Cuban Frita Recipes

THE CUBAN FRITA BURGER: FRITA CUBANA

Steps:

• To make the sauce, mix all of the ingredients together in a small saucepan: ketchup (1 cup), water (1/4 cup), vinegar (1 tablespoon), sweet paprika (1 1/2 teaspoons), cumin (1 teaspoon), salt (1 teaspoon), oregano (1/2 teaspoon) and sriracha (1/2 teaspoon). Cook at a gentle simmer, partially covered, for 5 minutes. Sauce can be made a day ahead and refrigerated until ready to use.
• Peel the potatoes and shred them on a box grater or in your food processor with the coarse shredding blade. Swish them in a bowl of cold water, pour out cloudy water, and repeat until the water is clear. Just before frying, drain them in a colander and dry them well by squeezing them between several clean absorbent dish towels. The dryer the better for getting them crisp and brown. Pour oil into a heavy, non-stick skillet over medium-high heat and fry the potatoes, in small batches, until they're golden brown. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate and sprinkle with salt.
• Make the meat mixture in a large bowl or in a food processor. Combine ground meats with 1 cup of the onions and the garlic (2 tablespoons). Mix by hand or pulse a few times in the food processor, to combine. Add ketchup ( 3 tablespoons), cumin (1 teaspoon), paprika (2 teaspoons), smoked paprika (2 teaspoons) and 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt. Mix by hand or pulse just until combine. Form the meat into 8 thin patties.
• Cook patties in batches, on a preheated flat griddle or in a frying pan coated with a little vegetable oil, over medium heat, for 2-4 minutes per side or until they're cooked to your liking. (I suggest medium rare to medium). Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
• To assemble the fritas, spread some special sauce over the bottom half of a bun. Place a patty on top, add more sauce, some finely chopped raw onion and a big pile of shoestring fried potatoes. Spread a little sauce on the inside of the top bun and place it on top. Repeat with remaining burgers. Serve immediately.

MINI CUBAN BURGERS (FRITAS)

Steps:

• Place the bread crumbs in a large bowl. Cover with milk and soak for 2 minutes. Add the onion, the beaten egg, ground beef, lime juice, ketchup, garlic powder, salt, and paprika and work the ingredients together with your hands or a wooden spoon just until combined. Form the mixture into 12 small 1-inch thick patties and refrigerate them for at least 45 minutes or up to 8 hours.
• Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add about 1/2 of the burgers and brown them on each side, flipping with spatula, 5 to 7 minutes. Set the fritas on the rolls and cook the remaining burgers. Serve with generous amounts of ketchup.

CUBAN FRITAS WITH MATCHSTICK POTATOES

Steps:

• Combine the ground beef and chorizo in a bowl and sprinkle with the smoked paprika, 1 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon pepper. In another bowl, combine the evaporated milk, panko and egg, and then add to the meat mixture. Combine well with your hands and form into 4 patties. Set aside.
• In a small bowl, combine the mayonnaise, lime juice, orange juice and garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
• In a small saucepan, combine the guava paste with 3 tablespoons water. Cook down over low heat until reduced slightly. Add the cider vinegar; cook 2 minutes more.
• In a medium saute pan over medium-low heat, cook the onions in the butter, stirring occasionally, until caramelized, about 45 minutes. Add the onions and ketchup to the guava mixture. Season with salt and pepper.
• Preheat a grill pan over medium-high heat. Cook the patties until crispy on both sides but soft in the middle, turning once, 4 minutes per side. Grill the cut sides of the buns until grill-marked, about 1 minute.
• Grate the potatoes on the large holes of a box grater or in a food processor fitted with the shredding disk. Heat 1 inch of olive oil in a deep skillet and fry the grated potatoes until crispy, 4 to 5 minutes. Toss with smoked paprika and salt.
• Spread the bottom halves of the buns with a little of the "mojo mayonnaise," top with the patties and then cover with the bun tops. Add the crispy fries on the side and top with the guava ketchup.

FRITA CUBANA -- CUBAN HAMBURGER

Steps:

• 1. Use a food processor with a chopping blade to grind together the meats, the minced garlic, and the onion. Blend in the ketchup, cumin, and paprika.
• 2. Remove the meat mixture from the food processor and form by hand into round patties. Cook in a large a frying pan.
• 3. When the frita is just about cooked through, (as you like it)reduce heat to medium low, squirt on some sauce, and let the patties cook just a minute longer.
• 4. While the fritas are frying, use a deep fat fryer or frying pan with a couple inches of vegetable oil to fry the shoestring potatoes. Drain on paper towels and lightly salt
• 5. Place bun on a plate, burger, slice of raw onion(optional) and top with shoe string potatoes.
• 6. Directions for the sauce:
• 7. Mix all of the ingredients together in a saucepan. Bring to a boil stirring constantly. Reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool. Used as the sauce on the Fritas.

FRITA CUBANO

Steps:

• For the quick mojo aioli: Whisk together the mayonnaise, sour cream, Dijon mustard, cumin, paprika, onion powder and garlic powder. Cover and refrigerate until ready to dress the burgers.
• For the burgers: Mix the ground beef, chorizo, cumin, onion powder, paprika, cayenne, salt and pepper in a large bowl, folding it over itself until thoroughly mixed. Let the meat rest 15 minutes at room temperature or for up to 4 hours refrigerated. Shape the meat into 12 balls all the same size, then lightly press them into chubby round patties.
• Preheat a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat and add the oil. When the oil is shimmering, add the onions and sweat until translucent, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the patties on top of the onions and press the patties onto the onions using a spatula. Let cook, 3 to 4 minutes; the onions will continue to cook and caramelize in the patty juices, adding flavor to the patties. Flip the patties and cook until firm, 2 to 3 more minutes. Remove from the heat and top with the Swiss cheese.
• Spread 1 tablespoon mojo aioli on the bottoms of each Hawaiian roll, then top with a patty and a generous handful of the Mini French Fries. Serve.
• Peel the potatoes, then shred them on the largest holes of a box grater. Soak in cold water to remove starch and prevent browning, 5 minutes. Strain in a colander and dry on paper towels.
• Heat the oil in a Dutch oven or deep skillet over medium-high heat until the temperature reaches 375 degrees F.
• Fry the potatoes in batches, moving the potatoes gently with a spider to keep them separated, until brown and crispy, about 4 minutes. Remove to a bowl, season with salt and toss to ensure all the fries are thoroughly seasoned.