I’d Rather be Cooking

Chicken/Beef and Cheese Empanadas

To see the video that accompanies this recipe, click here.

• 1/2 lb meat (total; e.g.: 1/4 lb strip/skirt steak + 1 chicken breast)
• For the rub (the next 6 ingredients; save any extra for future use):
• 1 T chili powder (combo of regular chili, ancho chile, and chipotle chile powders)
• 1 t salt
• 1 t garlic powder
• 1 T ground cumin
• 1/2 t ground coriander
• 1/4 t cayenne pepper (spiciness, to taste)
• Juice of 1 lime (or lemon)
• 1 C cheese (Monterrey Jack, cheddar, queso fresco, quesadilla - any good melting cheese will do), grated
• 1/4 large onion, finely diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 jalapeno or serrano pepper, finely diced
• 1 t salt
• 1 t chili powder
• 1 package pre-made pie dough (2 rounds), cut with a cookie or biscuit cutter to ~4.5″ rounds - makes 10-12 “shells”; can also use bread/pizza dough
• 2 egg yolks

Combine ingredients for the rub in a small bowl and season both sides of the meat. Pour lime juice over meat to marinate. Set aside for 15 minutes. Grill meat about 4 minutes on each side (more or less) until done. Chicken will usually cook longer than the beef. When done, let rest 5 minutes, then dice into small pieces.

Meanwhile, combine cheese, onion, garlic, jalapeno/serrano, salt & chili powder in a large bowl. If doing both chicken and beef, split the filling between two bowls. Add meat, stir to combine. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Put about 1 T of the filling a little off-center in a round of the cut-out dough. Fold over, meeting the edges, press down and crimp with a fork. Place on a large cookie sheet. After all are done, brush the tops with egg yolk, and bake at 400F for 12-14 minutes, until golden brown. Serve immediately.

*note: These go great with enchilada sauce!