Cuban - Fried plantains

[klorjne]

I'm in love with the fried plantains at my local Cuban restaurant (especially the sweet ones they call maduros). I have tried several recipes online, and none of them could compete. Not even close. Does anyone on here have a good recipe for these? Any tips? Mine always turned out too oily, and not sweet enough.

 

[MyDigitalpoint]

This is the only recipe I have for fired plantains:

Ingredients:
4 plantains
Canola or Vegetable oil
Seasoning and salt

Instructions:
- Peel the plantains and cut them in one inch chunks.
- Soak in salt water and seasoning for about 5 to 10 minutes.
- Deep fry for about 3 minutes and remove the plantains from the frying pan, placing them in a plate.
- Press down on the plantain chunks until they are flat.
- After pressing the plantain chunks flat, deep fry them for one more minute and allow them to cool off before serving.

 

[OhioTom76]

Oh I love these as well. I used to order them all the time from a local latin restaurant. I've not tried to make my own yet, but I did notice that the Goya brand sells them in the frozen foods section. Do they need to be smashed down and fried a second time, or can they just simply be fried once? I'm worried if double drying them might cause them to get greasier.

If buying plantains fresh, is there some things I should look out for to pick the best ones?

 

[True2marie]

This is the only recipe I have for fired plantains:

Ingredients:
4 plantains
Canola or Vegetable oil
Seasoning and salt

Instructions:
- Peel the plantains and cut them in one inch chunks.
- Soak in salt water and seasoning for about 5 to 10 minutes.
- Deep fry for about 3 minutes and remove the plantains from the frying pan, placing them in a plate.
- Press down on the plantain chunks until they are flat.
- After pressing the plantain chunks flat, deep fry them for one more minute and allow them to cool off before serving.

This recipe is one I use, but only substitute the canola for butter and salt for brown sugar. The final product is a gooey sweet treat.

 

[CrystalSPF]

I live in Montana, so we don't have a lot of variety for ethnic dishes. There was a place downtown that had fried plantains on the menu, but they went out of business. The plantains were so good! Thanks for the recipe, can't wait to give it a try!

 

[megshoe]

I absolutely adored the fried plantains at a local Cuban restaurant back home in the US. It's unfortunately been a long time since I've had any. Crispy on the outside, warm, gooey and banana-y on the inside...I'd really go for some right now. I haven't actually made too much of an effort to find plantains in Germany; it doesn't really seem like something you'd find easily here. I'll have to look harder!

 

[Indigo02]

I love plantains! Of course, the sweeter you want the plantain, the riper you have to let it get. You want to let that peel get pretty dark before cooking.

Once it's ripe, I peel it and cut it into circular chunks (not too thin, not too thick). Then I fill a ziploc bag full of a marinade that I make out of lemon juice, cumin, coriander, and chili powder, put the plantain slices in there, give it a shake, let it sit for a few minutes. A bowl works too, but I love using ziploc bags to make sure it's well coated.

After that, I heat some canola oil in a pan, place the plantains in there and let them fry on low heat for about a minute or two, until the outside turns dark brown. Flip each slice and do the same. The cumin and coriander give it that island-y flavor, the chili powder adds a kick of spice, and it's nice and crispy on the outside but as soon as you bite in, you get all of that sweetness. So good.

 

[warmweatherwoman]

This is the only recipe I have for fired plantains:

Ingredients:
4 plantains
Canola or Vegetable oil
Seasoning and salt
Instructions:
- Peel the plantains and cut them in one inch chunks.
- Soak in salt water and seasoning for about 5 to 10 minutes.
- Deep fry for about 3 minutes and remove the plantains from the frying pan, placing them in a plate.
- Press down on the plantain chunks until they are flat.
- After pressing the plantain chunks flat, deep fry them for one more minute and allow them to cool off before serving.

This recipe is for the crispy non-sweet ones...the Maduros spoken of initially in this post are not taken out and smashed...they are just allowed to brown to the sweet consistency wanted and then cut up and fried easy..until golden...the seasoning is still the same though. I am Puerto Rican and Dominican so I been eating and making these since I was a kid.

 

[kammy]

This is the only recipe I have for fired plantains:

Ingredients:
4 plantains
Canola or Vegetable oil
Seasoning and salt

Instructions:
- Peel the plantains and cut them in one inch chunks.
- Soak in salt water and seasoning for about 5 to 10 minutes.
- Deep fry for about 3 minutes and remove the plantains from the frying pan, placing them in a plate.
- Press down on the plantain chunks until they are flat.
- After pressing the plantain chunks flat, deep fry them for one more minute and allow them to cool off before serving.

This is the same recipe i have being using for ages , i don't think i know another one and i especially like to have fried plantains for my breakfast with a steaming bowl of porridge. What better way to start ones day.