I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas with their families! I sure did with my family!! It is always wonderful just spending a full day at home with the kids, watching them open their presents, play with their toys and eat a big home cooked feast!! But now that Christmas is over, it is time to think appetizers!! I mean think about it: New Year’s is next week and the Super Bowl is just right around the corner!

Well Erik and I have a great appetizer for you! These Pork Piccadillo Empanadas are tasty, satisfying and sure to please! In fact, empanadas are just the kind of dish that Two in the Kitchen is built around! While Erik is busy making the pork filling, I am busy making the crust. I love meals where we come together as a team and contribute our own part to the dish!

So let’s talk about the crust first. For this crust, I used the Cook’s Illustrated version for empanada crusts. Now this version calls for masa harina which is corn flour. (I use Maseca brand) Masa harina is a staple in our kitchen as I use it often to make homemade corn tortillas. (Never made home made corn tortillas?? See the instructions here)

Empanada crusts are more like pie crusts than tortillas, though I still use my handy tortilla press to make them. (If you don’t have a tortilla press, these can be rolled out, though I HIGHLY recommend investing in a tortilla press as they are not too pricey) This empanada crust is light, flaky, buttery and perfect to encase the amazing pork filling!!

Now for the picadillo filling. First; what is picadillo filling? The Spanish word picadillo refers to the meat being minced, or ground and in Latin American dishes, it is quite often a ground meat filling but, as is the case here, it can also be ground pork. Picadillo is a filling that can be used in a variety of Latin American dishes like tacos and burritos or empanadas. Erik, when he interned at Rick Bayless’s famous Frontera Grill in Chicago, often made a picadillo filling that used ground meat, raisins, and chopped almonds.

For our version of picadillo, Erik took country style pork ribs, and ground them using our Kitchen Aid meat grinder attachment. He then cooked them up with raisins, chopped peanuts and a delicious tomato based sauce. The result is an unbelievably flavorful filling that is perfectly well suited to pair with the fantastic corn empanada crusts!! By saving a cup of the tomato sauce, you will have a great little tasty dip to sink your flaky empanadas into before you gobble them all up!!

This dish is made even better by the fact that you can assemble them a few days before and refrigerate them before baking them in the oven when they are ready to be devoured.

Empanadas are so delicious and versatile!! Make them as a snack, appetizer or meal!! For whatever purpose you make these, you are in for a real treat!!

Crusts are from Cook’s Illustrated

Filling source is Two in the Kitchen



