Milcao is a type of potatoes bread originated from the southern region of Chile, a hybrid of Chilean and Mapuche cuisine prepared with equal parts of raw and boiled potatoes, pork lard, and chicharrones. It is often served with chapaleles to accompany curanto.
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How to make Milcao’s Chilotes?
According to tradition and subsequent variations, there are four basic types of milcao classified according to their cooking method: curanto milcao (steamed), fried milcao, baked milcao, and peeled milcao (boiled).
Nutritional Information
Category: Breads
Cuisine: Chilean
Calories: 300
Preparation: 45 minutes
Cooking: 30 minutes
Servings: 6 people
Milcao’s Chilotes Bread recipe
Ingredients
- 1 kg of cooked and mashed potatoes
- 1 kg of raw grated potatoes
- 200 g of pork rind
- 2 tablespoons of lard
- 1 teaspoon of salt
Instructions
- In a medium-sized pan, add the pork rind and fry over medium heat in its own fat until golden brown. Set aside.
- Boil one kilogram of peeled potatoes in abundant water for 20 minutes, strain the water, and mash the potatoes into a puree. Cool and set aside.
- Peel one kilogram of potatoes and grate them raw on a kitchen cloth, squeezing out all the liquid that comes out. Reserve the pulp.
- In a large bowl, mix the mashed cooked potatoes and the grated raw potatoes into a single dough, add the salt, lard, and knead very well until everything is integrated.
- Take a piece of the mixture, knead it into a flat circular bread, and add 2 to 3 pork rinds in the center, sealing it from the edges by adding a little more dough if necessary.
- Distribute the milcaos on an oiled tray, bake in a preheated oven at 200°C (392°F) for approximately 30 minutes, until golden brown.
- Serve the milcaos hot or cold, alone or accompanied by other main dishes.
Tips for a perfect Milcao
- Boiled milcaos do not contain pork rind because they are usually consumed with honey. Fried and baked milcaos can be filled with pork rinds inside, like a stuffed potato.
- Finally, the cooking time for each one is variable, usually 10-15 minutes for fried milcaos, 20 minutes for peeled ones, 35 to 50 minutes for baked milcaos, and about 2 hours for milcaos in curanto.
Did you know?
The word milcao has its origin in Mapudungun “meikay”, which could be translated as “slippery” in relation to the result of squeezing the potatoes before shaping the preparation.
