Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Mofongo and Carne Frita recipe

Well its been a while since I have made a post. I decided to post my delicious recipe for mofongo. Mmm Puerto Rican goodness! I made it for my dad on Father's Day, he hasn't had it in like 2 years. You may ask... What the HELL is that!? *lol* Very simple it is a little plantain ball that you eat with fried pork and stock. Chicken, Beef, Pork, or Fish stock is served with it. Although chicken stock is used the most.

The plantains are fried and mashed in a mortar and pestle with pork cracklin (pork rinds), a good amount of olive oil, garlic, and salt to taste. Simple and delicious but it is a little work mashing it up. Here it is!*
Note: It serves about 4-6 people or 10 (1 ball per person)


Mofongo :
6 large green plantains
pureed garlic (salted slightly)
1 Ibs. of plain pork rinds, if you can find fresh fried pork cracklin' I highly recommend using that.
Olive oil
Frying oil
large bowl
large frying pan
Large mortar and pestal

1. First cut plantains length-wise and peel off skin.

2. Cut platains into 1 and 1/2 inch pieces and soak in large bowl of salted water. 8 cups (2 quart) with 2 Tbs of salt.

3. Soak for 15 minutes.

4. Drain and dry the plantains (You don't want to get splashed with hot oil when you fry.)

5. Fry plantains at about 350 degrees for till golden drain and reserve.

6. Place 5 pieces of plantain 1 tsp. of garlic puree, and roughly 3/4 of a cup of cracklin' in mortar and mash add olive oil a little at a time till mixture is slightly smooth like thick really mashed potatoes but still has little pieces remaining. (Again this is they way I like it you can adjust the seasoning as you like.)

7. Let cool a little and form in 2 and 1/2 sized balls. It should make about 10 balls. Serve with stock and carne frita.

Enjoy!

*See below for stock and carne frita recipes.

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You can use the boxed chicken stock if you like but here is my recipe for homemade Puerto Rican chicken stock.

8- 12 cups of water
2 Tbsp olive oil
3 Ibs. Whole cut up chicken with innards
1 large carrot
1 large celery stalk
1 onion
1 medium green pepper
6 large cloves of garlic
a few sprigs of fresh oregano (or 1 Tbsp of dried oregano)
1 Tbsp of fresh cilantro
1 handful of green olives crushed slightly
Large stock pot or pot large enough to do the job
Salt to taste or leave plain


1. Brown the chicken remove, then sautee the vegetables and garlic in the olive oil till slightly tender then add chicken back to pot and herbs.

2. Add water bring to a boil then simmer for 2-3 hours. (Or use a pressure cooker for 30 minutes)

3. Once stock is done strain off meat and vegetables with a colander and cheese cloth. (or heavy duty paper towel don't forget to save the chicken meat for something else!)

4. Use immediately or cool and put it away. It will stay good in the freezer for while.

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Carne Frita:

3 pounds fresh pork shoulder (Cut into 1 inch chunks)

1/4 cup redwine vinegar

1/3 cup of olive oil

1 Tbsp of Goya adobo (Can be found at most grocery stores in the spanish isle)

5 cloves of garlic mashed to a paste

1/2 tsp of oregano

1. Rinse meat add vinegar, garlic, adobo, oregano, and olive oil. Let marinate 2 hours or overnight.

2. Deep fry at 350 degrees in medium sized batches till done , about 10 -12 minutes. Drain and serve

4 comments:

Brandon Lacy Campos said...

Thanks for this recipe. I am making it for lunch. I love carne frita!

I also keep a recipe blog! Check it out: www.fairychef.blogspot.com.

-Brandon

Mari said...

Well thank you its been a while since I have posted anything in here. Interestingly I am going to make mofongo and carne frita next week. :)

Anonymous said...

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Anonymous said...

yum