Pulled Pork Empanadas

I can't sing the praises of Cook's Illustrated enough and this recipe is a tweaked version from one of their back issues. You can use the finished product (pulled pork) in many ways– as pie filling, in a sammie, or, as in the case of today's recipe, inside puff pastry. I present: pulled pork empanadas.

In lieu of smoking or barbecuing, the pork is cubed and boiled for about five minutes and then simmered for about two hours. This is a perfect Sunday dish, as you can set it on the stove and clean the house, watch a Law & Order: SVU marathon or curse incoherently at the weeds that are determined to strangle the life out of your garden no matter what you do. Then, once you come back it's put together time and then just about 35 minutes until you can enjoy warm, cheesy, buttery, juicy and spicy pulled pork.

The Ingredients:

1-1.5 pounds of boneless pork butt or center cut (not tenderloin), available at .

1 can of chipotles in adobo sauce

1 package of puff pastry sheets, also available at Caron's*

Cheese of choice

Onion and garlic powder, salt and pepper and dried thyme**

4-5 bay leaves

*Caron's is having a free knife giveaway program. For every five dollars you spend, you get a sticker and once you get enough stickers, you have your choice of knives available. If you don't think I jumped all over that, you're sadly mistaken. You can never have enough good knives.

**Optionally, you can use minced garlic and onions, but the dish takes long enough without having to deal with those two bad boys and their subsequent clean-up. You're basically looking to flavor the cooking water, so a little culinary license won't hurt. Also, sometimes I like to add black beans or hominy to bulk up the filling; your choice.

The Steps:

Remove the fat from the pork and cube it into 1-2 inch pieces. Add to a good size saucepan with water and seasonings. Bring to a boil and let boil for about four minutes. Then turn to simmer and cover and set the timer for two hours. When the timer goes off, drain all but about a cup of stock (of course removing the bay leaves) and mash with a potato ricer. (That's a funny name, isn't it? Is it for potatoes or rice? For that matter, why can't I buy a rice spudder?) In a large saute pan, over medium heat, melt either bacon fat or oil or butter–just a touch–to aid in the crisping of the meat. It's already cooked and now you're looking to give it a little crust to emulate traditional barbecued pulled pork and that should take about six to seven minutes (turning constantly). Now add the juice from the chipotle can (can't really use the peppers in this recipe, but you can squeeze the goodness out of them depending on your flavor palette) and the reserved stock and if you're adding beans or anything else, throw it in at this point and saute for just a few minutes. The pork will absorb the liquid very quickly.

Divide the puff pastry sheets however you want, but try and commit to a design scheme ahead of time. I got a D in geometry and though I score off the charts on pattern recognition, I can't remember that if I want a triangle shape, I don't cut a triangle shape (not enough room once folded). Also, I don't recommend rolling, since the pastry won't cook all the way through at the seams (although, I've martyred through and eaten raw pastry dough. Can't resist dough, cookie or pastry.). The best bet in this scenario is to cut about 4x4 squares, load the filling and cheese and fold into a triangle, pinching the seams.

Finally, onto a sprayed sheet pan and into the oven go the empanadas until the pastry is that special golden color of beckoning buttery doneness (about 35 minutes at 350 F). You can also add cooked rice on the inside or roasted veggies as long as you don't overload – puff pastry will split and the filling tries to make an escape like it's trying to reconnect with the motherblob. Serve with rice or couscous or by itself. Don't let the two hour simmer time dissuade you–the end result is really delicious.