It’s no mystery why so many different cultures have their own version of a meat pie. Whether you call them meat pies, hand pies, Empanadas, Samosas, or Pastelillos/Pastelitos they all have one thing in common…they’re freaking awesome!!! I mean, what’s not to love? A savory meat and cheese filling wrapped in a flaky dough, oh my, is there anything better? I’ll wait while you try to think of something.
I’ve been experimenting with different meat pie fillings lately. I recently made Cheesy Chorizo Empanadas that were extremely good. If you can get your hands on some good quality Chorizo I highly recommend you give them a try. You will become legend with everyone that tries them!!!
These meat pies are made with refrigerated biscuits for the crust and baked instead of being fried. Technically, baking them makes them healthier, right? That’s my story and I’m sticking to it. While I love pretty much anything fried, these are just as good as their fried counterparts but they are baked in the oven.
Making empanadas is pretty time consuming, especially if you make the dough from scratch. Using refrigerated biscuits for the crust makes it quick and easy to assemble these pies, get them into the oven and into your belly in short order!
I also tried thawing Rhodes frozen biscuits for the crust but we liked the refrigerated biscuits better. The refrigerated biscuits produced a flakier crust, and we thought they had a better texture, more like what you expect a crust to be. Plus you don’t have to thaw them prior to using them. For some of us that forget to plan ahead, being able to pop open a can of refrigerated biscuits is the way to go!
Prepare filling:
Put on your sous chef hat and start by getting all the chopping out of the way. Dice the onion, chop the Cilantro and the Poblano peppers. That’s the hardest part!!!
Add vegetable oil to a large skillet. Cook onions and peppers over medium heat until soft, about 5-8 minutes.
Remove the cooked onion and peppers from the pan and set aside.
Add the ground beef to the skillet, breaking it up as it cooks. Drain off any excess fat.
Add red pepper flakes and garlic. Cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
Add the chili powder, cumin and ½ teaspoon salt. Stir to combine and incorporate into the beef.
Add the tomato paste and ½ cup water and stir until combined.
Return cooked onion/pepper mixture back into the skillet and stir to combine everything.
Remove filling from heat and allow the mixture to cool to room temperature.
When mixture is no longer hot, add the shredded and crumbled cheeses and the chopped cilantro.
Season with salt and pepper and stir to combine.
Preheat oven to 400° F.
Assemble and bake pies:
Lightly flour work surface and using a rolling pin, roll out each biscuit into a 4-inch circle that’s about a 1/4 inch thick.
Place a generous heaping tablespoon of the meat & cheese mixture in the center of each circle of dough.
Brush egg wash around perimeter of dough circle and fold in half. Press the edges together with your fingers.
Crimp edges together with the tines of a fork to seal in the filling.
Place pies on a silpat or parchment lined baking sheet.
Brush each meat pie with the egg wash.
Bake until pies are golden brown and filling is hot, about 12 to 15 minutes.
Oh my goodness these are freaking delicious! Give them a try. I think you will agree that these baked meat pies are utterly, delectably delicious!!!
Meat Hand Pies
Equipment
- Silpat liners or parchment paper
Ingredients
For the crust:
- 24 refrigerated Grands biscuits, such as Pillsbury
- flour, for rolling
- 1 large egg mixed with 2 tablespoons water, for an egg wash
For the filling:
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 2 Poblano peppers, seeded and chopped
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 1 tsp red pepper flakes
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 tbsp chili powder
- 1 tsp cumin
- salt & pepper, to taste
- 3 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 cup pepper jack cheese, grated
- ½ cup queso fresco cheese, crumbled
- ½ cup fresh Cilantro, chopped
Instructions
Prepare the filling:
- Add vegetable oil to a large skillet over medium heat.
- Cook onions and peppers until soft, about 5 minutes.
- Remove from pan and set aside.
- Add beef to the skillet, breaking it up as it cooks, drain off any excess fat.
- Add red pepper flakes and garlic. Cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Add the chili powder, cumin and ½ teaspoon salt. Stir to combine.
- Add the tomato paste and a 1/4 cup water and stir until combined.
- Add cooked onion/pepper mixture to the skillet and stir to combine everything.
- Remove from heat and allow mixture to cool to room temperature
- When mixture is no longer hot, add shredded cheese and cilantro.
- Season with salt and pepper and stir to combine.
- Preheat oven to 400° F.
Assemble and bake pies:
- Lightly flour work surface and using a rolling pin, roll out each biscuit into a 4-inch circle that's about a 1/4 inch thick.
- Place a heaping tablespoon of the meat mixture in the center of each circle.
- Brush egg wash around perimeter of dough circle and fold in half.
- Press the edges together with your fingers and then and crimp with the tines of a fork to seal.
- Place pies on a silpat or parchment-lined baking sheet and brush each pie with the egg wash.
- Bake until pies are golden brown, about 12 to 15 minutes.
- Serve with a side of salsa and a dollop of sour cream if desired.
Did You Make This?
Snap a pic and hashtag it #naturewayblog — I love to see your creations! Don’t forget to comment and leave a review, or tag me on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter!
May I ask a small favor? If you enjoyed this blogpost would you be so kind and like the page? It lets me know what you are enjoying the most. It also helps me focus my attention on creating content that will be most meaningful and beneficial for you, my readers. And don’t forget to subscribe so you never miss out on all the latest that’s happening here at Nature Way. Thank you!
Can these be frozen? If so would you freeze before or after cooking? Defrost before baking? Thanks! They look amazing!
Paula I would freeze them before baking them. Set them out for 30 minutes or so while the oven preheats. Keep an eye on them while they bake to make sure they are heated all the way through and the cheese inside is melty.
Looks so yummy!!!
It was harder to get a good picture than it was to make them, LOL. These turned out so good with almost no effort. My guys loved them!