The Cuban Frita Burger 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.

THE CUBAN FRITA BURGER.

Steps:

• To make the secret sauce, combine the tomato paste, water, orange juice, Spanish paprika, cumin, brown sugar, vinegar, salt and sriracha in a small sauce pan. Bring the mixture to a boil and then reduce the heat to a simmer. Simmer 15 minutes or until the sauce has thickened slightly.
• To make the fries, heat 2 to 3 inches of oil in a heavy-bottomed pot to 350 degrees F.
• Carefully cut the potatoes into shoestrings (or matchsticks) using a mandolin fitted with the narrowest julienne blade (about 1/8-inch wide) or just use your knife (this is what I did). Rinse the cut potatoes thoroughly in a bowl of cold water to remove the surface starch. Keep the potatoes in water until you're ready to fry. (I like to begin frying mine while the burgers are cooking)
• To form the burger patties, combine the beef, chorizo, ketchup, Spanish paprika, cumin and a pinch salt and pepper in a bowl and mix until just combined. Form the meat into six patties.
• Heat a large cast iron skillet or griddle over medium-high heat. Cook the burger until your desired doneness, but traditionally Fritas should be cooked to medium. During the last minute of cooking, add a slice of cheddar cheese.
• Meanwhile, fry the potatoes, transfer the potatoes to a paper-towel-lined baking sheet and pat them dry, as dry as you can get them.
• Fry the potatoes in batches until the potatoes are crisp and turn a nice golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes per batch. As each batch of fries comes out, transfer to a large mixing bowl and toss with salt to taste. Transfer to a paper-towel-lined baking sheet.
• Serve the burgers on warmed Cuban buns that have been slathered with a little special sauce. On to the bottom bun, place the burger, fries, more special sauce and top with a fried egg. Place the top bun over the egg, grab the burger with two hands and EAT!

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.

THE CUBAN BURGER 'FRITA'

Steps:

• Mix the ground beef, ground pork, bread crumbs, milk, egg, onion, ketchup, salt, Pimenton de la Vera, Worcestershire sauce, and pepper together in a large bowl until well combined; divide the mixture into 12 equal ball shapes. Place in refrigerator for 3 hours to allow the flavors to meld.
• Heat the vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook the meatballs in the skillet, flattening them with the back of a spatula as they cook, about 7 minutes per side for well done. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read 160 degrees F (72 degrees C).

CUBAN FRITA RECIPE

Steps:

• 1 We start by mixing the butter and the paprika in a bowl big enough until they get a reddish color (if the butter already has paprika included this step will not be necessary)
• 2 Then we add the ground beef and the salt; mix so that they integrate very well.
• 3 We wrap the dough in plastic wrap and take it to the refrigerator for at least 2 hours to better settle the flavor.
• 4 Meanwhile, we chop the onion into very small cubes and cut the potatoes into small and thin julienne strips. Set aside.
• 5 Now it is time to prepare the hamburgers, after two hours we use the dough we had put into the refrigerator, to form several meat balls using our hands.
• 6 Crush the balls to form a medallion and fry in a pan with a little hot oil. Take them off of the stove and set aside.
• 7 Once we have finished this, we soak the potato strings in enough water to remove the starch, drain the excess water and fry them in vegetable oil.
• 8 We add salt to the potato strings, when they are ready, we take them off of the stove and drain them on paper towels or kitchen paper.
• 9 We place the hamburger and the potatoes inside the bread along with the onion and the tomato sauce, getting the frita ready now to be enjoyed.

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 CUBANA (CUBAN HAMBURGER)

Steps:

• First, we are going to make Burger Sauce #1 now, so it has time to cool down while we are making the patties. In a small bowl whisk all of the ingredients together for Burger Sauce #1. Transfer to a sauce pan and bring to a boil stirring continuously.
• Reduce the heat to low and continue cooking for 5-10 minutes. Take off of the heat when done and transfer to a squeeze bottle and let the sauce cool down.
• In a large bowl combine all ingredients for the burger patties. Mix together with your hands.
• Form burger patties. A trick I learned from Rachel Ray was to make sure the patties are a little thinner in the middle so when they are cooking they will cook evenly and not turn into a flying saucer. Cover and let all of the flavors combine while we prepare the shoestring potatoes and Burger Sauce #2. Chop onion half and reserve for when we cook the burger patties.
• Wash and peel potatoes. Using a julienne peeler or a mandolin slicer, slice potatoes into shoestring size strands. If you want to use store bought potato sticks you can.
• Submerge potatoes in a large bowl of ice water. Preheat oil in a fryer or large pot to 350 degrees.
• Burger Sauce #2. In a small bowl combine all of the ingredients together. Cover and let flavors combine.
• Heat a griddle or a cast iron skillet on medium high heat. Put patties down and sprinkle on some of the chopped onions. Cook 3-5 minutes depending on how thick your patties are.
• Right before you flip the patties squeeze some of Burger Sauce #1 on the the patty and onions and then flip.
• Continue cooking until burger is done another 3-5 minutes. Squeeze a little more of Burger Sauce #1 onto the patty and when cooked through using a spatula, remove from griddle making sure to get all of the onions that have cooked into the burger with the sauce.
• Remove potatoes from ice water and dry completely. I used a salad spinner to get all of the water off of the potatoes. Fry potatoes in fryer or pot for 3-5 minutes until golden brown. Drain on a paper towel.
• Assemble burger. Bottom bun, burger patty, shoestring potatoes, top bun slathered with Burger Sauce #2. Eat and enjoy!

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.