Frita Cubana – The Original Cuban Hamburger

Well it wasn't the best burger ever, but it was pretty good.  Because the amount of effort put into a dish often negates some of its tastiness, this dish may have lost some points for the shoestring potatoes.  The potatoes were a bit of an ordeal. (next time Steak n Shake or the crispy ones you can buy in the grocery!)  The first batch of the potatoes were like nest.  My husband managed to keep them pretty much separated on the next batch. However they all cook at different times and had to be taken out one at a time. Long story short, while they came out tasty, the potatoes took 3 times as long as the burger.  I liked the texture of the burger that processing it gave it; my husband not so much.  The real winner of the dish was the "not so secret" sauce. Its basically a homemade ketchup with some Latin flavors.  LOVED it.


Frita Cubana – The Original Cuban Hamburger
Burgers
1 lb ground beef
3/4 lb ground pork
4 ea garlic,mashed and finely minced
1/3 c  onion,grated
2 T  ketchup
3/4 t  ground cumin
1 1/2 t  sweet Spanish paprika
Salt & pepper cooked patties to taste
6    -8 American-style hamburger or steak buns
Topping
6    -8 cups freshly fried shoestring  potatoes
raw onion,sliced(optional)
Glenn's Not-So-Secret Sauce (MANDATORY see recipe below)
Enjoy this authentic Cuban recipe for the ultimate Cuban hamburger
Use a food processor with a chopping blade to grind together the meats,
the minced garlic, and the onion. Blend in the ketchup, cumin, and
paprika.
Remove the meat mixture from the food processor and form by hand into
round thin patties. Cook on a flat griddle or in a frying pan.
Fritas should be cooked to medium well done, but don't overcook - they
should still be nice and juicy. When the frita is just about cooked
through, reduce heat to medium low, squirt on some secret sauce, and
let the patties cook just a minute longer.
While the fritas are frying, use a deep fat fryer or frying pan with a
couple inches of vegetable oil to fry the shoestring potatoes. Drain on
paper towels and lightly salt. Keep warm.
Serve each frita on a traditional American hamburger bun.
IMPORTANT:
Splash plenty of "Glenn's Not-So-Secret Sauce" on the bun and the patty.
The sauce is an ESSENTIAL ingredient in this recipe!
Place the patty on the bun, cover with some sliced onion (if you like),
and pile high with fresh, hot, shoe-string style fried potatoes - yes,
inside the bun, ON TOP of the meat! Splash a little extra secret sauce
on the fries, you'll be glad you did!
Serve with additional fries on the plate.

Glenn's Not-So-Secret Frita Sauce

INGREDIENTS:
1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste
1 1/2 cups water
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons sweet Spanish paprika
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup white vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
Mix all of the ingredients together in a two-quart saucepan.
Bring to a boil stirring constantly.
Reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 10 to 15
minutes.
Remove from heat and let cool. Use generously in the Frita Cubana
recipe above.