Beef Empanadas

1. First, make the dough. In the bowl of a food processor combine the flour, sugar, salt and cumin. Pulse it a few times to sift it together. Add in the water, white vinegar and egg and give it another few pulses until it resembles wet sand. Then add in the butter and keep pulsing just until a ball of dough is formed. Wrap it in plastic and let it rest in the refrigerator for an hour.
2. Wash out the food processor bowl and blade to start the filling while the dough rests. Combine the onion, poblano pepper, bell pepper, garlic and cilantro in the food processor bowl and run it until it is a pureed mixture.
3. Transfer the puree into a large skillet and heat it up over medium high heat. Let it bubble and get fragrant for 2-3 minutes. Add the beef into the pan. Let it absorb that puree while it cooks and you break it up with a spoon. Season it with the adobo seasoning, salt, chili powder, smoked paprika and crushed red pepper. Then add in the tomato paste and give the mixture a big stir. Let it simmer for 15 minutes over low heat. When it’s done, take it off the heat and set it aside until the dough is ready.
4. Once the dough is ready, take it out and get it onto a well floured surface. With a floured rolling pin, roll it out to be about 1/16 of an inch thick. Use a 4 1/4 inch round cutter to cut out perfect rounds as close together as possible. Take the scraps and gently bring them together into a ball and roll it out again to cut out more. Then you should be able to squeeze out 2 more rounds from the remaining scraps.
5. Scoop a tablespoon of the beef filling onto one half of each of the rounds you cut out, then bring the other half of each dough circle over and pinch the seams together. To further seal them, use a fork to gently press down and make pretty marks along the edge.
6. Heat up about 4 inches of vegetable oil in a pot over medium high heat. Using a deep fry thermometer to monitor it, keep the oil heat at 320 F. When the oil is hot enough, fry the beef empanadas in batches (don’t crowd the pot) for about 3-4 minutes until they are perfectly golden. Transfer them with a slotted spoon to a plate lined with paper towels to drain them. Repeat frying the rest.
7. When they are all done, serve the empanadas immediately with your choice of dipping sauce!