Argentinian Empanadas with Beef Tenderloin

Protein:

Origin: Argentina, South American

Method: Stovetop, Oven

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Empanadas are a common finger food in Argentina, with most households holding their own secret recipe. While empanadas can be widely found throughout many South American and Latin American countries, the Argentinian versions have proven to be some of our favorites. This recipe takes advantage of one of Argentina's best culinary products: high quality beef. In this case we use beef tenderloin, and these steak empanadas are inspired by a recipe found at one of our favorite local Argentinian restaurants.

What is an Argentinian Empanada?

Argentinian empanadas are typically flour based which can differ from other South American countries where the empanada may by corn based. They are typically filled with savory ingredients and may be either baked or fried.

Making the Argentinian Beef Tenderloin Empanadas

Gather and prep your ingredients

This steak empanada recipe calls for a mild spice mix that lets the beef shine through. Traditional olives, onions, scallions, bell pepper, and garlic round out the empanada filling.

What are the best olives to use in empanadas

Feel free to use your favorite green olives, but our personal favorites are the buttery, rich, and sweet Castelvetrano olives.

Dice the onions, pepper, and garlic and chop up the olives. If using fresh oregano, remove it from the stem and chop it up as well.

Combine the seasonings/spices in a small bowl and set aside. These South American empanadas are pretty mild, so if you would like a little kick, you can add a little crushed pepper flakes to the recipe or increase the cayenne pepper as well.

Cook the beef tenderloin empanada filling

In a large skillet or frying pan heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. When warm, stir in the diced beef tenderloin and cook until browned, but not fully cooked. Then remove the beef to a pan with a slotted spoon.

Add the yellow onion and pepper to the pan and cook until soft then add the garlic and cook for about 1 minute.

Add the spices, oregano, salt and pepper and cook for 1 minute while stirring. Add in the chicken broth, reserved beef and the green onion. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Continue cooking until most of the liquid is gone, stirring occasionally. This typically takes 45 minutes to 1:15 minutes.

The mixture should be nice and thickened at this point. You do not want a lot of excess liquid or the empanadas will be soggy, and no one likes soggy empanadas!

Remove the steak mixture from the heat and let it cool for about 5 minutes, then stir in the olives and raisins. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, but overnight is even better.

How to make Empanada Dough

Combine the flour and salt in a food processor. You can use the dough blade, but a regular blade tends to work better because the dough blade does not reach the sides of the bowl. You can also mix the dough by hand if you do not have a food processor.

Cut the butter and lard into the flour, about a tablespoon at a time.

Mix the egg yolk and the milk, then slowly add it to the flour, pulsing to mix after each addition. The empanada dough should begin to form small balls when you are getting close. To get the proper consistency you may not use all of the milk or may need up to an additional ¼ cup of warm milk.

Remove the dough from the bowl and form into 2 equal sized balls. The dough should not be sticky or form dry flaky cracks when you form into a ball. If it is sticky, add a very small amount of flour until you get the right consistency. If it is cracking, you may need to add a very small amount of warm milk or water.

Place the dough balls on a cookie sheet and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or until ready to make the empanadas.

Forming and Cooking the Argentinian Beef Tenderloin Empanadas

Preheat your oven or smoker to 400 degrees.

Roll out one of the dough balls to about ⅙ of an inch. Next use a large cup or cookie cutter to cut the dough into about 4-inch diameter circles. Pull up the scrap dough, form a ball and roll it out again, repeating the process until you have used all of the dough. Repeat the process with the 2nd dough ball. When done, you should have roughly twenty 4-inch circles.

Place a scant 2 tablespoons of the meat mixture in the middle of each circle. Fold over and press the edges with a fork to seal.

Be sure the empanadas are properly sealed so that they do not come apart during baking. You may choose to dampen the edges with a bit of water or egg wash to fully seal.

To make the task of making empanadas even easier, you can use a dumpling or empanada press.

Best egg wash for empanadas

Before baking, lightly brush the top of the empanadas with the egg wash. Depending on the amount of browning and gloss you want on the empanadas there are a number of different egg washes you can use. We choose the whole egg/milk wash which provides a medium browning and medium gloss with a buttery, flaky texture. If you want even more gloss, substitute heavy cream for the milk. If you want less browning try using just the egg whites .

Bake the empanadas for about 15-20 minutes, until they are nicely browned and the filling is nice and warm.

Dig In!

Serve the South American steak empanadas warm, as a finger food, or make it a meal.

The Argentinian Beef Tenderloin Empanadas are great on their own, but we find they also pair very well with some Aji Verde. You can find a recipe for Aji Verde along with our Peruvian Roast Game Hen recipe.

If you are looking for the perfect side dishes to eat the empanadas as a meal, we have found charro beans and pigeon pea rice to be perfect accompaniments or serve with some Brazilian Feijoada: Meat and Black Bean Stew.

We are all about that steak! You love steak as much as we do? Be sure to check out some of our other steak recipes like our Reverse Seared Argentinian Ribeye With Chimichurri Sauce, Filet Mignon with Goat Cheese Sauce and Grand Marnier Sautéed Peppers, Reverse Seared Teres Major or another South American classic like Garlic Basted Picanha or Grilled Brazilian Fraldinha.

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