Buffalo Chicken Hand Pies

The end of the NFL football season is near! I admit to watching a lot of football this season and maybe I can use the free time better. I am not an avid fan of any particular team; I enjoy watching the games to see the amazing players’ athleticism and the coaches’ strategies. And, of course, what is most important for a successful game viewing than food! Snacks and party food in particular. Not too serious, more casual hand held bites are best. Chips and dips, nachos, tacos and sandwiches galore. The biggest item on takeout menus for the Super Bowl is Buffalo wings, a sports bar staple! There is some argument concerning the origin of the recipe but little disagreement that they originated in Buffalo NY in the 1960s. Breaded and fried chicken wings tossed in a sauce made with Frank’s Red Hot, some butter, garlic and maybe a little ketchup.

Over the years there have been many approaches to the basic concept. Making them spicier or less spicy, different flavors of hot sauce or none, to serve a whole chicken in Buffalo sauce. Nuggets of chicken breast appear on menus described as boneless wings. Some prefer ranch dressing over the traditional blue cheese for dipping sauce. Sometimes grilled wings have no breading or may be roasted, broiled or cooked in an air fryer. It’s all good. Buffalo wings can be messy to make and to eat as well. Sticky fingers, not enough napkins, bones with no place to put them and away from the dog.

I have a solution to these issues using the basic idea of Buffalo wings in a small hand pie. I use chicken thighs instead of wings, with skin, boneless and cooked in a cast iron skillet. I give it a light coating of seasoned flour to get it crispy and cook in butter for that nutty taste. Once cool, the thighs are chopped and mixed with blue cheese and Buffalo sauce then stuffed in a pastry dough and baked. You can use your favorite pie dough but I find the pliability of empanada dough forms a better hand pie. I thought about including carrots and celery but think it better to serve a platter of crudités with blue cheese dressing on the side.

Empanada Dough

With respect to the origins of the empanada, I added some masa to the recipe. Undoubtedly corn flour was used to make the ancestral forms before wheat flour was available. There are recipes for corn flour empanada dough but I enjoy the flavor component that masa adds to the recipe.

Ingredients:

• 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour

• ½ cup masa harina

• 1 teaspoon fine salt

• 1 ½ sticks unsalted butter, cold

• 1 egg

• 1 tablespoon cider vinegar

• ¾ cup ice water

Method:

In a large bowl mix both of the flours and the salt

Cut the butter into small cubes and cut it into the flour mixture with a pastry blender or with your fingers

In a separate bowl whisk the egg with the vinegar and the water

Drizzle the liquid into the flour mixture while stirring with a fork creating a shaggy dough

Fold it in on itself a few times to make a cohesive mass. You may need to add a tablespoon or two of water to get it to come together

Divide the dough in half and cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until needed

Buffalo Chicken Filling

• 1 ¼ pounds boneless skin on chicken thighs

• Well seasoned flour for dredging

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter or ghee

• ⅓ cup Buffalo sauce (recipe to follow)

• ½ cup blue cheese crumbles

Method:

Heat the butter in a large skillet over medium high heat

Dredge the chicken in the seasoned flour and fry skin side down until crispy and browned

Turn the thighs over and cover and lower the heat to medium and cook through fully. About 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool to room temperature

When cool enough to handle, chop the chicken into 1/2 inch or smaller sized pieces and mix with the Buffalo sauce and the blue cheese crumbles. Set aside

Buffalo Sauce:

• ½ cup Frank’s Red Hot

• 2 tablespoons ketchup

• ⅓ cup unsalted butter

• 2 teaspoons cider vinegar

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• ⅛ teaspoon granulated garlic

• Dash of Worcestershire sauce

Method:

Put all ingredients in a small saucepan over low heat and whisk together until melted and combined. Remove from heat

Hand Pie Assembly:

Remove the dough from the fridge about 30 minutes before needed

Weigh out 10 pieces of dough to 1.5 ounces each. (You will have enough dough to make 20)

With a rolling pin on a lightly floured surface, or between 2 pieces of plastic wrap, roll each piece to about 5 to 6 inches in diameter

Place a ¼ cup of the filling in the center of the dough. Do not overfill. Wet the edge lightly with water and fold the dough over creating a half moon shape. Press the edges together and crimp with your fingers to create a decorative edge. You can also seal the edges with the tines of a fork. Trim any excess and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. If you have a dumpling press, this process will be somewhat easier

Lightly brush each empanada with egg wash easily made by whisking together an egg with 2 tablespoons of water

Bake in a preheated 375F degree oven for 20 to 25 minutes until golden brown

Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack

Serve with extra Buffalo sauce and blue cheese dressing on the side

Blue cheese Dressing:

In a bowl, mix together 1/2 cup each of mayonnaise, Greek yogurt and blue cheese crumbles with 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce and salt and pepper to taste

It all comes together easily and with practice the hand pies are easy to put together. The extra dough can be made into more pies with Buffalo filling by doubling the filling recipe or use apple or berry pie filling. Other savory suggestions might be pulled pork, braised beef short ribs, lentil dal or a pierogi filling like potato and onion. Any way you choose, enjoy the games be they football, basketball, hockey or a birthday party, these hand pies will be a hit.

Enjoy!