4 hours
Papas rellanas are meat-filled, potato croquettes found in Latin American countries. Each region has its own variant of this fried snack. I chose to fill these with savory, salty venison picadillo—a mixture of ground meat, spices, and briny olives. The croquettes are coated in panko and deep-fried until crispy.
The picadillo recipe below makes double the filling that you’d need. Cut the recipe in half if you like, but I typically defrost a pound of venison at a time, so I might as well make use of it all. The mixture freezes well, so if you make papas rellenas again, it’s one less thing to do.
There’s a learning curve to forming the croquettes. I found this plastic wrap method most sensible, but you might prefer to use cooking gloves instead. Do whatever makes sense to you, but refrain from using too much potato because your papas rellenas can end up larger than you’d want. I like them no larger than 2 inches across.
Filling (makes double recipe)
Papas rellanas are meat-filled, potato croquettes found in Latin American countries. Each region has its own variant of this fried snack. I chose to fill these with savory, salty venison picadillo—a mixture of ground meat, spices, and briny olives. The croquettes are coated in panko and deep-fried until crispy.
The picadillo recipe below makes double the filling that you’d need. Cut the recipe in half if you like, but I typically defrost a pound of venison at a time, so I might as well make use of it all. The mixture freezes well, so if you make papas rellenas again, it’s one less thing to do.
There’s a learning curve to forming the croquettes. I found this plastic wrap method most sensible, but you might prefer to use cooking gloves instead. Do whatever makes sense to you, but refrain from using too much potato because your papas rellenas can end up larger than you’d want. I like them no larger than 2 inches across.
Filling (makes double recipe)