Alcapurria is a fritter dish from Puerto Rico, a culinary dish that found its way to the Dominican Republic and Cuba.
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An alcapurria is made from a doughy mixture of mashed up tubers and root vegetables that grow on the island surrounding a center of heavily seasoned meat. Cooks spoon the meat into the center, roll the alcapurria into a distinctive peg shape and deep fry it for several minutes.
The dough that surrounds the meat is called the 'masa' and is made primarily of yautia and may contain grated calabazas (tropical pumpkins), potato, plantains, and other starchy tropical tubers. Cooks usually add achiote and shortening to the masa to give its own flavor and color.
The meat is often spicy ground beef, such as picadillo, but can also be crab or chicken. The (masa) is refrigerated for several hours to achieve a solid consistency. The masa is then filled with picadillo, ground beef, etc... and deep fried in oil. Yuca "alcapurrias" are often stuffed with crab meat. "Alcapurrias" are also one of the many dishes served on the kiosk stands or cuchifritos.
In the Dominican Republic yucca alcapurrias are called chulitos and are stuffed with ground meat and served with chili sauce.