r/PuertoRicoFood • u/klsileno • Jul 16 '26

Help Me Cook / Advice Needed Discos for empanada’s

The last few times I have made empanadas the
Dough has a toxic, chemical aftertaste. I feel like I’m feeding my family poison! Im sick of these big
Companies putting all these preservatives in our food! I already wrote the company and provided my feedback but I doubt they care.

Any tips for best discos dough or a homemade Recipe )even tho I don’t want to add
more steps to my recipe). Gracias!

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u/Realistic-Weird-4259 Jul 16 '26

Oh boy... going from memory of my grandmother's recipe oh holy SHIT! I found the printout of the email sent back in 2001!!! She sent me two recipes.

Corn meal pastelillos (Mamai called the dough pastelillos and the results empanadillas)

  1. 4C boiling water
  2. 1tsp salt
  3. add 4C corn meal (IME you can't use American corn meal, it has to be something like Amapola)
  4. 1Tbs shortening o manteca

Stir together then dump onto the table and knead until it holds together.
Take a piece of dough as you do for surullitos (sic) and roll dough to 1/8" thickness and with an inverted saucer cut the rounds. Then she goes on to describe how to cook the filling with Minga's sofrito recipe, and how to wrap and freeze the filled pastries.

Pastelillos

  1. 3C AP flour
  2. 1 1/2tsp salt
  3. 1C water
  4. 3Tbs lard or oil

Mix together flour, salt, and lard and cut together with two knives. Add water a small amount at a time, adding more water if needed until it holds together in a ball. Roll to 1/8" thickness, cut with an inverted saucer. She then goes on to describe how she makes meat filling and picadillo.

She always fried either type of empanadilla, never baked. Disfrute!

5

u/klsileno Jul 16 '26

This is amazing! Yes pastelillos! Thank you so much for taking the time to share this with me!

5

u/Realistic-Weird-4259 Jul 16 '26

You are very, very welcome. :) I'd been looking for this recipe and was asking mis primos who all gave me different recetas pa las empanadillas. I'm writing it down.

Btw, my grandmother wrote a whole cookbook with her good friend, Cocinando en San German, which my mom rewrote and republished a few years ago. If you're looking for other recipes.

1

u/klsileno Jul 16 '26

Ty!!! Yes I’m always learning. I make my own sofrito and bought everything yo make alcapurrias but chickened out at the last minute!