Raising Free Range Chickens
Now that we have chickens, we have the occasional unwanted rooster. FYI city folk: there really is no practical way you can neuter a rooster. No surgery, except for life removal.
But once that’s done, it’s time for a chicken dinner. Roosters are different than the plump white chickens neatly wrapped in plastic at the super market. The meat is stringier, more flavorful, and gamier than a farm raised chicken. I am not sure a ranch raised rooster would be a good for roasting, but when stewed, they are downright amazing.
Once the meat was stewed, I simply shredded it, and turned them into empanadas, one of my favorite easy dinners.
It’s the beginning of Hatch chile season, so I thought my strong flavored rooster meat and chiles would make a nice pair. The Hatch chiles I purchased ended up being rather spicy. You never know how spicy they will be until you roast them and add them to your dish. The eternal crap shoot.
A little bit of roux held my chicken filling together, and calmed the Hatch chiles down a bit. Did I need to add the bell pepper? Probably not. But I love the sweet flavor, and the color pop.
Hatch Chiles Empanadas can be Spicy
If you are completely opposed to spicy empanadas, then simply substitute another bell pepper for the hatch chiles. If you want crazy spicy empanadas, just take out the bell pepper and add more Hatch chiles.
This is a huge batch of empanadas, but they always go quickly. We take them for lunch, or have them as snacks the next day. You can invent a sauce to go along with your empanadas, but I always seem to forget. Maybe next time I will just put out the bottle of Sriracha on the table when we have empanadas. It’s also called Rooster Sauce, right?
I usually have these ingredients around the kitchen
I had just washed these
These are charring perfectly
This is an example of a chile that was over roasted. Ashy white residue means it was burnt.
I have heard some objection to sweating chiles in plastic, but I do it anyway.
2/3 of a classic mirepoix, just exchanged red bell pepper for carrots. You can always substitute 2 peeled, chopped carrots for the red bell pepper if you like…
I would have eaten this straight from the pan, but man, those Hatch chiles were HOT!
I love folding empanadas
These still need a little scraping to remove all the peel. But these are perfectly roasted.
This was my lunch. The two in the background were what was left for my husband.
Chicken Empanadas with Hatch and Red Bell Peppers
- Prep Time: 35 min
- Cook Time: 25 min
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 30 Empanadas 1x
- Category: Baked Goods
- Cuisine: Argentina
Ingredients
4 Hatch chiles
4 tbsp. butter (36gr)
1 small onion, minced
2 ribs celery with leaves, minced
1 small red bell pepper, cored and minced
2 tbsp. all-purpose flour (16gr)
1 cup chicken broth or water (240ml)
Salt and pepper to taste
4 cups cooked shredded chicken meat (450gr), skin removed
30 empanada crust discs, thawed
Instructions
Heat a large 10” (25cm) skillet, and melt the butter. Add the onions, celery and bell pepper, and sauté for 3 minutes. Add the flour, and stir until all the butter is absorbed. Add the chicken broth or water, stirring well over a low heat until a sauce is formed. Remove from heat, and stir in the shredded chicken and roasted Hatch chiles. Combine well, and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Heat your oven to 350°F/176°C. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Using a tablespoon, fill each of the empanada discs with 2-3 spoonfuls of chicken filling. Seal the edges well by crimping with a fork, or folding edge over. Place each empanada on the baking sheet until all are formed.
Bake the empanadas for 25 minutes, until they are crispy and golden brown. Remove from oven, and cook on wire racks.
Melissa, I saw you again yesterday on a taped copy of Texas Country Reporter. This time I noticed what looked like an empanada somewhere, so I’m at your website trying to find it….which I did. You mention the empanada disks….but I’ve never heard of such a thing…. please tell me more. Are these something you made up from scratch or can I really find them at the store ? If so, what brand, what store? Or can I make disks from ready-made pie crusts ? Is it the same dough? I appreciate whatever you can tell me. We just got back from NM a few days ago and we love ALL Hatch chile foods!! I know HEB will have shredded chicken with Hatch, and it would be perfect for the empanadas!! Tell me all! 🙂 Thanks so much !!
Hey, how are you Patty! Thanks for your note. Yes, there are pre-made empanada crusts available in the frozen section of grocery store, usually near the pie crusts. Goya is one brand, but my preferred brand is La Saltena, which can be difficult to find. It’s not a tender as a pie crust, a tad crispier. And, I have talked to cooks in Argentina, and very very few people actually make their own crusts. Most folks buy them. I need to work on a recipe to share! Let me know if I can be of help in the future!!
xo mg
oh, I’m so glad I looked here again today! I kept waiting for an email, not knowing your reply would be here. Thank you so much for the information! I have seen Goya items around here (San Antonio, TX) so maybe I’ll find some. Will look at their website or call them. I just picked up some hatch chiles so we may need to make these this weekend! They look SO yummy! When I have time, I’m going to go through your recipes and the rest of your blog a lot closer. I just loved the way everything looked on TX country reporter. And what a terrific place to live ! You are one lucky lady ! I’m so glad you’ve shared !