Beef Birria Empanadas

Ingredients:

2 lb boneless chuck roast

2 beef short rib

2 lb oxtail

8 wide chilis

5 guajillo chilis

2.5 cups beef stock

1 cinnamon stick

4 bay leaves

1 Tbsp coriander

1 Tbsp black peppercorn

1 Tbsp tomato paste

1 large onion

10 cloves garlic

1 tsp dried thyme

1 tsp oregano

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp ginger, minced

2 tbsp vinegar

2 tbsp vegetable oil

Salt to taste

Consomme Serving:

Consomme

Sweet onion, finely diced

Fresh cilantro, finely chopped

Freshly squeezed lime juice

For the Empanadas

20 Frozen empanada discs, each packet brings 10 discs

Canola or vegetable oil for frying

1 large egg for air frying

Oaxaca cheese

Directions:

For this recipe, we are using two pans of chuck roast two pounds of short ribs, and two pounds of oxtail with paper towels to remove some of the moisture.

Then season with a generous amount of kosher salt on both sides. Now set your instant pot to the saute setting and press start. Add two tablespoons of oil to the bottom of the pot then saute the beef in batches until brown on all sides and once again do this in batches as to now overcrowd the pot.

Once seared go ahead and set the meat aside, then with the pasta set to saute add in one large onion cut into chunks eight white chilies, and five guajillo chili before adding the chilies to the pot ensure that you remove all the seeds and cut them in half just like so.

Saute for a couple of minutes until the onion becomes translucent season with a pinch of salt, 1 teaspoon of oregano, 1 teaspoon of dry thyme, 1 tablespoon of black peppercorn, 1 cinnamon stick, 4 bay leaves, 2 tablespoons of vinegar, 1 teaspoon of cumin, 1 tablespoon of dried coriander, 1 teaspoon of freshly minced ginger, and 10 cloves of garlic, then saute for a couple of minutes to wake up the spices. Add two and a half cups of beef stock followed by one tablespoon of tomato paste, then bring to a simmer and let it simmer for about 10 minutes.

And after simmering for 10 minutes transfer the double into a blender meanwhile turn your instant pot off. Blend the adobo sauce until you get a smooth texture the adobo sauce looks great this is what we were looking for. Now transfer the beef back into the instant pot,

Pour the adobo sauce over the beef, then close the lid now set the instant pot to meat stew and set the timer to 55 minutes, and press start.

And after 55 minutes you may press quick release and for safety reasons, I like to place a tower over the steam and at this point, your beef birria would be fork tender. Now transfer into a mixing bowl and remove the bones.

Now using two forks and go ahead and shred it.

Then we are running the Consommé through a fast separator, for a clear broth.

Then pour the Consommé without the fat into a bowl and set it aside.

And for the empanadas, we are using Oaxaca cheese and the best way to cut up the cheese is to shred it by hand just like so. For the empanadas we're using store-bought frozen empanadas you may find the empanada disc at most grocery stores in the Latino frozen section. Let the frozen empanada disc sits on the countertop for at least one hour so they can get defrosted, and if you forgot to get them out of the freezer put them in the microwave for one minute and that would do the trick. To make the empanadas is very simple, place a disc on your countertop then fill it up with the cheese and the beef birria.

Then fold the empanada in half sort of like a taco and make sure that you close the edge with your fingers then using a fork go around the edge just like so.

Easy peasy! Repeat the same process with the rest of the empanada discs.

Then in a skillet over medium-high heat add enough canola oil to fry them. Once the oil has reached 350 degrees Fahrenheit you may transfer them into the skillet.

Fry them for about two to three minutes per side or until golden brown.

Once golden brown get them out of the oil and set them aside. What about if you don't want to fry them in oil? Let me show you how to make them in the air fryer, and if you want to make them in the air fryer in a small mixing bowl add the egg white of one large egg followed by one tablespoon of water give that a whisk.

Now brush each empanada with the egg wash on both sides.

Then spray the inside of your air fryer basket with nonstick cooking spray. Place your empanadas into the basket. I am doing three empanadas at a time. however, if your air fryer basket is bigger you can do more, of course.

Now set your air fryer temperature to 325 degrees and set the time to 15 minutes. Go ahead and press start.

And after 8 minutes pull the air fryer basket out and flip them over.

After you have flipped them over continue air frying for the remaining time.

And after 15 minutes of total cooking time, your air fryer empanadas should look like this.

And to serve them we need some of the birria sauce, add half a lime juice, one tablespoon of diced onion, and some fresh cilantro. And I think now you are ready to eat.

There you guys have it, super cheesy beef birria empanadas, two ways. Enjoy, buen provecho!