FRIED BEEF EMPANADAS

Fried Beef Empanadas image

Small hot pockets of delicious mouth-popping flavor!

Provided by Charlie Lanigan

Time 1h50m

Yield 30

Number Of Ingredients 15

Ingredients

¼ cup olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
1 medium green bell pepper, finely chopped
1 ½ pounds ground beef
1 clove garlic, minced
2 teaspoons adobo seasoning (such as Goya®)
1 cup raisins
1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
3 large hard-cooked eggs, chopped
20 small pimento-stuffed green olives, chopped
1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
salt and ground black pepper to taste
¼ cup all-purpose flour, or as needed
3 (14 ounce) packages frozen empanada shells (such as Goya® discos), thawed
1 cup vegetable oil for frying, or as needed

Steps:

Heat olive oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat; add onion and bell pepper. Cook and stir, 3 to 4 minutes. Add beef, garlic, and adobo; continue to cook and stir until meat is browned, crumbly, and no longer pink, 5 to 7 minutes. Drain mixture in a colander to remove most of the liquid and allow to cool for 10 minutes.
Transfer cooled mixture to a mixing bowl with raisins, tomato paste, eggs, olives, and vinegar. Mix to combine and season with salt and pepper.
Lightly dust a work surface with flour and lay out empanada discs on top. Place a spoonful of stuffing on the bottom half of a disc and moisten the edges with water. Fold disc in half over the stuffing and press with a fork to seal the edges. Dust with flour and transfer to a plate. Repeat to form remaining empanadas, stacking on the plate between layers of waxed paper.
Heat vegetable oil (3/4 inch deep) in a large frying pan over medium heat. Place empanadas in the hot oil, working in batches, and fry until browned and crisp, 2 to 4 minutes; flip. Continue frying on opposite side until browned, 3 to 5 minutes more.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 211.3 calories, Carbohydrate 27 g, Cholesterol 35.4 mg, Fat 8.6 g, Fiber 1.7 g, Protein 8.1 g, SaturatedFat 2.1 g, Sodium 286.8 mg, Sugar 4.3 g