Pulled Pork Empanadas

This delicious Pulled Pork Empanadas recipe was developed to utilize a load of delicious leftover Cola-braised Pulled Pork. We whipped up a huge batch of this amazing tasting Pulled Pork and found that it is the perfect filling for delicious homemade Empanadas. In this recipe we’ll show you how to make this dish from scratch, with the star of the show being the amazing slowly braised Pulled Pork. This dish is a perfect bite to eat any time of the day, but also serves as a great lunch for the family

Making the most amazing Pulled Pork

Our Pulled Pork recipe is simply amazing! The Pork is slowly braised until it’s melt in the mouth tender by using a Slow Cooker. The Pork itself is covered in a beautiful Dry Rub consisting of some classic Latin spices including Paprika, Cumin, Coriander Powder, and Cayenne Pepper. These spices add a wonderful aroma and beautiful flavor to the Pork

The Pork is added to the Slow Cooker along with a delicious braising liquid consisting of Orange Juice, Lime Juice, Lemon Juice, and Cola. While adding Cola to the braising liquid may seem a little strange, it is a classic ingredient that is commonly used in Pulled Pork dishes. The sweet, sugary Cola gives the Pork a beautiful richness and thickens up the sauce, which coats the Pork once it’s completely cooked

This recipe is an exercise in patience, but it’s also a super simple dish to make. You’ll need to set aside 6 hours of cooking time to allow the slow cooker to slowly break down that beautiful piece of Pork and allow all the flavors in the pot to develop

The good news is during this 6 hours of cooking time you don’t need to do anything at all. In fact, you can even set the slow cooker first thing in the morning and head of on your day. When you come home in the afternoon / evening the Pork will be ready, and your whole house will be filled with the most amazing aromas!

Once the Pork is cooked it’s time to turn it into Pulled Pork!

After the 6 hour slow cook in that delicious braising liquid, your Pork will be completely cooked. The next step is to remove it from the liquid and set it aside in a large bowl or on a large cutting board. Using two forks, you can liberally shred the Pork apart to form long strands of Pulled Pork

If the Pork cools down a little bit you can also use your hands. Some people use gloves and shred it up immediately out of the slow cooker, but we recommend just sticking to the fork technique. Shred it all up until you’ve got a bit bowl of even strands of Pork. This will form the filling for our Pulled Pork Empanadas

Forming the Empanadas

The simplest way to make homemade Empanadas is to use store bought Puff Pastry. Unlike many ingredients, Puff Pastry is one of those ingredients that it’s almost universally agreed upon that using store bought stuff is fine. Making your own Puff Pastry from scratch is a long and drawn out process. Just get the frozen stuff and thaw it out, it tastes great and saves a load of time!

Roll the Puff Pastry out on a flat surface and then cut it into squares. You can cut the squares into any sized shapes you like, just be aware that we’re filling the Pastry with Pulled Pork, so you’ll need to ensure there’s enough space for the filling to be completely encased with Puff Pastry

Then, scoop a ball of Pulled Pork and squeeze it tight. You want the Pork to be as compact as possible when it goes onto the Puff Pastry. This will ensure an abundance of filling in y our Pulled Pork Empanadas, which is what everyone wants!

Brush two sides of the Puff Pastry with Egg Wash, which will help the Pastry to stick. Then, fold the square over the filling to form a triangle shape and then crimp the edges to seal. Crimping is simply pressing the two sides of the Pastry together and folding them slightly in on itself to seal it up nicely

Repeat this process to create as many Pulled Pork Empanadas as you like. 3 ½ lbs. of Pulled Pork will yield a LOT of Empanadas, so you can always use any leftover Pork to make Pulled Pork Tacos. Brush all the remaining Egg Wash over the Empanadas then place them on a large sheet pan lined with Foil. Bake for 20 – 25 minutes, or until the Pastry turns golden brown and they’re all done!

Batch cook a load of Pulled Pork Empanadas and freeze what you don’t eat for later

If you’re cooking for a large group there may not be any Empanadas remaining, but if there’s only a few of you then this recipe is guaranteed to produce a lot of leftovers. What I recommend doing is only bake the Empanadas you plan on eating. The remaining ones can be wrapped up in foil and then placed in the freezer

They’ll keep for ages in the freezer, making for a tasty and easy to prepare meal when you’re a little hungry. Simply remove them from the Freezer and allow to thaw out a little bit. Enough so you can add some Egg Wash to them before baking. They’ll take a little longer to cook from frozen, so just keep an eye on them until that Pastry turns a beautiful golden brown color and they’re done

Pulled Pork Empanadas Recipe

Ingredients

• 3 ½ lbs. Pork Shoulder / Pork Butt
• 1 Onion, peeled and quartered
• 1 cup of Orange Juice
• Zest of 1 Orange
• ½ cup of Lime Juice
• ½ cup of Lemon Juice
• 1 cup of Cola
  
  

Dry Rub Ingredients

• 1 tsp. Cumin Powder
• 1 tsp. Coriander Powder
• 1 tsp. Smoked Paprika
• 1 tsp. Garlic Powder
• 1 tsp. Onion Powder
• ½ tsp. Cayenne Pepper
• 2 tsp. Salt
  
  

Pastry Ingredients

• 6 large Puff Pastry Sheets
• 4 Eggs
  
  

Equipment needed: Slow Cooker

Instructions

1. Mix dry rub ingredients together and then rub all over the Pork. Set aside for 10 minutes
2. Sauté the Onions in your slow cooker for 10 minutes turning halfway through. Once the Onions have charred, add the Pork and all remaining ingredients. Cover, and set to slow cook for 6 hours
3. Once cooked remove the Pork and place it in a large bowl. Tear Pork apart using two forks to form the Pulled Pork
4. Roll out the Puff Pastry and then cut into large squares. Add a ball of Pulled Pork in the middle of the Pastry, allowing enough room on all sides to fold it up
5. Whisk the Eggs in a small bowl then brush the Egg Wash over two sides of the Pastry to help stick it together. Fold the Pastry over the Pork to form a triangle and then crimp to seal
6. Brush the Empanadas with Egg Wash then place on a sheet pan lined with Aluminum Foil. Bake for 25 minutes at 400F, or until the pastry turns golden brown. Remove from oven and serve hot
   
   

Recipe Notes

• Make sure the Pork is fully submerged in liquid in the slow cooker. You can add more liquids (add in equal quantities) to cover. Alternatively, you can flip the Pork over halfway through the cook at the 3 hour mark
• You can keep the braising liquid and cook it down on the stovetop to thicken. This can work great as a light sauce for serving with the Empanadas
  
  

These delicious Pulled Pork Empanadas taste great with so many dipping sauces, or simply just serve them as they are. I like to enjoy them with a big bowl of Sweet Chili Sauce!

For more delicious appetizers, check out these favorite recipes of ours:

• Grilled Mackerel with Romesco Sauce
• Garlic Parmesan Chicken Wings
• Easy Steak Tartare
• Cheese Stuffed Peppers (Easy Chili Rellenos)
  
  

Happy Cooking!