Pulled Pork Empanadas

There’s nothing tastier than a pork butt or shoulder roast slow cooked in a crockpot or in the oven.  It’s one of those things that can cook in the background while you go about your business.  I usually season my pork butt or shoulder with a rub of fresh garlic, sea salt, cumin, a little ground coffee and onion powder (with a little olive oil thrown in).   I know you’re thinking ground coffee?  What the heck?  But it really is tasty.  Not too much just a few teaspoons but it really amps up the other flavors. It’s a pretty basic rub down because I like to add other spices to the pulled pork later on to make different dishes out of the same piece of roast.  A good size pork roast can yield BBQed pulled pork sandwiches, or tacos and burritos.  I’ve even made pulled pork momos, tamales and potstickers.  Who can go wrong with a well done pig?

This time I decided to make pork Empanadas out of the pulled pork.  It was fast and worked well for a weekday dinner with a fresh slaw made with red cabbage.  The leftovers are great for lunch the next day too.  Everybody at your work will want some of your lunch as soon as you start heating it up.  Guaranteed!

On a side note.  Today, July 6th, I finally finished off the Master Cleanse.  I was so excited to eat real food.  I was thinking about it last night going to bed and dreaming up what I’d make for breakfast.  I thought of eating these Empanadas but didn’t feel like that for breakfast.  So, I decided to make an egg white frittata with caramelized onions and asparagus spears and fresh basil.  I was super excited.  I took two bites and couldn’t eat another thing.  I got kind of nauseous.  I guess I have to slow down and eat a few little things.  Let my body catch up slowly.  I ate only raw vegetables and fruits yesterday so today I should be able to ease into real food.  We shall see.  On the bright side, I do feel really, really good and I think I will try this again next year some time, maybe not for the whole 21 days though.

Cook up the pulled pork mixture

Roll out the empanada dough

Place pork mixture on one end of the rolled out dough

Fold over dough and crimp with a fork

Brush with egg wash

Bake and serve warm!

Empanada dough:

2 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon sugar

6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

1 large egg yolk (save the egg white for the egg wash)

1/3 cup ice water

1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar

Pulled Pork Filling:

1 1/2 pound of cooked, pulled pork

1/2 onion, diced

4 tbsp oil

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 bunch fresh cilantro, chipped

1 jalapeno, chopped

1 tsp cumin

1/4 cup water

Egg wash:

egg white, beaten

1 tsp water

For the dough: Combine the flour, salt, and sugar in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until combined, add butter and pulse a few times until it resembles coarse meal.

Mix together the egg yolk, water, and vinegar in a measuring cup. Add the mixture to the dough, pulsing until just combined. Turn the dough out onto a work surface and gently knead until it just comes together. Form the dough into a disk, wrap with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before rolling out.

For the filling:  Heat oil in a sauce pan and saute the onion, garlic and jalapeno together until onions are translucent and the garlic is flavorful.  Add in cumin and water and simmer over low heat for about 3 minutes.  Toss in cilantro leaves before turning off the heat.

Assembly: Roll out the Empanada dough into 5 – 6 inch circle (I was making a little larger ones because it was for dinner).  Place 1/4 cup (or more if you want it fuller) of meat mixture on one end of the dough.  Bring the other half over the meat mixture and using a fork crimp the edges.  Place on a parchment lined cookie sheet.  Whisk together egg white and water  and brush each empanada.  Bake at 400°F for 20 minutes or until golden brown.

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