Empanadas Puerto Rican Style

Empanadas are meat stuffed pastries that can be fried, baked, or air fried. Different countries/cultures have their own versions/variations and styles for meat stuffed (picadillo) in a pastry. This is the way my mother, who was Puerto Rican, use to make them. I have made a few additions that my mom never used and I also made two versions: one fried in oil and the other air fried. I wanted to see how they differ aside from the the oil but also how it tastes. Serves 4-6. Here’s the recipe.

Ingredients

Makes 12

• 1 lb ground beef (you can use any other kind of meat)
• 2 Tbs sofrito (I will write a post on how I make mine soon)
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• 2 tsp oregano
• 1 Tbs garlic powder
• 1 tbs onion powder
• 2 Tbs Tomato paste or 4 oz tomato sauce
• 1 Tbs Worcestershire sauce
• 10 green stuffed olives (optional)
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 envelop of Goya Ham flavor
• 1 envelop of Sazon
• 1 pk Goya Empanadas Pastry (Yields 12)

Cook the meat on medium high heat until all pink is gone and drain most of the oil from it.

Next, add sofrito and all powdered ingredients and mix thoroughly to incorporate into meat. Add tomato paste and Worcestershire sauce. Continue to cook over medium heat. Add the olives. Cook fro another 3-5 minutes on low. Turn off heat and set aside to cool a bit.

Meanwhile, open empanadas packet. Each round piece are separate by thin plastic sheets which make it easy to handle. Add a about a tablespoon of the picadillo (meat mixture) and fold piece, using a fork to seal the edges. It doesn’t need any water or egg wash to seal up nicely.

If you wish to fry, add some canola oil to a pan, about 1/4 cup. When oil is heated (I test it by dipping the corner of the empanada) place empanadas and cook on medium heat until golden brown, around 3 minutes or so and flip over. Place the cooked meat patties on paper towels.

If you wish to air fry, preheat your air fry at 400 degrees F for about 10 minutes. I used my mini Dash air fryer, but each air fryer might vary.

I sprayed the plate and patties with non stick pray prior to placing them into the fryer. I was able to fit two meat patties and cooked them for 10 minutes, turning i over after 5 minutes.

Here’s a side by side comparison of the empanadas after they’ve fried (air fry top, oil fry bottom). The texture of the air fried patties was much flakier and evenly cooked.

Here’s how they look on the inside. The air fryer flaked like a baked pastry would. In terms of taste, the air fried patty, the meat was much more flavorful because if the lightness of the pastry. Although, the oil fried piece is still quite tasty!

Final conclusion: I liked the air fried empanadas best because, in addition to the fact that no oil is used (hence no added fat and calories, a lot healthier) the meat flavor was more potent and the texture was lighter. Plus, reheating them was a lot better than the fried because they didn’t become soggy the next day.

So there you have it. My version of Puerto Rican empanadas. I hope that you give it a try and if so, let me know what you think. Please feel free to comment, like and share. Thank you for taking the time to stop by. Buen provecho!