Plátanos Fritos al Estilo Oaxaqueño

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Heavy cast iron skillet or wide comal with a rim
• •Thin metal spatula
• •Wire rack set over a plate for draining

Instructions

1. 1

   Choose the right plantain

   Look at the skins. You want them mostly black with patches of deep yellow showing through. A green plantain or a yellow one with no spots will fry into something starchy and sad. The black skin is the sugar. The black skin is the recipe. If your plantains are still firm and yellow at the market, buy them and leave them on the counter for three or four days until they look like they should be thrown out. That is when they are ready.

   A ripe plantain gives slightly when you press it with your thumb but still holds its shape. If it feels mushy through the skin, it has gone too far for frying and belongs in a tamal de plátano instead.
2. 2

   Peel and slice

   Cut off both ends of each plantain. Score the skin lengthwise with the tip of a paring knife, just through the peel, and lift it away in strips. Slice the plantains on a slight bias into pieces about three-quarters of an inch thick. Thick. Not the wafer-thin chips people make for tostones. These are platanos fritos and they need body so the outside caramelizes while the inside stays jammy.

3. 3

   Heat the lard

   In a wide cast iron skillet or a heavy comal with a rim, melt the lard over medium heat. You want about a quarter inch of melted fat across the surface, hot enough that a small piece of plantain dropped in sizzles immediately but does not brown in seconds. La manteca es el sabor. Vegetable oil will fry the plantains, yes, but it will not give you the round, savory depth that lard does. In Oaxaca, no me vengas con atajos.

4. 4

   Fry the first side

   Lay the plantain slices in the hot lard in a single layer. Do not crowd the pan. Crowding drops the temperature and the plantains steam instead of caramelize, and you will end up with pale, soft pieces that taste boiled. Fry for three to four minutes on the first side. Do not move them. Let them sit until the edges turn deep mahogany and the bottom releases easily from the pan when you slide a spatula under it.

   If the lard is smoking, the heat is too high and the sugars in the plantain will burn before the inside softens. Pull the pan off the heat for thirty seconds and lower the flame.
5. 5

   Flip and finish

   Turn each slice with a thin spatula. Fry the second side for another two to three minutes, until that face is also dark gold with caramelized edges and the center has gone soft enough that a fork slides in without resistance. The smell at this point is unmistakable: brown sugar, toasted starch, and clean rendered lard. That is how you know.

6. 6

   Drain and salt

   Lift the slices out with a slotted spatula and lay them on a wire rack set over a plate. Skip the paper towels. Paper towels trap steam and soften the crust you just worked to build. Sprinkle a pinch of sea salt over the hot plantains while the surface is still glossy. The salt is small but it is not optional. It is what turns this from candy into food.

7. 7

   Serve at the table

   Pile the plantains generously onto a barro negro plate. Set a small bowl of warm frijoles negros refritos beside them, a dish of crumbled queso fresco, and a jar of Oaxacan crema. Each person builds their own bite: a slice of plantain, a smear of beans, a pinch of cheese, a thread of crema. Sweet, savory, salty, sour from the cheese. That is the Oaxacan plate. Asi se hace y punto.

Chef Tips

• •If your market only carries underripe plantains, do not try to ripen them in the oven or the microwave. They will get hot and the starch will not convert to sugar. Time on the counter is the only ripening that works. Buy them four days before you plan to cook.
• •Save the lard from frying. Strain it through a fine sieve once it cools and refrigerate it. It will carry a faint sweetness from the plantain and it is excellent for frying eggs the next morning.
• •Substitution is a compromise, not an upgrade. If you have no lard, use a neutral oil with a tablespoon of butter added at the end. You will get a fine plantain. You will not get an Oaxacan one.

Advance Preparation

• •Platanos fritos do not hold well. The crust softens within fifteen minutes and the texture suffers. Fry them at the moment you sit down to eat.
• •The plantains can be peeled and sliced up to thirty minutes ahead, covered with a damp cloth so they do not darken. Past that, the cut surfaces oxidize and the color dulls.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 255g)