Baked Chilean beef empanadas (empanadas de pino)

The most common cause is warm or wet filling at the time of assembly: steam from warm pino softens the dough and breaks the seal. The second cause is a poorly executed repulgue with insufficient pressure between folds. The solution: chill the filling well (at least 2 hours in the fridge), avoid overfilling, and press each pleat of the repulgue firmly while expelling trapped air before closing.

Yes, and they freeze very well. The best option is to freeze them unbaked, before egg-washing: place them on a tray without touching, freeze for 1-2 hours, then transfer to a sealed bag. They keep for up to 3 months. To bake from frozen, egg-wash and bake at 190 °C for 35-40 minutes without thawing first. You can also freeze them baked: reheat in a 180 °C oven for 10-12 minutes.

Homemade pastry is worth the effort when time allows: it has more flavour, a better crispy texture and you can control the thickness. Shop-bought empanada discs are a practical alternative that works well; choose the thicker ones to prevent tearing when filling. For Fiestas Patrias, making the pastry from scratch is part of the ritual.

The secret is twofold: cook the pino until it is dry but not dried out (well-cooked onion releases and then reabsorbs its moisture) and cool it completely before assembling. A warm or hot filling releases steam inside the empanada which softens and dampens the pastry from within. If the pino is too liquid, drain it through a fine sieve before chilling.

The classic pino contains minced beef, white onion, sweet paprika (ají de color), cumin and oregano. The hard-boiled egg, green olive and raisins are placed in each empanada individually rather than mixed into the pino. Raisins are a detail that divides Chileans, but their subtle sweetness balances the savoury, spiced filling.

Beaten egg is a mixture of proteins and fats that, when cooked, forms a glossy, golden film over the pastry. Without brushing, the empanada stays pale and dull. For a deeper golden colour, apply two coats — the second one just before going into the oven. The egg also subtly seals the edges of the repulgue.

Yes, with two adjustments. Roll the dough thinner (2 mm instead of 3), because thick dough stays raw inside when fried, and skip the egg wash — egg burns in hot oil. Fry in plenty of oil at 175-180 °C (350 °F), 3-4 minutes per side until golden, and seal the edges very well so the filling does not leak. A smaller format (12 cm / 5 in turnovers) fries more evenly than the oven size.

Cook the minced beef in oil over medium-high heat until it loses its pink color (6-8 minutes); add the diced onion, sweet paprika, cumin and oregano and cook over medium heat for 15 more minutes, until the onion is soft and translucent. Season with salt and pepper and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, ideally overnight: cold, firm pino is what keeps the pastry from going soggy when you fill it. Each empanada takes a heaped spoonful of pino, a quarter of a hard-boiled egg, one olive and 4-5 raisins.