One of the challenges of practicing is what to do with the leftovers. I practice. A lot. So I am always up for trying new recipes to use leftover competition practice meats.
Tonight I decided to make some empanadas.

One batch was fried and the other baked.

Recipe for easy empanada dough from About.com :

• 3 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup cold water
• 1 egg
• 1 egg white
• 1 teaspoon vinegar
• 3 tablespoons shortening

Preparation:

1. In a bowl, beat the water, egg, egg white and vinegar together. Set aside.

2. In a separate bowl, mix together the 3 cups of flour and salt.

3. Cut the shortening into the flour mix with a pastry blender or two butter knives. Make a well in the center of the flour mix and pour the liquid ingredients from the first bowl into the center.

4. Mix the wet and dry ingredients with a fork until it becomes stiff.

5. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead it just until all the flour is incorporated and the dough is smooth.

6. Wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, but never more than 24 hours.

I used a batch of leftover pulled pork out of the freezer. After letting the dough chill out for an hour I rolled it out to about 1/4 ” thick. I used my largest biscuit cutter to cut out the discs of dough. I then rolled them out again to make them nice and thin (approx 1/8th inch). I placed the pulled pork on the center then I used a fork to crimp down the edges. It is really important to make sure the edges are sealed to hold in the pulled pork.

I fried them at 350F for a couple minutes per side. Until nice and golden.

The other batch I placed on a tray and gave them an egg wash. Then into the oven at 400F until golden (approx 15 minutes).

Both methods yielded some goodness on a plate.

Served with a side salad and some Dinosaur Honey Creole Mustard they made a nice dinner.

We had a bit of leftover dough so we decided to use it to make some deep fried yummies.. these were terrific sprinkled with powdered sugar with a batch of easy & fast caramel sauce. I would highly recommend this. It was a fun activity to do with the kids as well.

This recipe and dessert made a great meal .

3 Responses to “Pulled Pork Empanadas”