Recipe: How to Make Alcapurrias de Yuca

I am sharing my family’s alcapurria de yuca recipe in this post. One of my favorite things in Puerto Rico is visiting the beach and treating myself to frituras. Frituras are these indulgent, crispy treats you can find throughout the island, especially at the beach. Some of my favorite beach spots to indulge in frituras are Luquillo, Piñones, and Cabo Rojo.

Making Alcapurrias de Yuca 

Alcapurrias de yuca may sound a bit intimidating, but they’re pretty easy to make. You can also buy pre-peeled frozen yuca at most frozen sections at Latin, African, or Asian supermarkets. I am currently in Brussels and we can find yuca in the Latin or African markets. I was actually quite surprised at how easy is to find yuca in Europe. Peeling yuca can look intimidating at a first glance, however, we cover how to peel yuca in the video. To cut prep time, you can prep the masa and picadillo the day before. I also suggest refrigerating the masa to make it a bit firmer. This will allow you to shape the alcapurrias much easier.

Fillings for the Alcapurrias de Yuca

I made this alcapurria de yuca recipe with a savory picadillo filling, but you can also use stewed crab or make a vegan version with finely chopped eggplant or a ground meat substitute. For this recipe, I used a mix of ground pork and beef, and seasoned it with sofrito, sazón, and adobo.

Cooking Tips

If you’re looking for a sofrito recipe for the picadillo, please find mine here. Ensure that the oil is very hot so the alcapurrias don’t stick to the bottom of the pan, and they’re nice and crispy. You can also shape the alcapurrias in greased parchment paper, cover with plastic wrap and freeze them to fry later. If you’re going to freeze to cook later, ensure you fry the alcapurrias a bit longer, around 5-6 minutes on each side.

Items used (or similar)

Food Processor
Cast Iron Frying Pan
Badia Sazon Tropical
Badia Adobo
Achiote Seeds

Recipe: How to Make Alcapurrias de Yuca

Print Recipe

Alcapurrias de yuca are indulgent, crispy treats you can find throughout the island, especially at the beach. I am sharing my family’s alcapurria de yuca recipe in this post.

• Author: DiningTraveler
• Prep Time: 60 Minutes
• Cook Time: 10
• Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
• Yield: 12 1x
• Category: Appetizers
• Cuisine: Puerto Rican
• Diet: Gluten Free

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

For the masa:

2–3 lbs yuca

1 tsp sazon

1 tsp adobo (to taste)

1 tbsp Achiote oil (optional)

Cooking Oil

Picadillo

Note: you can use different fillings such as corned beef, ground beef, or crab.

For this recipe, I used a ground pork/beef mix.

1 lb ground pork

2 tbsp tomato sauce

1 packet of sazón

1/2 cup of sofrito

1 small onion 1/3 cup of finely chopped olives (optional)

Cooking oil to fry

Banana leaf to shape the alcapurria (if you can’t find it, brush some olive oil on the parchment paper.

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Instructions

Make Picadillo

1. Heat olive oil in a large frying pan, add onions and cook until translucent
2. Add the ground meat and use a spatula or wooden spoon to break it down 
3. Add tomato sauce, sazon, sofrito and olives and stir well until all the condiments have been integrated. 
4. Cook picadillo until cooked through. Around 12-15 minutes. Set aside.

 

Make Masa

1. Peel yuca (see video), and cut it into pieces that you can easily feed into the food processor. You can also use pre-peeled frozen yuca (thawed)
2. Add the yuca to the food processor in small batches in the shredder attachment. Then run it through the bottom blade for a smooth masa. In between batches, add sazon and achiote oil. Be patient. This process will take several minutes as the yuca is very tough. Keep pulsing at high until the masa is smooth. 
3. Place the masa in a storage container and refrigerate for an hour. You can bypass this step if you’re hangry, BUT it helps make the masa more pliable. If you have the time, do it!

 

Prepare the alcapurrias

1. Add enough oil (I use canola oil) to fill the frying pan and set to medium heat.
2. While the oil heats up, start to make the alcapurrias. Use a banana leaf or greased parchment paper to mold the alcapurrias. Place on your palm like a cradle and spoon the masa evenly. 
3. Add the filling on top of the masa and with your hand, start bringing the masa together, covering the filling. Make sure it’s fully covered, as you don’t want your alcapurria de yuca falling apart. 
4. Cook on each side for 3-4 minutes until golden and crispy. Place on a plate topped with a paper towel to absorb excess oil.