PUPUSAS (MASA CAKES) WITH BACON AND CHEDDAR

Pupusas (Masa Cakes) with Bacon and Cheddar image

A pupusa [pu'pusa], is a traditional Salvadoran dish made from a thick, handmade corn tortilla that is usually stuffed with a blend of cheeses, pork and/or refried beans. I made these years and years ago, and today when I was going through my recipe files, I found it. These are incredibly easy to make and the way I make them,...

Provided by Andy Anderson !

Time 20m

Number Of Ingredients 6

Ingredients

2 c masa harina
1 pinch salt, kosher variety
1 1/3 c warm filtered water
1 c grated cheese, i use monterey jack, but have some fun with it
4 oz bacon, diced
vegetable oil, for cooking

Steps:

1. Gather your ingredients.
2. Put the bacon in a pan.
3. Chef's Note: The pan should be big enough to cook the Pupusas.
4. Cook the bacon until lightly browned.
5. Place on a paper towel to drain, and reserve the pan with the bacon grease.
6. Combine masa harina, salt, and water in a mixing bowl, along with 2 to 3 teaspoons of the bacon grease. The bacon grease is optional... good, but optional.
7. Knead to form a smooth, moist dough with a play dough-like consistency... Remember play dough?
8. Chef's Note: What is Masa Harina? Masa harina is the traditional flour used to make tortillas, tamales, and other Mexican dishes. Literally translated from Spanish, it means "dough flour," because the flour is made from dried masa, a dough from specially treated corn.
9. Divide the dough into six equal portions and roll into balls.
10. Chef's Note: The balls should be about 2 inches in diameter. I suspect you will get from 6 to 8.
11. Using your thumb, poke a nice hole in the center of each of the balls.
12. Fill up the hole with bacon and cheese.
13. Wrap the dough around the filling, and seal. Make sure that there is no leakage.
14. Pat the dough between your hands until you have a nice round disk about 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick.
15. Add the vegetable oil to a pan (just to cover the bottom), and bring the heat up to medium high, and then add the Pupusas.
16. Cook for several minutes per side (about 2 or 3) until each side is golden brown.
17. Chef's Tip: I went crazy and used the same pan that I cooked the bacon in... So, I cooked them in bacon grease (I think I have a death wish). If you don't want to use the bacon grease, just wipe out the pan and use the vegetable oil.
18. Serve warm with a nice runny egg or two. Enjoy.
19. Keep the faith, and keep cooking.