Latin/South American/Spanish type meat pie...but....not really an empanada this time. More like a pastel con carne although thats not quite the correct translation either but here goes......
2.2lbs ground beef
8oz of really fatty Mexican chorizo
About 2 cups of papas seca (Peruvian dried potatoes)
Quart of low sodium chicken stock
1 Pack Pillsbury frozen pie crust...made with lard
Half a medium red onion minced
1 large red shallot minced
About 2 tbs minced garlic
1 tbs aji panca powder
1 heaping tbs aji panca paste.
2-3 tsp of ground cumin
About a tsp of Mexican oregano. I just grab a big pinch and grind it with my fingers.
1-2 tsp of black pepper.
A little red wine vinegar to taste.
Maybe a handful of frozen corn, peas and some additional onion.
This is actually a bit too much for the pie crust so some of the meat was set aside for nachos and stuff.
Brown the chorizo until it releases all that wonderful fat.
Add ground beef and brown it in the chorizo fat.
After its brown remove some of the fat but not too much
While all this is cooking rinse and soak the papas secas in hot water or stock.
Move all the meat to the side of the pan and add the "sofrito" and spices/paste
Cook the onions and shallots until soft
Mix it all into the meat and cook a few more minutes.
I transferred mine at this point into a pot from the fry pan.
Add just enough stock to keep the meat wet and cover...turn the heat down to a very low simmer for an hour or so. A Texas chili cook off winner once said "Its all in the meat" so we are gunna infuse that meat with some extra flavor.
Well thats about all ive gotten to sofar but....
After about an hour i will add the additional stock and dried taters. Cook them for a bit. Thicken if needed. Toss in some corn, extra onion and maybe some peas.
Transfer all that to the pie crust and bake it to a golden brown.