Pasteles de carne are the signature tapa of Murcia city. They are small, hand-held meat pies, distinct from empanadas (which are fried) — pasteles are baked. The filling always includes ground beef, hard-boiled egg, and sometimes tomato. The dough is a lard-based pastry.
A golden, crisp, half-moon pastry, warm from the oven. Break it open: spiced ground beef with flecks of egg, steam rising. The pastry flakes; the filling is savory and rich.
The lard in the pastry dough coats flour particles (preventing gluten development), creating a tender, flaky crust. The filling must be pre-cooked and cooled — raw meat wouldn't cook through during the brief baking, and warm filling would melt the pastry fat.
Variations
Some add chorizo or peas; the dough thickness varies; some brush with egg wash.
On the Palate
Where Pasteles de Carne sits in the Spanish flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 6
How it's made
6 steps · 1 hour active + 30 min waiting
- 130 min
Make dough: flour, lard, egg, water, salt; chill 30 min.
Watch outKeep the dough cold and handle it as little as possible — warm hands melt the lard and work up gluten, and you lose the tender, flaky crust.
- 215 min
Make filling: brown ground beef with onion, garlic, tomato; cool; mix with chopped egg.
Watch outCook the filling through and cool it completely before it goes in — warm filling melts the pastry fat and the short bake won't cook raw meat.
- 310 min
Roll dough; cut circles; place filling; fold into half-moons; crimp.
- 41 min
Brush with egg wash.
- 520 min
Bake at 200°C for 15-20 min until golden.
Watch outPull them at an even gold with the egg wash gleaming — that shine tells you the crust is set and short.
- 61 min
Serve warm.
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