Salvadoran Pupusas & Curtido ... The Evolution!

Little Chef

Warning...this is long!

Oh what a night!! :blink: Actually...this was a two day affair of prep. Note to the lady Eggers: When the hubby sees something on a Food or History Channel, and decides 'you' need to try it, weigh your options carefully! :laugh:

I must admit, there was a ton learned in this lesson. I also admit, the main lesson for me was...I will not do these again! :laugh: Actually, now that I have taken this process from start to finish, and figured out all the mistakes we made in this first process, the next time will be a breeze.

Salvadoran Pupusas are essentially like a stuffed soft corn taco/empinada type thing. It can be stuffed with beans, chicarrones, cheese, and in our case, we used a combo of finely shredded pork and queso fresco. The recipe I followed (loosely I will add) is here:
http://en.belgourmet.be/world_recipes/El_Salvador_recipes/Salvadoran_Pupusas_with_Curtido.php
(ps...I only used 1/3 cup oil for the Masa dough, and the balance water. It worked just fine!)

Now I can't believe there are no pictures actually making the Pupusas :pinch: ...but it entails making a very maliable Masa dough, which you make into a thick round patty about the size of your palm. Then you squish your thumb in, add some cheese and meat, then close the dough up around the top. So, now we have a stuffed corn dough ball. Then
carefully flatten it between your palms so you have a flat, round cake, with the filling encased inside. (I finally got the hang of this on about the 8th one! :laugh: ) Just search making Pupusas on You Tube. There are some good authentic places shown there.

So with the Pupusas made, we started the cooking escapade! :laugh: Time for a look at our Evolution in Pupusas cookery! As you will see...it wasn't pretty early on!

We thought it logical to begin with our typical pizza set up, which we do plate setter legs up, grid, then pizza stone.

We still don't know why this didn't work, as the stone was well over 500*. We just weren't getting the browning that we needed.

So for Plan B, Bubba Tim decided to go with the CI skillet...Direct! :blink: :laugh:

Looking good so far...


UMMMMM.....NOPE!!

Plan C...Pizza stone directly on the grid under the CI skillet...maybe?? :huh:

OK...Finally making some progress here!! As a note, the Egg was is the 650* range, with the skillet temping out about 500* with the IR Thermo.



This was try #2 with setup option C... (try #5 so far!)

And NOW we've got it...

Honestly, this was a TRUE :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: moment!!!

And the plated pics... (this cook only took about 8 hours to get to a plate! :blink: )

Served with Curtido, which is a traditional Salvadoran pickled cabbage slaw. Dried oregano in this slaw made it truly unique!

Close up...

Filled with the finely shredded pork, and the Queso Fresco, all encased in the thin layer of corn dough.

So there you have it! I won't be in a rush to do this again, though next time will be FAR easier!! :laugh: Thanks for looking, and I hope you enjoyed!

Hoss

WOW!!! I think I saw that same show.Yours look as good or better than theirs did! GREAT JOB!

cookn biker

I bet those flavors rocked Michelle! Nice pictorial too! It really is fun to step out of that box.

Grumps

Great cook! Thanks for sharing it.

Desert Oasis Woman

Similar to gorditas
Gorditas puff more, like a small corn pita, and then filled...
your results look fine

btw way too much effort -- get that man busy :laugh:

fire egger

Very nice!! Those look very good, thanks for the post!!

Little Chef

Thanks Hoss!! I think I'll stick to the home made corn tortilla tacos in the future though... :blink: :laugh:

FlaPoolman

Thanks for describing it I hate going to google :laugh: :laugh: Let me know next time you make them as a 3 hour drive to your house sounds much easier and I'm sure would taste better

Little Chef

Molly: They were very tasty, but I don't think I stepped out of a box...I jumped off a cliff!! :laugh: Always more difficult to make something when you have absolutely NO experiences with it! Told Tim he has to book a trip to San Salvador now...
Hope all is well with you girl! Hope the new job is working out!!

Little Chef

Pat, I have a bunch of meat left over. I am actually considering vac-packing and freezing, and bringing some to the fest. Now that I figured out the dough texture, and we finally figured out how to cook them, they may be a great pre- or after-party addition!

FlaPoolman

:woohoo: :woohoo: sure beats those hot dogs I was gonna do :laugh: :laugh:
Actually trying to figure out what type of fish I want to blacken

davehemp

Great post! Enjoyed seeing it as it progressed...

Little Chef

Thanks Grumps! A lot of work, but we learned a lot, too.

Hoss

Looks like a LOTTA work!

Little Chef

Thanks DOW, and yes, similar to Gorditas, but Gorditas have leavening agents and all. As my frustration built, I almost resorted to my gordita recipe! It gives me a whole new respect for the ladies I watched on You Tube that made it look easy as making a mud pie! :laugh:

Little Chef

Thanks for the feedback.

Little Chef

Thanks Dave, And truly, as you saw, it kind of evolved as we went! Always something to learn when Egging!!

Little Steven

Michelle,

When he comes up with an idea tell him to give it a try Looks and sounds very good!

Steve

Frank from Houma

Michelle,

Nice cook - you are certainly determined and have real staying power.

Looks and sounds very much like an arepa which is real popular in Venezuela and goes down like a rock.

Made some a while back but used a mix.

Canugghead

Michelle, thanks for sharing your journey. the pupusas remind me of paratha (indian 'pancake'), we usually have good success with many of Manjula's recipes, done on stove not egg though, they're simple and easy to follow, here's an example if you're interested...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btY8c82RWgI&feature=player_embedded#at=23
Gary

dhuffjr

So your not making these at the Sunshine fest then?????

Looks interesting though. I'll see if I can't talk my wife into it :woohoo:

Mr. & Mrs Potatohead

Great "stick to it" attitude guys! And good looking too!
As Thomas Keller says....Try, Try again and then it is yours .

bubba tim

Hey Babe,
I know, I can work on my Bubba Cakes creation that I tried a few years ago..... :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo:
Oh, BTW, where did you put the silcon bakeware?

LDD

that's some serious dedication...

looks like the outcome was worth the effort.

Atta boy!

Mainegg

Now I think that would be a great mini class at the fest in two weeks....
they look great LC as always! I know I would love those.
thanks for taking all the time to photo and post. and next time Tim has a great idea ... well we have seen what happens to your cook wear when he has an idea and acts on it...LOL

fishlessman

ive only had those once and they were so plain tasting i never had them again, yours look mucho bettah

Gator Bait

 
Great post LC! Very interesting and delicious looking. I love a detailed post, great job.


Blair


 

Florida Grillin Girl

You are such a good wife! Nice efforts, there.