I like to look at my site statistics from time to time. My absolute favorite is seeing what Google searches people use to get to the blog. My top two favorite searches are:

1. Demon pig

2. Pig excited about funnel cake

But the most popular searches are some variation on “Puerto Rican arepas recipe.” When I was searching out recipes, I had a really difficult time finding Puerto Rican specific recipes and so I’m glad that I might be able to help others find what they’re looking for. But, it also shows me that I should get back to testing recipes so I can find a perfect recipe. So here is my second attempt.

I wasn’t sure where I wanted to go after my first attempt. If you haven’t read it, you can find it here. So I did some searching and I found an email my dad sent me in 2010. So you can see, I’ve been thinking about this for a looooong time. This recipe is almost totally different from what I did before, so I thought I’d give it a whirl.

The pocket!!

Here are the pros: I got the arepas to puff up and have pockets. They were so easy to stuff with rice and beans! Ryan actually deserves all the credit for the pockets existing. I was kneading the dough into the shape I wanted them to be and then frying them. My way, the dough was coming out like deep-fried bread rolls and were completely thick and dense in the inside. Ryan suggested I use less dough then use a rolling pin to shape the dough to the diameter I wanted (about the size of my hand). Then when we put it into the fryer they puffed up to exactly the size I wanted and I squealed with glee. So now I want to know, if I had done this the first time and kneaded the dough for longer and into thinner patties, would I have gotten pockets?

The con is that I felt like the consistency was too much like bread. It wasn’t quite the like the fried dough I remembered. I though the my first arepas were closer in texture to my grandmother’s arepa.

Now the problem with doing something totally different is that there are too many variables. What made it be different? Is it the self-rising flour vs all-purpose? Is it the added salt? The milk instead of water? Now I have to go back to the drawing board. I’m thinking arepas 3.0 will be this recipe but with all-purpose flour instead.

Anyway, I think I’m on to something. So for all you Google searchers out there, I hope this is what you’re looking for.

Ingredients

4 cups self-rising flour

1 tbsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

2 tbsp lard/shortening/butter ( I used shortening)

1 cup milk

Directions

1. Put the flour in a large bowl. Add salt and baking soda. Mix

2. Cut the lard/shortening/butter into the dry ingredients.

3. Make a hole in the middle of the flour mixture and pour in the milk.

4. Mix until everything is incorporated and you have dough that has the consistency of pizza dough. This is hard to do by hand or with a fork so you can also use a mixer with a dough hook set on low.

5. Cover the bowl and let sit for 3 hours.

6. Knead the dough for a few minutes (about 3-5).

7. Take a golf ball size ball of dough. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough out to about 1/8″ thick and about 5-6″ wide.

8. Heat about 1″ of oil in a skillet until very hot. Or heat a deep fryer to 350°.

9. Place an arepa in the hot oil until it is golden brown. Then flip it and brown the other side. This takes about 2-3 minutes per side.

Look at that bubble!

10. Remove from oil and drain on a paper towel.

11. Serve with rice and beans!

Messy Level: This is mildly messy. Mixing the dough takes a ton of work and if you do it by hand you are likely to have flour glob all over yourself and your counter. I tried mixing by hand, before I gave up and used the dough hook. I washed my hands of the dough and Ryan looked in the sink and was a little surprised to see yucky, lumpy, white clumps in the sink.  But that’s not so bad. Mostly using a lot of oil can lead to difficult clean up, but largely this is pretty straightforward to make and clean up. I hope you try it!

The post Puerto Rican Arepas Part 2 appeared first on Cooking is Messy.

Now not only was I going to make an extensive new meal, I didn’t even have all the ingredients. When I got home I put my stuff down and then walked to the grocery store. And then, after looking around a bit, walked to another grocery store because I didn’t like how expensive things were at the first place.  At 7:30pm my mom called me to ask how it was going. I had called her earlier in the evening to ask for the recipe. This recipe is actually my grandmother’s, and it’s one that my mom recently started making again. My grandmother was a great cook and made most things from scratch. My memories of her are often in the kitchen cooking us up something warm and delicious. And so, my mom was passing on the recipe to me. It has been over two hours since I had called her, so it’s understandable she expected me to be done.

