Cuban Potato Balls (Papas Rellenas)
These Cuban Potato Balls (Papas Rellenas) are inspired by the classic papas rellenas from Porto’s Cuban Bakery in Los Angeles. These always remind me of my childhood because whenever we’d have a party, my mom would pick some up. Years later in life, when I got older, I actually worked at Porto’s for a while. That’s where I learned how to decorate cakes. These are my take on a classic Cuban-American dish.
These can easily be made ahead of time and frozen before frying. Then once ready to fry, just remove the desired amount from the freezer and fry until golden brown and heated through. Just note that if you’re frying from frozen, they’ll take a bit longer to fry.
Cuban Potato Balls (Papas Rellenas)
These are inspired by the popular Porto's Cuban Bakery in Los Angeles, California.
Servings: 24
Equipment
- Mixing bowls
- Pot
- Skillet
- Dutch oven for frying
- Deep-fry thermometer
- Potato masher
- Small ice cream scooper
Ingredients
- 4 large potatoes peeled and cubed
- 1 tablespoon warm milk
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 eggs
- 1 tablespoon water
- 1 cup dry bread crumbs
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 pound ground sirloin
- 1 onion finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves peeled and chopped
- 2 small green bell peppers finely chopped (about 1 cup)
- 2 small red bell peppers finely chopped (about 1 cup)
- 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 lime juiced
- vegetable oil for frying
Instructions
- Boil the peeled and diced potatoes until they are fork tender. Drain. Mash potatoes with the salt and about 1 tablespoon of warm milk—do not add any butter or oil!—and let cool.
- In the meantime, make the filling. Heat a large heavy duty pot over medium high heat. Drizzle in the tablespoon of vegetable oil and add the ground sirloin. Using a wooden spoon, break up the beef and allow to cook and brown. Once browned, add the finely chopped onion and garlic. Stir and cook until the onions are translucent. Add the finely chopped green and red bell peppers. Stir and continue to cook. Season the beef mixture with the worchestire sauce, paprika, oregano, salt, pepper, cumin and lime juice. Stir thoroughly and continue to cook for 5 minutes more. Remove from heat and transfer to a bowl. Allow to cool completely.
- Using a medium ice cream scoop, measure out a ball onto the palm of your hand. Flatten out the ball into a flat circle with an indentation in the center.
- Stuff the indentation with the spiced beef mixture.
- Bring the sides together and smooth out to make a round ball, about the size of an overstuffed golf ball. Continue this process with the rest of the potato and beef mixtures, until all the balls are formed.
- In a shallow dish, whisk together the eggs and tablespoon of water.
- In another shallow dish, combine the bread crumbs and the flour.
- Dip the ball into the beaten egg, and then roll in the flour mixture until lightly covered. Dip the ball in the egg, again, and roll in the bread crumbs to coat thoroughly. Continue this process until each potato ball is coated, placing them on parchment lined baking sheets.
- It is very important to refrigerate the potato balls for 2 to 4 hours before proceeding to the next step. Or at this step, you can also freeze the balls and fry them later, when ready to eat.
- Use a frying pan or medium pot to fry the potato balls. Fill with enough oil to cover the potato balls. Heat oil to the frying stage (about 375º F) and drop about four potato balls (be careful not to overcrowd the pot) into the hot oil. Let them cook for about 2-5 minutes or until golden brown. Turn the potato balls frequently to ensure even browning.
- Transfer the fried potato balls to a plate lined with paper towels, to drain off the excess oil. Move the balls onto a rack positioned over a baking sheet. Serve right away, or allow to cool and store in the refrigerator. These can be fried ahead of time and reheated in the oven when ready to serve. Enjoy!
