Best Festivo Pastel De Carne Recipes

PASTELITOS DE CARNE (CENTRAL AMERICAN MEAT PIES)

Pastelitos De Carne (Central American Meat Pies) image

* THIS IS MY VERSION OF THE RECIPE. PLEASE KEEP THAT IN MIND BEFORE COMPARING IT. IT'S ALSO HELPFUL TO ACTUALLY MAKE THE RECIPE* My family enjoys these little cakes. I usually cut them in half, place on top of shredded cabbage and either drizzle a little bit of Sarita's All Purpose Tomato Sauce on top or serve it on the side as a dipping sauce. A tortilla press makes the process of flattening the cakes easier. If you do not have one you can just use a rolling pin but just place the masa ball inbetween two sheets of parchment paper to prevent it from sticking to the rolling pin. If you do not have the chicken bullion then you will have to add extra salt and the taste will not be the same. I recommend making and frying one meat pie before making the rest just to make sure that the thickness of the masa is good and not to thick that the masa inside is raw when fried.

Provided by Chef Sarita in Aust

Categories Savory Pies

Time 30m

Yield 10-12 meat pies, 5-6 serving(s)

Number Of Ingredients 11

Ingredients

3 cups masa harina
1 tablespoon paprika
2 1/2 tablespoons powder chicken bouillon
salt
1 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons lard
2 cups warm water
1 1/2-2 lbs ground beef
1/2 cup white rice, cooked
cilantro, a couple of leaves
3 cups oil (enough to deep fry in a large frying pan)

Steps:

On medium high in a large pan, cook the ground beef and drain extra fat. To the cooked beef, add in the rice, cilantro and salt to taste. Cook for about 2 more minutes to heat thru. Set aside and let cool for about 7-10 minute.
Meanwhile, In a large bowl, mix the masa harina, paprika, chicken bullion and pepper.
Using a Pastry blender or fork, cut the lard into the masa mix until the masa is crumbly and the lard is pea size or smaller.
Add the warm water, 1 cup at a time, to the masa and using your hands, mix well until the water is fully incorperated. The masa should not be sticky or dry. If it is sticky add a little bit more masa (1 tspn at a time) or if it is dry add water (1 tbspn at a time).
Rub a little bit of cooking oil into your hands to make the following step easier. Take out about 2 table spoons of masa and roll into a ball. Using a tortilla press or a rolling pin, make the ball into the size of tortilla but be careful not to roll out to thin. The thickness has to be twice as thick as a tortilla or about the thickness of a pita bread. If it is too thin, the pies will not hold when you stuff them.
Heat your deep fry oil on a large frying pan on medium high heat (almost high heat).
Place rolled out dough on a flate surface and add about 2 tablespoons of the beef mixture in the middle. Close in half (creating the shape of a meat pie or half moon). Seal in edges with your fingers and creat small indintations with the end of a fork all around the edge of the pie.
Before frying, test oil readiness by dropping a small piece dough into the oil. If it automatically sizzles and floats to the top, it is ready. Carefully slide in meat pies into the hot oil and cook about 3-4 minutes per side or until deep golden brown.
Drain very well on paper towels. You can also slightly press a paper towel against the fried pies to remove excess oil. You can serve whole over a bed of shredded green cabbage or cut in half and serve Sarita's All purpose Tomato Sauce on the side.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 1818.4, Fat 159.3, SaturatedFat 27.4, Cholesterol 97.4, Sodium 128.6, Carbohydrate 68.3, Fiber 5.5, Sugar 0.2, Protein 33.2

PASTEIS DE CARNE (FRIED PASTRIES WITH MEAT FILLING)

Pasteis De Carne (fried Pastries With Meat Filling) image

These sound delicious, this is posted by request via email for "Rachel", they sound so good I may try them myself soon. From "Latin American Cooking, A treasury of recipes from the South American countries, Mexico and the Caribbean" Susan Bensusan.

Provided by Derf2440

Categories Savory Pies

Time 2h55m

Yield 24 pastries

Number Of Ingredients 16

Ingredients

3 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
10 tablespoons shortening, melted to lukewarm
1/2 cup milk, mixed with
1/2 cup hot water
2 tablespoons oil
1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, smashed
2 tomatoes, peeled,seeded and chopped
1 lb ground beef
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons parsley, finely chopped
1 hard-boiled egg, chopped
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, chopped
8 green olives, chopped
oil (for deep frying)

Steps:

To prepare the pastry, sift the flour and salt into a bowl.
Add the melted shortening and warm milk and water.
Mix to a smooth dough and cut into 2 pieces.
To prepare the filling, heat the oil in a frying pan, add the onion and garlic and fry for 5 minutes until soft and golden.
Add the tomatoes, ground beef and salt.
Simmer for 20 minutes until almost dry.
Remove from the heat.
Add the chopped parsley, egg, cheese and olives and mix well.
To assemble pastries, roll out the pastry on a floured board to 1/8 inch thickness.
Cut 12, 4 inch circles from each piece, 24 circles.
Place 1 tablespoon filling on each circle and moisten around the edge with warm water.
Fold over and seal the edges well.
Deep fry in preheated 375f degree oil for 4 to 5 minutes until golden and crisp.
Remove with slotted spoon and drain on absorbent paper towel.
The pastries are also delicious cold and make good picnic fare.
They may also be made without the ground beef.
Variation to replace ground beef, use finely chopped ham, chopped chicken, or shrimp.