Frita cubana

Ingredients

Patties

• 400 gbeef mince, 20% fat
• 150 gSpanish chorizo, casing removed, very finely chopped
• 1small onion, grated
• 3garlic cloves, crushed to a paste with 1 tsp salt
• 2 tspsmoked paprika (pimenton)
• 1 tspground cumin
• 3 tbsptomato ketchup
• 30 gfine dried breadcrumbs
• 1 tspfreshly ground black pepper
• 2 tbsplard, for frying

Shoestring potatoes

• 2large floury potatoes, cut into matchsticks 2 mm thick
• 1 Lsunflower oil, for deep-frying
• salt

To assemble

• 4soft Cuban rolls or floury buns, split
• 1small onion, very finely chopped
• ketchup, to taste

Directions

1. Soak the potato matchsticks in cold water for 10 minutes, then dry them ruthlessly on a cloth. Wet potatoes will never crisp.
2. Fry them in oil at 150°C (300°F) for 4 minutes until limp and pale, lift out, raise the oil to 190°C (375°F) and fry again for 2 minutes until rigid and gold. Salt at once.
3. Mix beef, chorizo, grated onion, garlic paste, paprika, cumin, ketchup, breadcrumbs and pepper with your hands until sticky and evenly orange from the paprika.
4. Rest the mix in the fridge for 20 minutes so the breadcrumbs absorb the ketchup and the fat firms up.
5. Divide into 4 balls. Heat lard in a heavy frying pan or on a plancha over medium-high heat.
6. Put a ball in the pan and smash it flat with a spatula to about 1 cm thick and wider than the bun. Fry 3 minutes until a dark crust forms, flip, fry 2–3 minutes more.
7. Toast the cut buns in the rendered fat. Sit the patty in, scatter chopped raw onion, squeeze on ketchup, then bury the whole thing under a fistful of shoestring potatoes and press the lid on.

Technique

• The frita is not a hamburger: the chorizo, paprika and ketchup are worked into the meat, so the patty tastes seasoned all the way through and fries dark.
• Smashing rather than shaping gives the lacy, crunchy edge that a frita is judged on.
• The potatoes must be shoestring thin and go on at the last second, or the steam softens them.

Substitutions

• No Spanish chorizo: use 150 g extra beef mince plus 1 tbsp more smoked paprika and a pinch of dried oregano. Mexican fresh chorizo is too acidic and will not do.

Variations

• Frita con huevo: crown it with a fried egg, Havana late-night style.
• Some Miami stands mix a little pork mince into the beef for a softer patty.

History

Sold from Havana’s fritas stands from the 1920s, later carried to Miami by exiles who kept the recipe alive.

Frequently asked questions

What is Frita cubana?

Frita cubana is a street food from Cuba: spiced beef and chorizo patty in a bun, buried under shoestring potatoes. Sold from Havana’s fritas stands from the 1920s, later carried to Miami by exiles who kept the recipe alive.

How long does Frita cubana take to make?

Frita cubana takes 25 min of preparation and 20 min of cooking. The recipe makes 4 fritas. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Frita cubana?

Yes, within limits. No Spanish chorizo: use 150 g extra beef mince plus 1 tbsp more smoked paprika and a pinch of dried oregano. Mexican fresh chorizo is too acidic and will not do.

What is the most important thing to get right in Frita cubana?

Soak the potato matchsticks in cold water for 10 minutes, then dry them ruthlessly on a cloth. Wet potatoes will never crisp.