Bison Empanadas

A New Mexico holiday treat

By Lucy Herrman

The winter holidays are a great opportunity for families and friends to slow down, hang out and cook together. Here in New Mexico, holiday meals are steeped in centuries-old traditions. Families gather in the kitchen to catch up on news while assembling the ingredients for soul-satisfying recipes that have been passed down for generations.

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Bison Empanadas

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When I travel, I love to indulge in the regional cuisine. It’s a great way to learn about the area and its customs. Because we have such great food in Taos, I actively encourage visitors to try our local specialties whenever possible. Popular foods of the holiday season include chicken posole, green chile stew, and red chile tamales. And for many Taosenos, Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without empanadas. Empanadas are New Mexico’s tasty little hand pies stuffed with cooked sweet fruit or a savory-sweet meat filling. While Spanish settlers may have brought the Moorish-inspired pastries to these parts centuries ago, today they remain a very important part of many New Mexican tables. And different versions of empanadas are enjoyed throughout the Southwest as well as all over Central and South America. Sweet or savory, empanadas are a delicious addition to a holiday buffet. So if you want to try a unique local specialty for your holiday get-together, try making your own empanadas. These little gems make a fantastic appetizer. They take a little time, but they are not hard to make, and the result is quite worth the effort. And by preparing the filling ahead of time, putting them together can be an engaging activity for the whole family. When making any regional foods, I like to be mindful of using local and traditional ingredients. My recipe for the empanada meat filling features classic New Mexico flavors, like chile caribe, pine nuts, raisins, cinnamon and cumin, as well as locally-raised ground bison. (Note: you can always substitute lean ground beef if bison isn’t available.) While you can use your own homemade pie crust recipe, I recommend to save time, buy the refrigerated pie crust sheets available at the grocery store. Just unroll the room-temperature dough, roll out until thin and use a 3-inch or larger round cookie cutter or water glass to cut out circles. Paint the disks with egg wash, place filling in the center, fold over the crust and crimp to seal shut. Some people fry the pastries until crisp. But I prefer to brush the tops with more egg wash, chill in the refrigerator for 20 minutes, and bake them until flaky and golden. Empanadas are so delicious, you’ll want to eat all of them straight out of the oven. But the recipe creates quite a few, especially if you make them small. So you may want to freeze some of them and cook them later as needed. And once you’ve mastered the sweet and savory meat filling, try using apricot or prune puree for a dessert version. Or pick your own favorite — shredded barbecue brisket, anyone? You really can’t go wrong. I hope you’ll give this yummy New Mexico treat a try this year. You may find that it becomes a treasured holiday tradition for your family, too. Buon Provecho!

New Mexico Bison Empanadas

1 pound ground bison 1/2 cup chopped onion 1 teaspoon chopped garlic 2 tablespoons bacon fat or lard 1 tablespoon chile caribe 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon cumin 1/2 cup pine nuts 1/2 cup raisins 1 tablespoon brown sugar 1/2 cup apple cider 1 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon pepper Dough for 2-3 pie crusts 1 egg beaten with 1 teaspoon water

Brown the bison over medium-high heat in a 3 quart saucepan with the onion, garlic and bacon fat until the bison is no longer pink and the onions are tender, about 5-8 minutes. Add the chile caribe, the cinnamon, the cumin and the pine nuts, and stir. Cook for about two minutes more. Add the raisins and apple cider and stir to combine. Bring to a boil and add the salt and pepper. Cover and reduce to a simmer for about 5-8 minutes. Remove from heat. The mixture should be moist. Roll out the pie crusts on a lightly-floured surface so they are fairly thin. Using a circular biscuit cutter or large round cookie cutter, cut 3-inch circles from the dough. Brush a bit of egg wash over the edge of each circle. Place a rounded teaspoon of filling in the center of the circle. Fold the dough in half to make a halfmoon, then crimp the edge with your fingers or a fork. Place the empanada on a cookie sheet lined with parchment. Repeat with remaining filling and dough, gathering the scraps of dough and re-rolling as needed. Brush all the empanadas with egg wash, and use a knife to place 3 little slits in the top. Refrigerate for 20 minutes before baking. (May make to this point and freeze on the cookie sheets. When frozen, remove from sheet and place in a freezer bag.) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake empanadas for 20-30 minutes until golden. (If cooking from frozen, cook for about 10 minutes more, until the filling is hot.) Makes 36 or more empanadas

Wishing You a Season of Peace