“No, I’m just about to start frying,” I told her.

“Oh,” she sounded a little worried, “You’re going to be eating late.”

But actually, once I got myself going it went pretty smoothly and we ate about 8:15pm. And let me tell you it was delicious! Crispy, flavorful, and oh so amazingly juicy. I was so excited. And Ryan was pretty impressed. Both of us had the wide-eyed look of surprise that this came out as good as chicken we’d had at many restaurants. So, I’m going to share with you my grandma’s chicken recipe. I did also make cornbread, but I’m not going to provide the recipe because I didn’t think it was delicious enough to share. I will however share a picture because I think it looked cool. I don’t know why, but I felt like making it in the skillet was more special than using a regular pan.

But back to the chicken. To make the fried chicken I used my deep-fryer. People always seem a little mystified and curious about the deep-fryer so I thought I’d first explain how it works.  First, with a deep-fryer you’re going to have to buy a lot of oil. It’s a little gross, but get over it. The good thing is, if you feel comfortable you can reuse your oil. You can reuse the oil if you a.) strain it after each use (I use cheese cloth and a fine strainer) and b.) it’s still close to the original color from when you bought it. Do not reuse your oil if a.) you used it for raw meat b.) it’s become a dark color c.) it’s getting old and bad. Ryan and I were having burning eyes from the deep fryer and I did some research about that. If it’s burning your eyes it because the oil is getting old or is burnt and it’s just not good anymore.

But, when you have new fresh oil it’s so easy to use. The deep fryer has six main parts. There’s the basket, the heating element & control panel, the lid, the breakaway cord (for safety), the oil container (the black inside part), and what the manufacturer calls the “stainless steel body” or the silver part that holds the oil container. So the oil container goes into the body, then the heating element fits on top of that.

You fill the container with oil until the oil level is somewhere between the max and min lines. You can kind of see the level markers in the bottom right picture. Also in the bottom right picture you can sort of see the “spout” in the corner that makes it easy to pour out the oil. Seriously cleaning is really easy because the pieces come apart so quickly. Anyway, you use the control panel (which is attached to the heat element) to set the temperature. Once it’s ready it beeps and you lower the basket with your food into the oil. It will sizzle and pop, but with the lid it’s all contained! Nothing is getting on your counter, on your clothes, or your face. You can also peek through the window to make sure your food is cooking properly. For real, it’s greatness. When your food is done, you can lift the basket up a level so it can drain the food over the oil. Simple! I’ll admit since there are so many parts, cleaning takes a bit and when drying the pieces take up my whole counter. But for cooking it could not be easier. There is really no crazy popping, splatting, or smoking mess that there used to be. Finally, the deep fryer is fun. People who come over always seem a bit impressed. So invite some people over and make them some chicken.

And one more thing, I’m sorry there aren’t more pictures. I really thought I was taking action shots, but I only took pictures of the finished product. But that’ll be enough to win you over I think.

Ingredients:

1 whole chicken cut into parts. Alternatively, you can always just do drumsticks, or wings, or whatever you fancy

Adobo (You could also make your own spice blend)

Canola Oil

Flour

2- 3 Egg Whites

Directions:

1. Make sure the chicken is full defrosted. Don’t rush this step, let it really thaw.

2. Pat the chicken dry.

3. Put oil in deep-fryer and set to 350°. If using a skillet, heat about an 1″ of oil on high heat. You can use a cooking thermometer to check the temperature. Also, you can check if it’s hot by flicking a drop of water on the oil. If it pops vigorously then it’s ready to go. Skillet frying is somewhat harder though because it’s more challenging to regulate the temperature. When you put food in the oil, the temperature drops and it’s hard to get it back where you need it. The deep-fryer can maintain the heat evenly throughout.

4. Season generously with adobo. If you haven’t had adobo before, it’s just salt, garlic, oregano and turmeric. Sometimes I add pepper and onion powder too. If you don’t have adobo, you can make do with the spices you have. Now, seasoning is a practice makes perfect thing. You want to season it a lot so in the end your skin has good flavor. But don’t go crazy thickly coating every side because then it will come out salty. Season it so it looks like a lot but it’s not a thick layer. Sorry that’s not more clear.

