Pupusas Revueltas (Salvadoran Stuffed Masa Cakes)

About This Recipe

The pupusa is to El Salvador what the taco is to Mexico — the everyday flatbread that nearly defines the country. Pupusas revueltas are the most beloved type: a thick disc of nixtamalized corn masa stuffed with a 'revuelto' (mix) of finely ground pork chicharrón, melting quesillo cheese, and creamy refried red beans, then patted by hand and griddled on a hot comal until the masa blisters and the cheese oozes from the seams. They are sold from morning to night at pupuserías across El Salvador, eaten with the fingers — never cutlery — and always accompanied by curtido, a tangy fermented cabbage slaw, and a thin tomato salsa called salsa de tomate. The traditional skill is patting the dough thin enough that the filling shows through faintly without bursting the edges — pupuseras (women pupusa-makers) can shape a dozen a minute.

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 400 gmasa harina (instant corn flour), Maseca brand preferred
• 480 mlwarm water, plus more as needed
• 1 tspfine salt
• 200 gchicharrón (cooked pork belly), finely ground or pulsed in a food processor
• 200 gquesillo or low-moisture mozzarella, grated
• 200 grefried red beans (frijoles refritos), at room temperature
• 1 tspneutral oil for the comal
• 0.5 headgreen cabbage, finely shredded (for curtido)
• 1 mediumcarrot, grated (for curtido)
• 1 smallred onion, thinly sliced (for curtido)
• 120 mlapple cider vinegar (for curtido)
• 1 tspdried oregano (for curtido)
• 0.5 tspsalt (for curtido)

Instructions

1. 1

   Make the curtido (a day ahead ideally)

   Blanch shredded cabbage in boiling water 1 minute, drain, and squeeze dry. Combine with carrot, red onion, vinegar, 60 ml water, oregano, and salt. Pack into a jar and refrigerate at least 4 hours — overnight is better.

2. 2

   Mix the masa

   Combine masa harina and salt. Add warm water gradually, mixing until you get a smooth dough the texture of soft Play-Doh. It should not crack when squeezed. Cover with a damp cloth and rest 10 minutes.

   If the dough cracks at the edges when you pat it, it's too dry — work in another tablespoon of water.

3. 3

   Make the revuelto filling

   Combine the ground chicharrón, grated cheese, and refried beans in a bowl. Mash together with a fork until it forms a coarse, cohesive paste. You want the three to be inseparable, not in distinct layers.

4. 4

   Shape each pupusa

   Wet your hands. Take a ball of masa about the size of a tennis ball (around 80 g). Flatten into a thick disc in your palm, press a deep well into the center, and add a heaping tablespoon of revuelto filling. Fold the edges up over the filling, pinch to seal completely, and roll back into a smooth ball.

5. 5

   Pat it thin

   Press the ball gently between your palms, rotating as you go, until you have a flat disc about 12 cm wide and 8 mm thick. The filling should be invisible. If the surface tears, pinch closed with damp fingers.

   Use a tortilla press lined with plastic wrap if hand-patting is too hard — just don't press it as thin as a tortilla.

6. 6

   Griddle

   Heat a dry comal or heavy skillet over medium for 5 minutes. Brush lightly with oil. Place pupusas on the hot surface and cook 3–4 minutes per side, pressing gently with a spatula, until brown spots appear and the cheese oozes from any small cracks.

7. 7

   Serve immediately

   Stack hot pupusas on a plate. Diners tear them open with their fingers, pile on cold curtido, and spoon over thin tomato salsa. Eat with hands.

Variations

• •

  Pupusas de queso — cheese only, the simplest type.

• •

  Pupusas de frijol con queso — bean and cheese, vegetarian.

• •

  Pupusas de loroco — stuffed with loroco flower buds and cheese, a Salvadoran delicacy.

• •

  Pupusas de ayote — stuffed with cooked squash, popular in the western regions.

Storage

Best fresh. Refrigerate up to 3 days; reheat on a dry comal — never microwave. Freeze raw shaped pupusas between sheets of parchment up to 2 months; cook from frozen, adding 2 minutes per side.

Frequently Asked Questions