Adventures in Dough, Part 3: Pork Empanadas

Remember when I said I was trying to cut back on meat? Well, that's true, but not for this particular dish.

There was an empanada joint in Urbana that we used to frequent in graduate school. Warm, toasty savory hand pies were perfect on those chilly days (which, in Urbana, were plentiful). When I saw this recipe from Smitten Kitchen for empanada dough, I knew what my next baking challenge would be.

I intended to make them with beef, but our local grocery store had small pork roasts on sale by one get one free. I have trouble passing up that kind of a deal.

My summer fling with my slow cooker continues, so I decided that nothing would be better than shredded pork empanadas.

Notes: The meat-free efforts should have continued. Although I was happy with this dish overall, I was unhappy with the meat filling. I wanted something much saucier than what I got. The pork was pretty sad as well. It only needed three hours in the slow cooker, but I set it for four. It was definitely overdone and under-seasoned. I'm leaving the seasonings I used as is and I'll let you play with the spice level. Or change the filling entirely. I think I will.

This batch was supposed to make 24 empanadas. I only got 16 out of my batch. 8 was plenty for the two of us and we had some leftover. I froze the other 8 for Scott to eat later. He liked the filling better than I did.

Ingredients:
For the filling and wet rub:
2 small pork loin roasts (2 lbs of pork total)
1 small onion
6 garlic cloves
1/2 bag of frozen corn
1/2 bag of dried black beans, pre-soaked
1 chipotle pepper plus 1 tablespoon of adobo sauce
1 tablespoon whole grain mustard
1 tablespoon cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon honey
1 cup water
Salt
Pepper

For the dough (altered slightly from this recipe):
4 1/2 cups of flour (3 1/2 white, 1 wheat)
2 sticks unsalted butter, cubed and cold
3 teaspoons salt
2 large eggs (plus one for egg wash)
3/4 cup of ice water
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

Directions:

Start your filling first. Place your pork roasts in the slow cooker.

Mah pork babies

Get your spices together for your wet rub.

Add the honey, mustard, cumin, chili powder, and paprika to a small bowl and stir it until you end up with a paste.

Rub your pork roasts with the paste so that they are both well-coated.

Add one cup of water to your slow cooker. Add your chipotle pepper and adobo sauce to the water. Add onions and garlic. Stir and set for 3 hours on high.

While the meat is cooking, make your empanada dough.

Add your flour and salt to a large bowl. Sprinkle your cold butter on top and start working it into the flour with your pastry blender (or your hands).

Blend until the mixture has the look of coarse corn meal and the consistency of damp sand.

Mix the wet ingredients together and then add them to the flour/butter mixture. Stir until the dough comes together.

Knead it once or twice in the bowl, turn it out on a floured surface. Divide the dough in half and shape it into flat rectangles.

One, not so much a rectangle

Chill the dough for least an hour and up to six.

When the filling is an hour away from being finished, shred the pork and add in the black beans and corn. Return to the slow cooker to finish.

Mine is more cubed than shredded

Once the dough is chilled and the filling is done, take the dough out of the fridge and divide it into eight equal pieces. Roll each one out into a 5 inch round.

Round-ish

Add three tablespoons of filling in the center of the round.

Wet the edge of the round with water (just wet your finger and trace the edge of the dough), fold it in half and crimp the edges closed with a fork.

Beat 1 egg with one tablespoon of water. Brush the egg wash over the empanadas.

Place the oven racks in the bottom third and top third of the oven. Bake the empanadas at 400 for 20 minutes, 10 minutes on the bottom and 10 minutes on the top.

Serve hot and enjoy!