Pastelitos De Carne (Central American Meat Pies)
photo by Chef Sarita in Aust
- Ready In:
- 30mins
- Ingredients:
- 11
- Yields:
-
10-12 meat pies
- Serves:
- 5-6
ingredients
- 3 cups masa harina
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 2 1⁄2 tablespoons powder chicken bouillon
- salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 2 tablespoons lard
- 2 cups warm water
- 1 1⁄2 - 2 lbs ground beef
- 1⁄2 cup white rice, cooked
- cilantro, a couple of leaves
- 3 cups oil (enough to deep fry in a large frying pan)
directions
- On medium high in a large pan, cook the ground beef and drain extra fat. To the cooked beef, add in the rice, cilantro and salt to taste. Cook for about 2 more minutes to heat thru. Set aside and let cool for about 7-10 minute.
- Meanwhile, In a large bowl, mix the masa harina, paprika, chicken bullion and pepper.
- Using a Pastry blender or fork, cut the lard into the masa mix until the masa is crumbly and the lard is pea size or smaller.
- Add the warm water, 1 cup at a time, to the masa and using your hands, mix well until the water is fully incorperated. The masa should not be sticky or dry. If it is sticky add a little bit more masa (1 tspn at a time) or if it is dry add water (1 tbspn at a time).
- Rub a little bit of cooking oil into your hands to make the following step easier. Take out about 2 table spoons of masa and roll into a ball. Using a tortilla press or a rolling pin, make the ball into the size of tortilla but be careful not to roll out to thin. The thickness has to be twice as thick as a tortilla or about the thickness of a pita bread. If it is too thin, the pies will not hold when you stuff them.
- Heat your deep fry oil on a large frying pan on medium high heat (almost high heat).
- Place rolled out dough on a flate surface and add about 2 tablespoons of the beef mixture in the middle. Close in half (creating the shape of a meat pie or half moon). Seal in edges with your fingers and creat small indintations with the end of a fork all around the edge of the pie.
- Before frying, test oil readiness by dropping a small piece dough into the oil. If it automatically sizzles and floats to the top, it is ready. Carefully slide in meat pies into the hot oil and cook about 3-4 minutes per side or until deep golden brown.
- Drain very well on paper towels. You can also slightly press a paper towel against the fried pies to remove excess oil. You can serve whole over a bed of shredded green cabbage or cut in half and serve Sarita's All purpose Tomato Sauce on the side.
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RECIPE SUBMITTED BY
I was born in Honduras, Central America. I came to the states when I was about 2 yrs old and now currently have a full time job in the medical field. I have a family of 100+ relatives also living in Austin and we all share a passion for good food. I am known for the foods that I prepare for my dinner parties and special occassion gatherings. Weekends at my house are packed with family and friends because we usually have the grill going. I also have a knack for baking. I have been told by several people that I should open my own bakery or restaurant...which I am seriously considering in the near future. I absolutley love to cook and this is why Zaar is a heaven sent! I like to take other peoples feeings into consideration when rating recipes so my rating system reflects that. I do not rate below a 3 just for the simple fact that everyones taste is different and what might taste magnificant to some, might not be too great for others. I always give everything a second try unless I absolutley hate it (then I take a second look at the recipe and find out what attracted me to this recipe and how can I alter it a bit to my taste). I usually spend my free time brainbstorming recipes and creating them with my beautiful daughters (pictured above)!