A half-moon taste of Caribbean on National Empanada Day

shop in New York City. So when Pirata moved from concept to reality, he sent his chefs in that direction.

Ms. McCann got a hold of one of Miss Lilly’s unbaked Jamaican patties and carefully deconstructed it. “I remember the dough,” she says, tinted yellow with turmeric and super-elastic. “It broke every rule it was supposed to follow, but it was magic.”

Mr. Molinaro also brought chef Douglas Rodriguez, known as the “Godfather” of nuevo-Latino cuisine, on as a consultant from Miami.

Chef Josh Ross, who joined the staff in December, guesses the restaurant makes upward of 500 empanadas a week using a dough sheeter, “and it’s the slow season,” he adds. Each five-inch circle is handfolded after being stuffed with a scoop of filling, and baked or fried to order.

Properly crimping the edges, or what’s known as “making the repulgue,” is integral to the empanada-making process, says Ms. McCann, in that it serves two purposes: It keeps the juicy fillings snug inside the pastry and it also gives diners a visual clue to the ingredients. For instance, there’s a scalloped edge on the chicken empanada while the Cuban variety gets a simple crimping with a fork.

For National Empanada Day on Saturday, Pirata will offer a flight of all four empanadas — regularly $4 each — for the special price of $12.