5. The number of egg whites is arbitrary, you just need enough so that each piece of chicken can be coated. I cooked 9 pieces of chicken, and two were very large so I used 3 egg whites. Anyway, take your egg whites and gently beat until a little bit foamy.

6. Take a paper bag or gallon-size plastic bag and put some flour in it. Again, it doesn’t matter how much flour, but you need enough to coat the chicken.

7. Take a piece of chicken, coat it in the egg whites.

8. After you’ve dipped the chicken in the egg whites put it in the bag of flour. Hold the bag closed and shake it so that flour covers the entire chicken. I wish I had taken a video of this because I think this part is fun. Depending on size, you can probably fit 2-3 pieces of chicken in the bag at one time.

9. Shake off any excess flour.

10. Put the coated chicken in the basket and lower it into the oil. If using a skillet, put the chicken directly in the oil. The skin will tighten a bit and start to crisp up.

11. Fry for about 15-20 minutes depending on size of the chicken. Turn about half way through is the chicken isn’t fully submerged in the oil. You’ll know the chicken is done when a.) the skin is crispy and golden brown b.) the internal temperature is 165°.

12. Eat this deliciously decadent at chicken goodness. Seriously, you bite into it and there’s a satisfying crunch followed by plump and juicy chicken. Make this recipe!

Messy Level: This definitely has potential to be less messy, but for now I have to give it 4 spoons. Coating raw meat in three different things makes a mess. It created an awkward breaded coating on my hands. And it led to clumpy spills on the counter. Also the oil afterward is really gross because it’s got lots of crispy bits in it. The meal is worth it, and actually it’s quick to put together, but it’s a messy process. At the end of cooking I told Ryan, “well I’ve used everything in the kitchen and it’s all dirty.” And part of that was because I made more than just the chicken, but ultimately my kitchen was still a disaster zone.

The post Fried Chicken appeared first on Cooking is Messy.

Something you might not know about me is that I have two part time jobs. I’m lucky because both are great. The are fun, intellectually stimulating, and I get to run around and don’t have to sit behind a desk. I also have flexible hours so sometimes I get home really early, and sometimes I sleep in late. But, the downside of this is that I often work on the weekends resulting in a 6-day work week and a 1-day weekend. So, imagine my great surprise and delight when my bosses and lady luck smiled down on me and gave me ALL of Memorial Day weekend off. That’s three days off! IN. A. ROW. It was greatness. And it gave me a lot of time to play in the kitchen. I made a spicy carrot and beef tagine, lemon squares, strawberry sorbet, pizza, cookies, and arepas.

Arepas are fried dough, and Ryan and I liken them to Puerto Rican latkes. Other Latin American places besides Puerto Rico have latkes, but we’re focusing on my family’s recipe today so we’re calling them Puerto Rican. I’ve been researching how to make arepas for almost a month, and the long weekend gave me the chance to final dive in and make them.

Let me say, before we get in too deep, that for me, this is a recipe in progress. Think of it as “Arepas 1.0.” The recipe I’m going to give you is a complete recipe that you can make and enjoy. But my quest isn’t done, because I’m trying to channel the arepas recipe that my grandmother used to make. My grandmother passed away a number of years ago, so while this recipe is delicious and works well, it’s not exactly the way I remember. So I’m going to continue tinkering and testing, and will update accordingly. I’m working on memories and tradition, and so maybe my nostalgia is un-achievable, but I’m having fun trying. Now, before we get into the recipe, let me back up and tell you about why trying this is so important to me.

I started cooking regularly, and with interest, about 2 1/2 years ago when I moved to New York. Before that I “cooked” in that I could make pasta, cook a chicken breast in a skillet, and heat a box of rice. But I didn’t know how to make anything that was a little bit special. When I moved to New York I wanted to try my hand at cooking because it was the first time I was living alone in a non-collegey atmosphere. Also, New York is expensive so cooking at home would be cheaper, and my apartment was only a few blocks from the Union Square Farmer’s Market, which is year round and has a huge variety.

