Top 5 Caribbean Ground Meat Dishes

Picadillo Cubano is a spicy dish consisting of ground meat, tomatoes, and onions, while other picadillo versions are popular throughout Latin America, Spain, and the Philippines (where it is known as giniling). The dish is usually served with a side of rice or tortillas, although it is used just as often as a filling for numerous wraps and tacos. In Cuba, the cooks like to add raisins for sweetness and olives for salt, in the Philippines, potatoes are often added to the dish, while the Mexican version incorporates additional lime juice, honey, or chili peppers. The name of the dish is derived from the Spanish word picar, meaning to chop or mince, referring to picadillo's key ingredient, ground meat.Expand

Chimichurris is a Dominican hamburger characterized by the addition of numerous spices to the meat patty, such as oregano, garlic, parsley, and red pepper flakes. It is usually not prepared at home, but bought from street food vendors. Like most burgers, chimichurris is served in a bun and topped with a variety of ingredients such as mayonnaise, shredded cabbage, tomatoes, and onions. It is said that the real Dominican chimichurri will always be served with a glass of cold, frosty beer on the side.Expand

Frita Cubana (or simply frita) is a burger variety with Cuban origins. It was invented in Havana in the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s (there's still no consensus). Originally, these burgers were sold by friteros from their stands, called puestos. The burgers were made with Cuban rolls, ground beef, onions, seasonings such as smoked paprika (pimentón), and julienned potatoes. In 1962, Ramon Estevill brought the burgers to Miami when he opened his small eatery. Nowadays, El Rey De Las Fritas is the most popular frita joint in Miami, and the fritas are made with a spicy tomato sauce, ground beef, a soft bun, red onions, and salty shoestring potatoes.Expand

Niños envueltos (lit. wrapped children) is a traditional dish consisting of rice and ground beef that are wrapped in cabbage and cooked in tomato sauce. Apart from the main ingredients, the dish also often contains garlic, basil, bell peppers, and onions, while the tomato sauce is made with olive oil, tomatoes, garlic, oregano, sugar, salt, and pepper. The dish is slowly simmered until the cabbage becomes tender and the rolls are fully cooked. The rolls are often served with bread and a fresh salad on the side. It is believed that this dish is actually a Dominican adaptation of Middle Eastern dishes which were brought to the country by immigrants in the 19th century.Expand

Pulpeta is a classic Cuban meat dish. It's essentially a meatloaf that's prepared with a combination of ground meat (beef and pork), eggs, onions, vinegar, cheese, breadcrumbs, tomatoes, dry wine, and herbs and spices such as oregano, bay leaves, cumin, and parsley. Once assembled, the meatloaf is dipped in eggs, rolled in breadcrumbs, then fried in hot oil until nicely browned. The onions are sautéed with the remaining ingredients, and the meatloaf is then simmered in the sauce. Before serving, pulpeta is often garnished with chopped parsley. Quite often, there are hard-boiled eggs inside the meatloaf, making for an attractive visual presentation when sliced.Expand