Ingredients
Potato
- 1 kgraw potatoes, for grating
- 1 kgpotatoes, for boiling
- 1 tbspsalt
Filling
- 200 gchicharrones, pork crackling, chopped
- 1onion, finely chopped, optional
Also
- 50 gpork lard, melted
To cook
- lard or oil, for frying
To serve
- salt
- a hot drink
Directions
- Boil half the potatoes until soft, then mash them and let them cool. Peel and grate the other half raw, on the fine side of a grater.
- Squeeze it as dry as you possibly can. Raw potato holds an enormous amount of water, and wet mixture will not hold together or fry.
- Keep the liquid you squeezed out and let it stand for 15 minutes. Pour off the water and keep the starch, because it is a free binder and Chilote cooks never throw it away.
- Mix the squeezed grated potato, the mashed potato, the reserved starch, the melted lard and the salt. Work it into a stiff, slightly sticky dough that holds together when squeezed.
- Take a handful, flatten it in your palm, put a spoonful of chopped chicharrones in the middle and close the dough over it.
- Seal the filling in completely, because crackling that pokes through burns in the pan. Flatten each one into a thick oval cake about 2 cm thick. Heat lard or oil in a heavy pan over a medium heat. Fry the cakes 10 to 12 minutes a side.
- Fry them slowly. There is raw potato inside and it needs real time to cook through, and a hot pan gives a dark crust over a raw grey middle. Drain briefly and eat them hot, sprinkled with salt.
Technique
- Chapaleles are the closely related boiled dumplings from the same curanto pit.
- Floury potatoes work far better than waxy ones for both halves.
- They reheat well in a dry pan and badly in a microwave.
Substitutions
- Bacon or diced pork belly in place of chicharrones.
- Oil in place of lard, which is less traditional and less good.
Variations
- Cooked in the curanto pit, wrapped in leaves.
- Boiled rather than fried.
- Made plain, with no filling.
History
A Chiloé staple cooked in the curanto pit or fried in pork fat.
Frequently asked questions
What is Milcao?
Milcao is a street food from Chile: chilote potato cake of grated and mashed potato, fried or boiled. A Chiloé staple cooked in the curanto pit or fried in pork fat.
How long does Milcao take to make?
Milcao takes 40 min of preparation and 25 min of cooking. The recipe makes 8 cakes. It is rated medium to make.
What can I substitute in Milcao?
Yes, within limits. Bacon or diced pork belly in place of chicharrones. Oil in place of lard, which is less traditional and less good.
What is the most important thing to get right in Milcao?
Keep the liquid you squeezed out and let it stand for 15 minutes. Pour off the water and keep the starch, because it is a free binder and Chilote cooks never throw it away.