But, also I started cooking, because I’m a little crazy. I was living in a new place, and when I thought about what felt like home, a lot of memories had to do with my favorite meals. And then I had a realization that I didn’t know how to cook anything that my future family might like, ask for, or long for. Now, I was a single girl (to be clear I was dating Ryan, so I was single in the government forms check box sense of the word) in New York, but I was worrying about the needs of my future family. A husband I didn’t yet have, and children that were non-existent. I was twenty-five, and crazily worrying about feeding future people.

So I started to learn how to cook. And in lieu of family, I fed classmates and friends. But all that prep paid off! I’m now happy to say that me and Ryan, my little family of two, has a few go-to recipes. There are meals now that Ryan requests or is happy to see when he gets home. Now that I have some of my own recipes, I’ve become interested in tackling some of my family’s existing recipes. Some recipes I’ve made, like my mom’s apple pie or the arroz con gandules that Titi Lisa (Aunt Lisa) brings to Thanksgiving every year. And some I haven’t gotten to yet, like Papa’s breakfast cornmeal.

But arepas have becomes especially important in part because they come from a potentially a lost recipe. As far as I know, when my Abuela (grandmother) passed away, no one knew her arepa recipe exactly. Her arepas were crispy, airy, and delicious. They were perfect for stuffing with rice and beans or eating solo and dipping them in the bean sauces. We only had arepas if we were visiting her, or if she sent some pre-made dough back home with us. They were somewhat special because we didn’t have them all the time. But mostly, they were so tasty. I would easily wolf down 3 or 4 in a sitting.

Now it’s funny that I covet this recipe so heavily because my abuela wasn’t known for her cooking. Her arepas were amazing, her rice and beans were good, and everything else was… not good. I liked going to her house because she had grape soda, which I had never seen anywhere else. And she bought us fried chicken buckets from KFC, which also wasn’t something I had at home. And for dessert she’d give us those little cups of ice cream, half chocolate and half vanilla, with a little wooden spoon. But she didn’t really cook and even heating things up didn’t always go well. I remember an Eggo waffle that was hot on the outside but rock hard on the inside. Eric, my brother, and I sawed at them until Papa gently suggested that maybe we should eat something else.

My abuela and me. Yes, I was a pudgy baby.

Most importantly though, my abuela was awesome. She was the first person I knew who lived in an apartment, and didn’t have a car, and walked everywhere. I thought that was cool, and scary, and unusual, but amazing. I’m totally convinced to this day that she could have wrestled a bear and won, because she was strong and had such a fierce personality. She liked to crochet and made pretty dolls and covers for tissue boxes. But she was also into WWE wrestling, following the story lines closely. Each time we visited she gave us gift bags full of fun goodies she bought at the dollar store. Things like puzzle books, pens that you can click to change the ink color, and crazy socks. And looking back now, I think she filled her home with things that just made her happy – no matter how silly. She wore sparkly shoelaces in her sneakers, she had a fake bearskin rug – complete with bear head, and she had a sign in her bathroom that said “if you sprinkle when you tinkle, be a sweetie and wipe the seatie.” She had a print of Picasso’s Femme, which is basically a few lines that make a picture of a butt. I thought it was hilarious and awesome. She was loving, quirky, and passionate and it was fun to visit her.

So, I feel like by making her arepas it’s a nice way to cherish her warm, quirky, and unique memory. By doing this, I can feel close to her and remember all the lovely things about her.

Also, not only does this recipe make me feel closer to my grandmother, it’s brought me to my parents and my aunt. In preparation for this I reached out to my Titi Mari for advice, and she provided me with the recipe below. I also asked Papa what he remembered about the arepas. Then I made my first batch and sent my mom a picture with no information except, “looks good right?” She called me almost immediately exclaiming, “are those AREPAS?!” And so we had a nice talk about what had worked well and what I could do next.

And my arepas came out pretty darn good. We each ate two the first day. And I’ve been having them for lunch at work, greedily scooping up beans and rice and wishing I had brought more. I find myself budgeting the arepas so I have at least a few bites saved for the end of the meal. They tasted crispy and golden, with some doughy parts, just like I remembered. But they weren’t airy with pockets for beans. So I will push on and try again.

