Empanadas

Method

1. mix6 min
   cold, by hand
   flour + dough salt + cold butter + lard, pinched into flakes the size of oat grains, then + egg + ice water added a little at a time — stop while it still looks shaggy; the visible flecks of solid fat are what steam into layers in the oven, and warm hands melt them into a cracker
2. knead2 min
   light, just to cohere
   press the shag into a single smooth disc with the heel of the hand, no more than a dozen strokes = dough. Overworking builds gluten that will shrink the circles back the moment they are rolled
3. rest45 min
   wrapped, refrigerated
   dough, so the flour hydrates fully and the gluten relaxes — an unrested dough fights the rolling pin and tears at the crimp, and a tear is a leak
4. saute10 min
   medium
   olive oil + onion + garlic until soft and sweet but not browned, then + beef broken up small, cooked just until it loses its raw color
5. simmer8 min
   low, uncovered
   + paprika + cumin + oregano + cayenne + beef stock + filling salt + black pepper, reduced until the pan is glossy but shows no free liquid when a spoon is dragged through — loose juice turns to steam inside the sealed pastry and blows the seam open from the inside
6. rest30 min
   refrigerated, spread thin on a plate
   filling + olives + chopped hard-boiled egg folded in cold = picadillo. It must be refrigerator-cold before it meets dough: warm filling melts the fat in the wrapper on contact and that patch of pastry becomes a hole
7. fold20 min
   chilled dough, 5-inch rounds
   roll the dough about 3 mm thick, cut eight rounds, and set 2 tbsp of cold picadillo just off-center in each. Wet the rim with water — not egg wash, which is slippery with fat and slides apart — fold to a half-moon, press out the air, then crimp: fold a corner of the edge over on itself and walk the twist along the seam. The double thickness of the repulgue is the actual seal; a fork-pressed edge works but opens more often
8. bake22 min
   400°F / 205°C, upper third
   chilled empanadas + egg wash brushed over the tops only, baked until deep gold and the crimp is visibly puffed. Any that weep filling were overfilled — two tablespoons is the ceiling, no matter how big the round looks
9. fry5 min
   variant — 350°F / 175°C oil, no egg wash
   for the fried version, skip the wash and lower the empanadas in seam-up, two or three at a time, turning once until blistered and mahogany. Crowding drops the oil below 325°F, the dough absorbs fat instead of setting, and the seam softens enough to unfold in the pot