Empanadas

I have never tried to  make these but lately I had been thinking about it quite a bit.  Had I known they were so easy I would have made them long ago.  As usual I looked through about a dozen or so recipes and took what I liked from them all to come up with my version.  I filled my first batch with left over brisket, poblanos and cheddar cheese.  They came out really good. The dough was better than I thought it would be.  The recipe is mainly for the dough and frying. You can fill these with almost anything.

Ingredients

3 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup buttermilk or whole milk
2 eggs
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1 stick of butter



Method

In  a large bowl whisk together eggs, vinegar and buttermilk. Set aside.
In a separate bowl mix together flour and salt. Cut the butter into the flour with 2 forks or a pastry knife. Just like making biscuits. 
Make a well in the center of the flour and pour in the egg mixture.  Using your hands, mix the dry into the wet until it forms a dough.  It should come together pretty fast. If is seems a little dry add in more buttermilk/milk about a teaspoon at a time until it comes together.  Turn the dough out on to a floured surface and knead it 5 or 6 times.  Don't overwork it.  Wrap it in plastic wrap and store in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Roll out the dough until its an 1/8th of an inch thick. Using a cutter or a bowl, cut out 6 inch rounds from the dough.  Store them under a damp towel until you are ready to fill. 

Place about 1/3 of a cup of filling into the center of the dough. Fold over like a taco, gently stretching the dough to cover the filling.  Press the edge down to seal it then fold the edge over to ensure nothing leaks out while frying.  Using a fork press down along the edges to form small ridges along the edge.

To cook, heat oil in a skillet to 365-375.  Oil should be about 1/2 deep in the pan.  Place 3 or 4 empanadas in the pan with the ridged side down. Fry until golden brown then turn them over.  Fry until the second side is golden brown then drain on a paper towel or a rack. 

Serve hot.