Alcapurrias Recipe

A photo of alcapurrias on a white plate with plates and forks in the background.

A tasty Puerto Rican fritter filled with ground beef picadillo.

5 from 3 votes

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Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: Puerto Rican

Keyword: plantain recipes, receta, tapas

Prep Time: 30

Cook Time: 2

Total Time: 2 30

Servings: servings

Calories: 452kcal

Author: Analida Braeger

Ingredients

Dough - Masa

2 lbs Yautia peeled and sliced lengthwise
3 Plantain green, peeled
1 tsp Sazón
1 Tbsp Olive oil
1 tsp Salt

Meat filling - Picadillo

1 Tbsp Olive oil
¼ cup Onion minced
1 clove Garlic minced
1 lb Ground beef
4 Tbsp Sofrito
1 tsp Sazón
⅓ cup Olives with pimento, chopped fine
1 tsp Cumin
1 tsp Oregano
1 tsp Salt
Oil for frying

Instructions

Prepare the beef filling - Picadillo

Add the olive oil to a skillet on medium heat then sauté the onion until translucent.
Add the ground beef, salt, garlic, cumin, oregano, sofrito, sazón and chopped olives.
Simmer and stir fry the beef. Brown all the beef then set it aside to cool.

Prepare the dough - Masa

While the meat is cooling, peel the yaitua and plantain then shred them with the grater blade of your food processor. Depending on the size of your food processor you may have to work in batches.
Change the food processor blade to the cutter blade to puree the shredded plantain and yautia.
Place the dough in a bowl and refrigerate for 1 hour or overnight is also fine.

Filling and Frying the Alcapurrias

Scoop the dough using a standard ice cream scoop.
Place the dough ball on parchment paper then flatten in into about a 3-4 inch circle. Take 1 tablespoon of the picadillo and place it into the center of the dough.
Lift one side of the parchment paper so the circle of dough forms a taco shape and continue rolling into a cigar shape using the paper.
Once it forms a cylinder press the ends together to close it off. You want all the meat encapsulated in the dough.
Place the alcapurrias in oil heated to 350°F until they are brown on one side then flip them over to fry the other side. You want them dark brown, not just golden brown so the dough cooks all the way through. This should take 6 or 7 minutes and feel free to flip them a couple time for even browning. Work in batches of 3 or 4 at a time depending on the size of your frying pan.
Place the fried alcapurrias on a plate lined with paper towel to drain.

Notes

The recipe yields about 20 alcapurrias.

Frequently Asked Questions:

How long can I store the alcapurrias?
You can store these in the refrigerator for 4 days after they have been fried.

How do I reheat the alcapurrias?
Reheat in the oven at 250°F for 10 minutes until warm in the center. I like to put them in my air fryer for 5 minutes at 250°F.

Can I freeze alcapurrias?
Yes, wrap them in plastic wrap and place in an air tight container before frying. Remove them from the freezer and allow to thaw for about 1 hour before frying.

If you have extra beef filling leftover it makes great tacos!

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