Buffalo Chicken Empanadas with Blue Cheese Dipping Sauce

 

  

Dough

Ingredients

    3 cups flour (plus a little more for kneading)

    1 teaspoon salt

    ½ Cup ice cold water

     1 Egg

     1 Egg white

     1 Teaspoon vinegar

     3 Tablespoons shortening

     1 Large egg, well beaten

Directions

In a small bowl, beat the water, egg, egg white and vinegar together. Set aside.  In a separate bowl, mix together the 3 cups of flour and salt.  Cut the shortening into the flour mix with a pastry blender or a fork, until it resembles course bread crumbs. Make a well in the center of the flour mix and pour the liquid ingredients from the first bowl into the center.  Mix the wet and dry ingredients well.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead it just until all the flour is incorporated and the dough is smooth.  Wrap the dough in plastic wrap, refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Filling

Ingredients

¼ Cup unsalted butter

¼ Cup hot sauce

¼ Teaspoon black pepper

1 Teaspoon garlic powder

¼ Teaspoon paprika

¼ Teaspoon cayenne pepper

¼ Teaspoon kosher salt

2 Tablespoons crumbled blue cheese, more if you desire (optional)

3 Tablespoons all purpose flour

6 Chicken thighs, on the bone

4 Cups of water

½ Medium Onion

Directions

Rinse chicken and place it in a small stock pot, cover with 4 cups of water (add more if needed to cover the chicken.  Add the ½ of onion and cook over medium-high heat, until chicken is tender (approximately 30-35 minutes).  Remove chicken from the broth and set aside to cool.  Once chicken is cool enough to handle with your hands, shred the meat off of the bones and place in a large bowl, toss in the crumbled blue cheese.   Combine the butter, hot sauce, black pepper, garlic powder, paprika, cayenne pepper, and salt in a small saucepan over low heat. Stir together and heat until butter is melted and mixture is well blended, add the flour and stir to beak up any lumps.   Allow to cool, add to the chicken and mix well.  Now your buffalo chicken filling is ready.  Time to work on the dough… 

Divide dough in half, then roll out 1 half (keep remaining dough covered with plastic wrap) on a floured surface with a floured rolling pin into a 15- by 10-inch rectangle.  With a Large biscuit cutter or some other 3 - 4” round cutting devise (I’ve used an empty can, wrap one of the open edges in foil) and cut out as many disks as you can.  Set dough disks aside and repeat process with remaining dough.  Once all your disks are cut it’s time to begin to fill and crimp your empanadas closed. 

Brush a thin layer of the egg mixture on the edge of the lower half of the disk. Now place a large tablespoon of the chicken mixture in the center of the disk and fold the dough over.  Crimp the edge closed with a fork.  Continue until you have filled all the disks, and set them aside.  Here is where you need to decide how you want to cook them, baked or deep fried?  

If you’re going to bake them preheat your oven to 400° F.  Brush the empanadas with the left over egg, bake for 20-25 minutes or until they are golden brown.

Deep fry, heat oil to 365-375° F, fry until golden brown.  Serve with Blue Cheese dipping sauce.

Blue Cheese Dipping Sauce

¼ Pound blue cheese or Gorgonzola

½ Cup mayonnaise

½ Cup sour cream

1 Tablespoon lemon juice

1 Tablespoon wine vinegar

Several dashes of hot pepper sauce, to taste

In small bowl, mash the blue cheese, leaving some small lumps. Whisk in the mayonnaise until blended. Add the remaining ingredients and whisk to blend well. Cover and refrigerate until serving time.