The empanada de pino is to Chile what the Sunday roast is to England: the dish you eat at family lunches, the thing you cook when you want to feel at home, the food that is most defended as authentically national. It is a large half-moon of golden pastry, the size of an open hand, filled with hand-diced beef cooked slowly with caramelised onions, cumin, paprika, and a touch of red wine vinegar. Inside, hidden, are three things: a quarter of a hard-boiled egg, a single black olive, and a handful of raisins. Oven-baked, never fried, served piping hot, washed down with a Carmenère.
Compared to the Argentinian empanada — smaller, often fried, with minced beef and twelve regional variations — the Chilean empanada de pino is a different animal entirely. One Chilean empanada is a meal. Six Argentinian empanadas are a meal. This guide explains the difference, tells you the one place in Dubai you can buy them, and gives you the working home recipe that produces twelve proper empanadas for about AED 65 in ingredient cost.
Chilean vs Argentinian Empanadas: The 5 Differences
| Chilean Empanada de Pino | Argentinian Empanada | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | 15–18cm wide, 200g each | 8–10cm wide, 80g each |
| Cooking method | Oven-baked only | Baked or fried (both common) |
| Meat filling | Hand-diced beef ("pino") | Minced or shredded beef |
| Spices | Cumin, paprika, oregano | Varies by region; usually less cumin |
| Inclusions | Hard-boiled egg, olive, raisin | Sometimes egg; rarely olive/raisin |
| Per serving | 1 empanada = 1 meal | 6 empanadas = 1 meal |
| Pairing | Carmenère (Chilean red) | Malbec (Argentinian red) |
| Where in Dubai | Sabores del Sur Al Quoz | La Cabaña, Asado, Gaucho, Buenos Aires Grill |
| Price per empanada | AED 28 | AED 8–14 |
Where to Buy Chilean Empanadas in Dubai
Sabores del Sur (Al Quoz)
As of May 2026, Sabores del Sur is the only place in Dubai serving a proper Chilean empanada de pino. The chef is from Santiago and trained at his grandmother's bakery for ten years before opening this place. The empanadas are oven-baked daily from 11am, hand-cut beef cooked overnight, and assembled to order in the afternoon. The weekend version uses a slightly thicker crust which we prefer.
Pro tip: phone ahead (Saturdays sell out by 3pm) and ask for the empanada with the thicker weekend crust regardless of the day. They will sometimes make it on a Wednesday if quiet.
Several other Dubai venues sell "Chilean-style" empanadas that are actually Argentinian-format with a Chilean filling description. These are not the same thing. The size, pastry texture, and inclusion of hard-boiled egg and olive are non-negotiable for the dish to count as a proper empanada de pino. If you cannot get to Sabores del Sur on a given week, the answer is to make them yourself. It takes 2 hours, produces 12 empanadas, costs around AED 65 in ingredients, and the result is dramatically better than anything that can be bought.
The Empanada de Pino Recipe (Makes 12)
Classic Empanada de Pino — Makes 12 Large
Active time 60 min + 1hr cooling + 30 min baking = ~2.5 hours total. Freezes excellently before baking.
For the Pino Filling
- 500g beef chuck (gravy beef), cut into 1cm dice — not minced
- 3 large onions, finely diced
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 2 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 100ml beef stock
- 3 hard-boiled eggs, quartered
- 12 pitted black olives
- 30g raisins, soaked 15 min in warm water
For the Pastry
- 500g plain flour
- 100g lard or butter at room temperature (lard is traditional; butter works)
- 1 tsp salt
- 200ml warm water
- 1 egg yolk + 1 tbsp milk for glaze
Method
- Make the pino: heat oil in a heavy pan over medium heat. Add diced onions and cook 15 minutes until soft and translucent — never let them brown. The slow softening is the most important step.
- Add diced beef, cumin, paprika, oregano, salt, pepper. Stir to coat. Cook 5 minutes.
- Pour in vinegar and beef stock. Simmer uncovered 20 minutes until liquid reduces by half. The filling should be moist but not soupy. Cool completely — ideally overnight. Warm filling will tear the pastry.
- Make the pastry: mix flour and salt in a large bowl. Rub in soft lard or butter until breadcrumb texture. Add warm water gradually, mixing to a firm but pliable dough. Knead 5 minutes. Rest 30 minutes covered with a damp cloth.
- Divide pastry into 12 equal balls. Roll each into a 15cm circle, around 3mm thick. Keep the others covered while rolling.
- Assemble: Place 2 heaped tbsp of cooled pino in the centre of each circle. Add one piece of hard-boiled egg, one olive, three or four raisins. Brush the pastry edge with water.
- Fold pastry over to form a half-moon. Press edges to seal firmly. For the traditional repulgue twist: roll the sealed edge over itself in small folds along the length, creating a decorative twisted crimp.
- Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment, spaced 2cm apart. Brush all over with the egg-yolk glaze. Pierce twice with a fork to release steam during baking.
- Bake at 200°C (180°C fan) for 25–30 minutes until deeply golden brown. Serve hot.
Three things separate a great empanada from a mediocre one. First, the beef must be hand-diced, never minced — the texture of the pino is the entire point. Second, the onions must be properly slow-cooked (15 minutes minimum) until completely soft and sweet, never browned. Third, the filling must be cold when assembling — warm filling melts the pastry and the empanadas tear during baking. Make the pino the night before. Assemble in the afternoon. Bake when guests arrive.
Wine Pairing: Carmenère and Why It Works
The traditional Chilean pairing for empanada de pino is Carmenère, and it works for a specific reason: the green-peppercorn and herbal notes in good Carmenère mirror the cumin and paprika in the pino. The wine has enough tannin to cut through the buttery pastry without overwhelming the slow-cooked beef. The three Carmenères we recommend, available at MMI:
- Errazuriz Max Reserva Carmenère (AED 110) — the everyday pairing. Peppery, plummy, perfectly suited.
- Montes Alpha Carmenère (AED 175) — the special-occasion pairing. Deeper, more structured, ages beautifully.
- Veramonte Carmenère Reserva (AED 95) — the budget pairing. Lighter but properly Carmenère in character.
More Empanadas, Chilean Food & Latin American Cooking in Dubai
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the main difference between Chilean and Argentinian empanadas?
Five core differences: Chilean empanadas are larger (15–18cm vs 8–10cm), oven-baked only (Argentinian come baked AND fried), filled with hand-diced beef (not minced), almost always contain an olive, hard-boiled egg and a raisin, and one Chilean empanada is a meal whereas six Argentinian empanadas are a meal.
Where can I buy a Chilean empanada de pino in Dubai?
As of May 2026, only Sabores del Sur in Al Quoz. They are oven-baked, hand-cut beef with onions, hard-boiled egg, an olive, and a raisin. AED 28 each, served all week.
Can I freeze Chilean empanadas before baking?
Yes — this is actually the traditional Chilean home practice. Assemble (folded, sealed, not glazed), freeze on a tray for 1 hour, then transfer to a freezer bag. They keep 3 months. Bake from frozen at 200°C for 35 minutes. Do NOT freeze after baking.
What wine pairs with empanada de pino?
The traditional Chilean pairing is Carmenère — full-bodied, peppery, slightly herbaceous. Specific bottles available in Dubai: Errazuriz Max Reserva Carmenère (AED 110), Montes Alpha Carmenère (AED 175), or for special occasions Don Melchor (AED 280).
