Recipe from Héctor Vergara
Adapted by Florence Fabricant
- Total Time
- 15 minutes
- Rating
- 4(204)
- Notes
- Read community notes
Featured in: For Chileans, Passion Translates to Empanadas
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Ingredients
Yield:Dough for 10 6-inch or 24 3-inch empanadas
- 3½ounces lard
- 1½teaspoons salt
- 3cups flour, more for work surface
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (10 servings)
226 calories; 10 grams fat; 4 grams saturated fat; 5 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 29 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 0 grams sugars; 4 grams protein; 110 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Step
1
Melt lard in a small saucepan over low heat. Immediately mix with salt and ⅔ cup very warm water. Place flour in a food processor. Turn machine on and pour half the liquid through feed tube. Stop machine, turn it to pulse and add half the remaining liquid. Keep pulsing and add rest of liquid.
Step
2
Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface, knead briefly until smooth, form into a disk, wrap in plastic and refrigerate until cool, at least 30 minutes.
Ratings
4
out of 5
204
user ratings
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Cooking Notes
Liza
I'm one of those people who really didn't want to use lard in anything, but I have tried other empanada doughs with so so results. So, I bought some lard and tried this one. Glad I did, these were clearly the best empanadas I have made. I prefer baked empanadas, 400F oven for 25 minutes was perfect. I had made the dough in advance, assembled the empanadas then refrigerated a couple of hours before baking.
Andrew
This worked great with vegetable shortening for a vegetarian audience. I added a bit more water than was called for to achieve a pie crust-like consistency. Baking the empanadas at 400F for about 25 minutes with this dough results in a nicely browned and flaky outside.
jassybeans
This is a great recipe. I used butter and melted it in the water on the stove.
Amanda
Perfect recipe! I did use beef tallow instead of lard, but I wouldn't think that would matter much. I also didn't bother with the food processor, it was pretty easy by hand. And didn't want the tallow to get too hard in the fridge, so I let it cool at room temp. yum.
Natasha
Made this with butter instead of lard and the dough was perfect.
Marty
I followed advice elsewhere in the comments and add 1-2 extra tablespoons of water when using vegetable shortening and then bake at 400 for 25-27 minutes, turning the baking sheet after 12-13 minutes.
Ulrike
Has anyone tried it with GF flour and veg. shortening? Does it hold together?
Wendy
How long can I refrigerate or freeze this dough before rolling it out?
Erin
I doubled this recipe, and it made 35 empanadas. I had to add a bit more water to form a ball of dough, but the end result was a very smooth and workable dough. I wish the recipe included weight measures, especially for the flour.
Marty
I followed advice elsewhere in the comments and add 1-2 extra tablespoons of water when using vegetable shortening and then bake at 400 for 25-27 minutes, turning the baking sheet after 12-13 minutes.
planetmiller
I made this recipe exactly as written. I could hardly roll the dough out, it seemed so dry. I felt like I could have used my pasta roller. But I persevered and my empanadas are in the freezer so I can store them to bake later. I hope they are not tough, but I won’t know until they’re baked. I. Sure I burned a few calories rolling out the dough! I wanted to use my delicious leftover chicken mole in these so I hope they bake up beautifully. I’m really not sure what I might have done differently.
Natasha
Made this with butter instead of lard and the dough was perfect.
Beth
I am not sure what I did wrong.. My dough was too dry. I ended up using a different recipe where you add the flour to the dry ingredients.
Rebecca Anne
Great recipe! I made the dough as written. I was able to get 25 3-inch empanadas out of this recipe. Once filled, I brushed the tops with melted lard and baked at 375 for 12 minutes. They came out beautifully golden and crispy!Other recipes I have tried resulted in baked empanadas that were soft and mushy. But, when I used the same fillings with this dough recipe, the empanadas came out perfectly for the first time in my life. It must be the lard. I will continue to use this recipe.
Roger C
Great dough recipe. Made half recipe and used an oz. of butter and .75 oz of coconut oil instead of lard. Also used unbleached pastry flour because that’s the flour I had. Came out fantastic! For the filling I used flank steak and pulsed it in the food processor just slightly. Removed the fat that sweated out as it was too much. Made mozzarella and spinach ones too. Remember to squeeze out as much water as possible. Really great recipe!
Betsabeh
I used salted butter instead of lard and the pastry turned out well.
jassybeans
This is a great recipe. I used butter and melted it in the water on the stove.
Andrew
This worked great with vegetable shortening for a vegetarian audience. I added a bit more water than was called for to achieve a pie crust-like consistency. Baking the empanadas at 400F for about 25 minutes with this dough results in a nicely browned and flaky outside.
Liza
I'm one of those people who really didn't want to use lard in anything, but I have tried other empanada doughs with so so results. So, I bought some lard and tried this one. Glad I did, these were clearly the best empanadas I have made. I prefer baked empanadas, 400F oven for 25 minutes was perfect. I had made the dough in advance, assembled the empanadas then refrigerated a couple of hours before baking.
Ramon Antonio Rodriguez
Great advice. I've had the same experience and for the same reason: adverse to lard. Thank you!
Amanda
Perfect recipe! I did use beef tallow instead of lard, but I wouldn't think that would matter much. I also didn't bother with the food processor, it was pretty easy by hand. And didn't want the tallow to get too hard in the fridge, so I let it cool at room temp. yum.
glenner
In my opinion lard is so much healthier for humans than hydrogenated veg shortening made from cotton seed oil [Crisco] and actually tastes Great!
Ellen Smart
This is a reply to glenner, not Amanda:Did anyone mention using Crisco in this recipe?Some people don't use lard because they don't eat pork....
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