Jibarito Recipe
Jibarito Recipe. Flattened, fried green plantains and aioli (garlic mayo) enveloping steak is out of this world. The traditional filling is steak, cheese, lettuce, and tomatoes. And that’s what my recipe calls for, but pork and chicken are delicious as well.💥
Now, you know I love a good sandwich on a delicious slice of homemade bread (where are my bread lovers?). However, there’s nothing quite like a jibarito to sell you on sandwich alternatives.
Content…What Is a Jibarito? |
What Is a Jibarito Sandwich?
Jibaritos are naturally gluten-free steak sandwiches with fried plantains instead of bread. You could use tostones for mini sandwiches. 😉 It’s a Puerto Rican specialty that’s also popular in Chicago with a ton of variations. It easily becomes vegetarian by loading it up with button mushrooms or portobellos.
How to Make Jibarito Plantain and Steak Sandwiches
Fry the Plantains
- Cut Plantains – Using a sharp knife, cut the plantains in half. (Photos 1-2)
- Fry – In a large skillet, heat at least 2-3 inches of vegetable oil over medium heat until it reaches about 375°F (190℃). Gently drop the plantain slices into the hot oil using tongs, avoiding overcrowding the pan. Fry each plantain until it is light brown, 3-4 minutes on each side. (Photo 3)
- Drain – Remove the plantains from the oil with a large, slotted spoon and drain them on a paper towel.
- Smash – Place fried plantains on a chopping board or flat surface. Press down firmly with the back of a heavy plate, bottle, or skillet until flattened until they’re about ¼-inch thick. Repeat with the remaining slices. (Photo 4)
- Fry Again – Refry the flattened plantains in 375°F (190℃) oil, turning them occasionally for 2-3 minutes until golden. Transfer them with a slotted spoon to paper towels to drain, and season them with salt and pepper. (Photo 5)
Assemble the Sandwich
- Mayo – In a medium bowl, whisk the mayonnaise, garlic, hot sauce, and chili powder. (Photo 6) Refrigerate until ready to assemble.
- Season steak with salt, Sazon seasoning, cumin, oregano, vinegar, and olive oil. (Photo 7)
- Fry Steak – Heat a skillet on medium with 1-2 tablespoons of oil. As soon as the oil is hot, fry the steak for 2-3 minutes on each side or until it reaches the desired doneness. Remove from the pan and set aside. (Photo 8)
- Assemble – Spread some mayonnaise sauce on the fried plantain. Add tomatoes, onions, beef, lettuce, and cheese. (Photos 9-13)
- Serve – Top with another plantain. Cut the sandwich in half, and enjoy!
Recipe Tips
- Want an extra flavorful steak for your jibarito? Marinate the steak overnight for juicy and extra delicious meat when you cook it the next day. 😋
- Make sure you get green plantains, which are still firm enough to be a good bread substitute. Yellow plantains are softer, sweeter, and won’t hold a sandwich together.
- Fry the plantains until crispy and drain them well so they don’t become soft and greasy. 🙅🏾♀️
How to Make Ahead and Store
The spicy mayo stays good in the fridge for about a week. Slice your veggie toppings and marinate the steak the day before for faster cooking and serving. If you wrap your veggies in paper towels and store them in an airtight container or ziplock bag, they’ll last 3-4 days.
Plantains are best fried fresh. However, leftover jibarito ingredients can be refrigerated separately in airtight containers for 2-3 days. Reheat the steak and plantains in a skillet with a drizzle of oil to regain some of the original crispiness.
What Goes With Jibarito Plantain and Steak Sandwiches
Make extra aioli and enjoy your jibaritos with yuca fries. I like finishing my jibaritos with a little arroz con leche for dessert.
