ALCAPURRIAS DE JUEYES

Alcapurrias de Jueyes image

The fritters known as alcapurrias are the ultimate street food on the island. I remember taking road trips with my family to the east coast just to indulge in this amazing treat. The most popular places to get alcapurrias de jueyes (crab-stuffed fritters) are in a small town called Luquillo, famous for its colorful roadside stands known as Los Kioskos de Luquillo, and in the town of Loíza, popular for their fogones (wood-burning pits).

Provided by Food Network

Time 3h50m

Yield 10 to 15 fritters

Number Of Ingredients 12

Ingredients

2 pounds taro roots (yautía)
5 green bananas
1/3 cup lard
1 tablespoon adobo
1 packet sazón con achiote (1 1/2 teaspoons)
2 to 3 tablespoons lard
1 pound crabmeat, picked through to remove any bits of shell or cartilage
3 tablespoons sofrito with recao (culantro)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Olive oil cooking spray
Canola oil, for frying
Hot sauce, for serving

Steps:

For the masa: Peel and cut the taro roots and bananas into small chunks. Grate the taro and bananas in a food processor fitted with the shredding blade (see Cook's Note). Transfer to a medium bowl. Change the blade on the food processor to the cutting blade. Add the shredded vegetables, lard, adobo and sazón and puree until it forms a dough. Transfer to the same medium bowl, cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours.
For the fritters: To prepare the crab filling, heat the lard in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add the crabmeat, reduce the heat to low and cook, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon, for 5 minutes. Stir in the sofrito, season with salt and pepper to taste and cook until opaque, about 5 minutes. Let cool to room temperature.
To form the alcapurrias, spray a sheet of aluminum foil or wax paper with olive oil cooking spray, put about 1/4 cup of the dough on the foil and form into a patty. Place 1 tablespoon of the crab filling in the center of the dough, fold up one side of the foil over the dough and roll it while gently pressing down to form a log 4 to 5 inches long. Fold in the sides of the foil or wax paper. If the dough feels soft, refrigerate for a few minutes until firm before frying. Repeat with the remaining masa and crab filling.
Pour about 2 inches oil in a large saute pan or deep large skillet and heat over high heat until very hot. Peel away the foil or wax paper from 3 alcapurrias and gently slide or roll into the hot oil and cook until deep golden brown all over and firm to the touch, 5 to 7 minutes. Repeat with the remaining alcapurrias.
Drain on paper towels and allow to cool slightly before serving. Serve with hot sauce.