How to Make Plantain Maduros, the Essential Puerto Rican Side

Plantain maduros: Is there any dish more deliciously Caribbean Latino than a crunchy-sweet side of caramelized platanos — super-ripe plantain that are golden-browned on both sides?

Yeah, we can’t think of anything either.

Plantains are at the cooking corazón of Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Cuba, Venezuela, Colombia and many other Caribbean-bordering tropical nations in Central and South America.

Maduro means ripe, and maduros are made from plantains so ripe, their peel is deep yellow and halfway to black. (But not all the way black: that’s too ripe.) Fresh, bright-green plantains won’t work for maduros: save those for crunchy tostones: fried plantain fritters.

How to Buy and Slice Plantains for Maduros

When buying plantains to cook maduros, you have two choices:

1) Buy GREEN and wait for a week or two until they are deeply yellow with just a few black spots.

2) Buy YELLOW with a black spot or two — and cook them almost immediately. If they are all black, it’s too late. Too mushy.

To peel, slice a thin sliver off the top stem end and the bottom of each plantain. Then peel the platano like a banana. It will be easy to remove.

Now, cut the plantain into thirds on the diagonal. Slicing each fat chunk on the bias creates more area for each plantain tip to touch your pan so it will sizzle in more places, resulting in more golden texture.

Important: Don’t slice plantains too thin, cautions Michelle. They will burn quickly and dry out when frying. The goal is thick, 3- to 4-inch-long chunks to get that caramelized gold color on the outside and juicy deliciousness on the inside.

And last but not least, here’s Michelle’s fool-proof frying tip for juicy plantains: ”Flip each platano maduro only one time when cooking. It’s like searing a steak, you only get one chance to flip! Peeking is good … but only one flip.  Otherwise your maduros can get limp and too oily.” Gracias, Michelle.

Ready to Make Plantain Maduros?

How to Make Maduros

Recipe by Michelle Ezratty Murphy

5.0 from 2 votes

Cuisine: Puerto Rican

Servings

4

servings

Prep time

10

minutes

Cooking time

10

minutes

Ingredients

• 2 plantains, yellow

• 1/3 cup flour

• 1/2 cup vegetable oil (MIchelle uses canola)

Directions

• Slice each plantain into three chunks, on the diagonal: each about 3 to 4” long and full width.
• Sprinkle flour onto a plate or work surface. Roll each plantain chunk in the flour and lightly coat both sides.
• Add oil to a cast-iron or non-stick pan, 3 to 4 Tbsp at a time. Turn burner to medium-high heat.
• Test the oil heat with a wooden cooking spoon. If the oil bubbles where you touch the tip of your spoon to the hot oil and pan, it’s ready.
• Just before you add the plantain pieces, turn down heat to medium. Space them 1/2 inch apart. If you crowd the maduros, they will steam and get mushy. You don’t want that.
• Cook in batches, flipping once so that you brown each one 2 to 3 minutes per each side, until it is golden-brown. The flour creates a seal around each plantain piece and helps it caramelize more crisply and evenly—without burning. Keep an eye on them so they don’t burn.
• Place cooked maduros on a plate lined with a paper towel. Keep working in batches until all are done.
• Serve hot. No salt or adobo needed. Your maduros are juicy-sweet, crispy-golden—and ready to eat. Feliz maduros!

Notes

• For oil, Michelle uses canola. She recommends avocado or corn oil as alternative. Do not use olive oil. Reason #1, its flavor overpowers the plátano. Reason #2, olive oil’s smoke point is low at 375 to 405° and it burns easily, giving your plantains a bitter, unpleasant taste.
• Flip each maduro only one time when frying. It’s like searing a steak, you only get one chance to flip! Peeking is good … but only one flip.  Otherwise your maduros can get limp and too oily.