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5 from 1 vote

Frita Cubana

Course Sandwich
Cuisine Cuban
Keyword cuban burger, frita cubana

Equipment

  • Mandoline slicer with julienne setting

Ingredients

Meat mixture

  • 1 lb ground beef (80/20 ratio)
  • 1 lb ground pork
  • 1/2 large onion grated
  • 6 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika
  • 1 tsp sweet paprika
  • 1 tsp oregano
  • 1 tsp cumin

Sauce for basting and serving

  • 1 cup water
  • 1/4 cup vinegar
  • 1 tsp sweet paprika
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/4 cup tomato paste
  • 2 tbsp brown sugar
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper
  • a dash or two of good hot sauce

Shoestring potatoes

  • 2 russet potatoes
  • cold water
  • frying oil
  • salt

Frita Cubana

  • 1/2 onion sliced very thinly into half moons
  • 8 hamburger buns

Instructions

Sauce

  • Combine water, vinegar, both kinds of paprika, cumin, garlic powder, brown sugar, salt, pepper, and tomato paste in a large bowl and mix vigorously until smooth
  • Pour through funnel into a squeeze bottle and refrigerate overnight.

Meat mix

  • Combine ground beef and ground pork in a bowl
  • Grate onion into bowl. Add garlic and spices
  • Mix thoroughly with hands. Cover and chill

Shoestring potatoes

  • Fill a large bowl halfway with cold water.
  • Peel and clean the potatoes
  • Turn the mandoline to the fine julienne setting and carefully julienne the potatoes directly into the cold water.
  • Drain potatoes and pat dry thoroughly with kitchen towels. Deep-fry at 375° Fahrenheit for 3 minutes per batch or until crisply browned.
  • Place in bowl lined with paper towels to wick away excess oil and season with salt immediately. Set aside until ready to prepare burgers

Preparing the burgers

  • Divide the meat mixture into balls of 1/3 lb each (150 grams or so). Place each on a 6" square section of wax paper or parchment
  • Heat a cast iron skillet or stainless steel griddle to medium-high heat. Invert each ball of meat onto the hot surface and, leaving the paper in place, use a flat weight or a large metal spatula to press the ball into a circular patty roughly the size of your hamburger buns.
  • Remove the paper and season well with salt and pepper
  • Cook on the first side until nicely browned then add a small pile of the thinly-sliced onions and turn the patties over.
  • Douse with the sauce. Allow to cook to medium, turning and basting with more sauce as needed.
  • Place cooked patty with onions onto bottom half of bun, scooping up as much of the hot sauce from the griddle as you can get. Add additional raw diced onions if desired. Top with a large handful of shoestring potato fries. Drizzle more sauce on top of the shoestring fries. Add ketchup to top bun if desired.