I hope you think of trying this recipe. Or, better yet, what’s a meal you love from your childhood? What gives you a happy memory? Whatever that is, I think that’s a recipe you should try. Hopefully we all have a happy food memory. So why not try and recreate it?

Ingredients:

1/2 lb all purpose flour

2 oz lard

8 oz salted water (salted to your taste, I used 2 tsp and Ryan said it could use more)

Now, when I read this recipe from my aunt I said to myself, “lard?!” Lard can definitely make things delicious but it’s not popular any more. It’s texture’s a bit weird in the tub, it’s high in calories, and the fact that it’s pig fat (yeah, if you didn’t know, lard is pig fat) is a little off putting when you think about making pies or other meals. But I was going to try my damnedest to do it like my abuela, so I went on a quest for lard.

I usually show at Trader Joe’s, and they didn’t have lard. I then walked to Whole Foods thinking that foodies shop there and so might need lard, even though it goes against the healthy vibe. I had read that lard can be hard to find so I searched in the butter section, the baking section, the ethnic food section, and then finally to the meat counter. I went to the meat counter and had this conversation:

Me: Do you have lard?

Lady at the Counter: What?

Me: Lard? (In my head: sigh, if she doesn’t know what lard is I’ll never find it!)

Lady at the Counter gave me a confused face

Second Lady at the Counter jumped in and said she’d help me. She took me to the shortening, which she said I could use as a substitute. It was on the bottom shelf below all the cooking oils. I was feeling a little deflated and I called Papa to confirm that I could use shortening. He said yes, he had seen his mom do that. So that’s what I used. But I’m told lard is the best and can make the arepas more flaky. Next time I’ll do more searching and find lard. If you don’t want to use lard, use shortening or butter.

Instructions:

1. In a small bowl mix the water and salt. Stir to help the salt dissolve.

2. Put the flour in a medium bowl. Cut in the lard/shortening/butter.

3. Pour a little bit of the water (I did 2 tbsp at a time) into the flour. Mix with your hands. You want to add water until you have a dough that does not stick to your hands. You may not need all 8oz of water. If the dough gets too wet, add a little flour to dry it out.

4. Form discs with the dough. I made about 8 discs and they were about 1/2 inch thick. Put them on a plate, not touching each other. Let sit for 30 minutes.

5. Pour a thick layer of vegetable oil in a deep skillet. You’re deep frying, so pour as much oil as you’re comfortable with. Heat on medium to medium-high. Your oil is hot enough when a.) you flick water at it and it pops and bubbles or b.) you put a little of bread in the oil and it floats, not sinks.

6. Fry the arepas in the oil, flipping occasionally, until both sides are golden brown. If you’re nervous about frying oil, I totally get it. Oil can pop and splash up and even one little fleck can hurt a bit. To avoid lots of splatter when you put in the arepas, here’s a tip: use the side of the pan as a slide. Gently nudge the dough disk over the side of the pan and down the edges. It will slide in nicely to the oil.

7. Once cooked, put arepas on a paper towel to drain off excess oil.

8. Serve with rice and beans! Or even, eat it alone. I knew I was on the right track to making my abuela’s recipe when I was ravenously eating the arepas alone and wishing I had more to scarf down.

Messy Level:

At the suggestion of my friend Charlotte, the new feature for Cooking is Messy is the “messy meter,” to help show how messy these recipes are. The scale is measured in dirty spoons, with one dirty spoon being low level messy, and five dirty spoons being high level messy. Hope you enjoy the new messy meter!

I’m going to call this medium. It’s messy first because you have to put your hands in and work the dough. If you over water the dough it gets really soupy, sticky, and sort of nasty on your hands. Also, oil is just a bit messy to clean up. It pops and splatters so you have oil on your stove top and on your apron (yeah I wear an apron). Also, cleaning up oil just takes a bit of work. However, you only need one bowl, one pot, and a spatula to make this recipe so the clean up really is minimal.

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