New Mexican empanadas — small, hand-formed pastries filled with sweetened mincemeat (bizcochacito — a cooked mixture of beef, raisins, piñon nuts, cinnamon, and sugar) and deep-fried or baked — are the descendant of the Spanish Colonial empanadita tradition. They are made for Christmas, for All Souls' Day, and for celebrations. Their dough is enriched with lard; their filling balances meat and sweetness in a proportion that seems unlikely to the unfamiliar palate but is deeply rooted in the Spanish Medieval tradition of sweet-and-savoury combinations.
- **The lard dough:** Flour + lard + a small amount of sugar + salt + water — the same technique as bizcochito (RC-11). The lard produces the characteristic flaky, crumbly pastry. - **The bizcochacito filling:** Ground or finely minced beef (or pork) cooked with raisins, piñon nuts, cinnamon, cloves, and piloncillo or brown sugar. The sweetness level is substantial — these are essentially a sweet meat pie in the medieval Spanish tradition. [VERIFY] Jamison's filling recipe. - **The sealing:** The pastry circle folded over, edges pressed firmly, then crimped with a fork. The seal must hold through the frying. - **Frying vs baking:** The traditional method is frying in lard or oil at 175°C. Baked empanadas at 180°C produce a different (slightly firmer, less rich) pastry. - **The sugar dusting:** Immediately after frying — powdered sugar dusted over the hot empanadas.
Rancho de Chimayó