillet frequently to avoid the mixture from sticking or burning. Simmer until the liquids are mostly evaporated but the mixture isn’t dry, about 15-20 minutes.
5. Turn the heat down to low and stir in the flour to thicken the mixture. Cook, stirring frequently, for about 2 minutes.
6. Fold the raisins and olives into the mixture and let sit to cool. Store overnight in the fridge in an airtight container until you are ready to make the empanadas.

Empanada Dough Ingredients:

• 4 Cups All-Purpose Flour
• 1 1/2 tsp. Salt
• 3 Tbsp. Sugar
• 4 Tbsp. Butter (cold!)
• 4 Tbsp. Shortening
• 2 Egg Yolks
• 1 Cup Milk
• 1 Tbsp. Water

Empanada Dough Instructions:

• 1. Combine flour, salt and sugar well in a large mixing bowl.
• Add the shortening, tablespoon at a time, in different areas in the flour mixture. Do the same with the chilled butter. Use a pastry blender (or two forks) to combine the mixture (instructions above if needed!)
• In a separate bowl, whisk together the milk and yolks. Add the mixture in three batches to the flour mixture mixing well (with your hands!) to combine after each.
• Once combined add the water and knead into the dough for about 5 minutes. You should end up with a mixture which is a little sticky but not wet and certainly not dry. If too wet, add a small amount more flour and if too dry, add a small amount more water.
• Knead into a mound and wrap tightly with plastic wrap. Chill in the refrigerator overnight until you are ready to cook the empanadas.

Preparation Ingredients:

• Prepared Dough
• Prepared Meat Mixture
• 3 Hard Boiled Eggs
• 1 Egg Yolk
• 1 Tbsp. Milk
• Small Bowl of Water

Preparation Instructions:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees
2. Whisk together egg yolk and milk, set aside.
3. Slice the hard-boiled eggs, 4 slices per egg, they DONT have to be pretty, no one will notice 😉
4. Cut the dough into 12 pieces of similar size. Roll each into a ball and set aside.
5. Take one of the dough balls and flatten it out into a circle.
6. Add two tablespoons of the meat mixture just off center of the dough followed by one of the egg slices on top of the meat mixture.
7. Fold the longer side over the filling to meet the opposite side of the dough. Dip your finger in the bowl of water and lightly rub where the two sides of dough will meet. This will help them bind. Press sides together.
8. To completely seal the edges refer to this video by Carmy. She’s wonderful and this is the video I referred to when sealing my empanadas https://youtu.be/XHsfOxT45wI – mine didn’t come out nearly as beautiful but it worked!! If you are having the issue of your dough not sealing properly, dipping your finger again in the water and rubbing it lightly on the area you are folding will do the trick!
9. Arrange the empanadas on a baking sheet and brush the top of each with the egg yolk mixture.
10. Bake for about 30 minutes or until golden brown. Enjoy with this super easy Chilean Pebre as a dipping sauce!!