Empanadas are a very popular dish that consist of a thin dough filled with a salty or sweet preparation. On this occasion, we are going to make the typical Colombian empanadas, which are made with a dough of yellow or white corn flour and, generally, with a filling of ground or shredded meat.
They are widely consumed as fast food in any street stall. These, unlike Argentine empanadas, are fried in oil and are left with a crunchy and crunchy texture. In addition, they are characterized by having a crescent shape, very similar to Venezuelan empanadas.
Do you want to learn how to make Colombian empanadas? Although they look complicated, making them is very easy and you do not need many ingredients. We will make the meat filling with potatoes and it will be delicious, so don’t think twice and go ahead and cook these Colombian ground beef empanadas.
Ingredients to make Colombian Ground Beef Empanadas:
- 2 cups of prepared cornmeal or PAN flour
- 3 red tomatoes
- 3 sprigs of long onion or chives
- 1 white onion
- 5 yellow potatoes
- 1 pinch of garlic paste
- 1 dash of color
- 500 grams of ground beef
- 1 pinch of salt
- 1 pinch of pepper
How to make Colombian Ground Beef Empanadas:
1 The first step to make this recipe for homemade empanadas is to pre-list all the ingredients.
2 Peel the yellow potatoes and cut into medium squares, take them to a pot with water over medium heat and cook them until they are soft enough to make a puree.
3 Once we have the yellow potatoes cooked, remove them, place them in a bowl and puree them. Reserve to make the ground beef empanadas with potatoes.
4 In a separate bowl, add the cups of corn flour to make the dough for Colombian empanadas, add a tablespoon of salt and distribute very well. This amount of dough is enough for 8 units of empanadas in total, that is, 2 medium-sized empanadas for each of the diners.
5 To start the ground beef stew, sauté the onions, tomato, and a little garlic in sunflower oil until done.
6 Take a pan over medium heat and add a little sunflower oil, add the ground beef, salt, pepper and garlic paste. Sauté very well until the meat is at the desired point.
7 Keep in mind that for every two cups of precooked cornmeal, you must add 2 and 1/4 cups of hot water to the dough. Also, you can add a pinch of color to the water to make the dough yellow, just like traditional Colombian empanadas. Once the hot water is added, mix with your hand and let the dough rest until you can knead it.
8 In a bowl, combine the already prepared ground beef, the mashed yellow potatoes and the Colombian stew. Mix all the ingredients for the meat empanada filling very well.
9 Make medium balls with the cornmeal dough like the ones seen in the photograph.
10 With the help of a table or a plate, flatten the balls of flour. Ideally they should be thin but not too thin. It should have a midpoint so they don’t open when you’re frying them in hot oil.
11 Add a little of the filling in the center of the dough for the Colombian empanadas.
12 Close with your hand and make sure that the edges are well glued so that the filling does not come out in the hot oil. The characteristic of Colombian empanadas is that they are always in the shape of a crescent, they can be made this size or a smaller size, like appetizers.
13 Take a pan over medium heat with plenty of sunflower oil. Once you notice that it is hot, add the homemade empanadas and fry on each side for approximately 5 to 8 minutes.
14 Remove the Colombian empanadas to a plate with kitchen paper to absorb a little of the excess oil that they acquired in the pan.
Serve the Colombian empanadas hot, they are usually accompanied with Colombian chili sauce as seen in the photograph.
How to make crispy Colombian empanadas
Colombian meat empanadas are a classic of Colombian street food. Nothing more delicious than trying some delicious crispy, juicy and flavorful empanadas. The art of frying empanadas is really not difficult, and if you take care of the preparation, you will have empanadas that will become a sensation among friends and family.
Remember that to fry the empanadas, the oil must be very hot. Do not add too many empanadas at the same time, as the oil will cool and they will not be the same. The ideal temperature for frying is about 180º C.
On the other hand, be careful not to make the dough too thick. The thicker the dough, the softer the empanada will be when you fry it. However, there are those who prefer them that way, so if this is your case, go ahead! Prepare your chubby ground beef empanadas full of dough.
Although Colombian ground beef empanadas are the most traditional, along with shredded beef, the truth is that there are many ingredients that you can add to your empanada recipe. Among them, you can include yucca, rice, boiled eggs, peas and more.
