Empanadas - Beef Turnovers

The Perfect Pastry for All Meals

Empanadas, or beef turnovers, are discs of pastry packed with meat. Some turnover recipes call for all manner of fillings, but this GOYA® Empanada recipe features a delicious tomato, onion, garlic and beef mixture.

You can enjoy Empanadas as an appetizer, a main dish, or even after your main course. Use GOYA Discos, or frozen pastry rounds, for a flaky beef turnover that will make your mouth water.

Makes 20 Empanadas

Prep time: 45 min.

Total time: 1 hr., 20 min.

1 tbsp. GOYA® Extra Virgin Olive Oil

½ lb. ground beef

½ medium yellow onion, finely chopped (about ½ cup)

¼ cup GOYA Tomato Sauce

6 GOYA Spanish Olives Stuffed with Minced Pimientos, thinly sliced

2 tbsp. GOYA Sofrito

1 packet Sazón GOYA with Coriander and Annatto

1 tsp. GOYA Minced Garlic or 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

½ tsp. GOYA Dried Oregano

GOYA Ground Black Pepper, to taste

1 package (14 oz.) GOYA Discos (Yellow or White), thawed

GOYA Corn Oil, for frying

1.	Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add ground beef and cook until browned, breaking up meat with a wooden spoon, about 10 minutes. Add onions and cook until soft, about 5 minutes more. Stir in tomato sauce, olives, Sofrito, Sazón, garlic, oregano and black pepper. Lower heat to medium-low and simmer until mixture thickens, about 15 minutes.
2.	On a lightly floured work surface, using a rolling pin, roll out discos until ½” larger in diameter. Spoon about 1 tbsp. meat mixture into middle, fold in half to form a half moon; moisten edges with water and pinch to seal closed, or seal with a fork.
3.	Fill a deep saucepan with oil to a depth of 2½”. Heat oil over medium-high heat until hot but not smoking (350°F on deep-fry thermometer). Cook Empanadas in batches until crisp and golden brown, flipping once, 4 – 6 minutes. Transfer to paper towels to drain.

For more recipes:
Empanadas Argentinas - Delicious Chicken Empanadas
Galician-Style Empanada - Empanada Gallega
Salvadorean Plantain Empanadas - Empanada del Salvador
Venezuelan Turnovers - Empanada
Argentinean-Style Beef Empanadas - Empanada Argentina

Crispy Empanadas, guaranteed!

If you don’t have a deep-fry thermometer, you can still estimate the temperature of the oil. Here’s how: place the handle of your wooden spoon, or a wooden chopstick, into the oil. If a steady stream of bubbles emerge from the wood, the oil is perfect. (If the oil starts rapidly bubbling, or if few bubbles are present, then the oil is too hot or too cold, respectively.)