More Fabulous Puerto Rican Recipes to Try
By Imma
Watch How to Make It
[adthrive-in-post-video-player video-id=”aJHXdkMC” upload-date=”2022-02-23T07:00:00.000Z” name=”Jibarito Plantain and Steak Sandwich” description=”Jibarito Plantain and Steak Sandwiches are steak, spicy mayo, lettuce, tomatoes, and onions between two pieces of fried and smashed plantains.” player-type=”collapse” override-embed=”false”]
This blog post was originally published in February 2022 and has been updated with additional tips, new photos, and a video
Jibarito Plantain and Steak Sandwiches
Ingredients
Plantains
- 2-3 large green plantains
- oil for deep frying
Spicy Mayo
- ⅓ cup (77 g) mayonnaise
- 1 teaspoon (5 g) garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon (5 g) hot sauce
- ½ teaspoon (1 g) chili powder
Steak
- ½-1 pound (227-454 g) steak, thinly sliced
- 1 tablespoon (12 g) Sazon seasoning
- 1 teaspoon (2 g) cumin
- 1 teaspoon (1 g) oregano
- 1 teaspoon (5 ml) white vinegar
- 1 tablespoon (14 ml) olive oil
Toppings
- 1 tomato, thinly sliced
- 1 onion, peeled and cut into slivers
- 4 leaves of lettuce
- 4 slices Swiss cheese
Instructions
Frying the Plantains
- Using a sharp knife, cut the plantains in half.
- In a large skillet, pour vegetable oil until at least 2-3 inches deep in your frying pan.
- Set the stove to medium heat and wait until the oil is hot, about 375°F/190℃.
- Gently drop the plantains into the oil using tongs. Do not overcrowd the pan. Fry each plantain until it is light brown, about 3-4 minutes on each side.
- Use a large, slotted spoon to remove the plantains from the oil.
- Place plantains on a chopping board or flat surface and press down on it firmly with the back of a heavy plate, bottle or skillet until flattened. You want them to be about ¼-inch thick. Repeat with the remaining slices.
- Refry the flattened pieces in the 375°F/190℃ oil, turning them occasionally for 2-3 minutes, or until they are golden, transfer them with a slotted spoon to paper towels to drain, and season them with salt and pepper.
Spicy Mayo
- Whisk together mayonnaise, garlic, hot sauce, and chili powder in a medium bowl.
- Refrigerate until ready to use.
Steak
- Season steak with salt, Sazon seasoning, cumin, oregano, vinegar, and olive oil. Set aside.
- Heat a skillet on medium with 1-2 tablespoons of oil.
- As soon as the oil is hot, put the steak in and fry each side for 2-3 minutes or until it reaches the desired doneness. Remove from the pan and set aside.
Assembly
- Spread some mayonnaise sauce on the fried plantain.
- Add tomatoes, onions, beef, lettuce, and cheese.
- Top with another plantain.
- Cut in half and serve!
Tips & Notes:
- Want an extra flavorful steak for your jibarito? Marinate the steak overnight. It will be juicy and extra delicious when you cook it up the next day.
- Make sure you get green plantains, which are still firm enough to be a good bread substitute. Yellow plantains are softer and sweeter and won’t be firm enough to hold a sandwich together.
- Be sure to fry the plantains until they are crispy and drain them well. They’ll be soft and greasy if you don’t – not a good combo.
- Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on the products used in the recipe.
This sounds so good. Instead of frying the plantain, could you boil, smash and then bake?
Hi Esther. Unfortunately, if you boil the plantain, you will not be able to smash it to the required shape.
Great recipe but jibaritos come from Chicago. I remember as a kid, I went to Puerto Rico and asked for a jibarito and they laughed at me. Had no idea what we were talking about.
Oh great to hear that. Thank you so much!
Hmmm…Wikipedia says differently, “Chicago restaurateur Juan “Peter” Figueroa introduced the jibarito at Borinquen Restaurant, a Puerto Rican restaurant in the Humboldt Park neighborhood, in 1996, after reading about a Puerto Rican sandwich created in Plátano Loco in 1991 substituting plantains for bread.”
Perhaps the sandwich hadn’t yet gained island-wide popularity when you were there as a kid?
Hmm. I guess it’s a matter of opinion. If a Puerto Rican invented it in a Puerto Rican restaurant basing it on a popular Puerto Rican sandwich already in existence, doesn’t that make the dish Puerto Rican? 🙂