For The Love of Maduros

Maduros, fried sweet plantains, is another classic side dish at any Hispanic restaurant. The hardest thing about making these is waiting for the plantains to become ripe enough to fry. Abuela Nena always used to make these growing up and she would make the best maduros out there. My mom says it’s because she fries them on a gas stove instead of an electric or in a deep fryer.

Up here in New York, I have found it extremely hard to get sweet enough plantains to make them. I literally have to wait for the plantains to become black before they are sweet enough. Back home in Miami, just the slightest blackness to a plantain indicates they are ready to be made. 

What is a Maduro?

A maduro is a ripe plantain that has been fried. As the plantains begin to ripen from green to yellow, they start to become progressively sweeter. Once the plantain has turned yellow, and begins to form dark spots on the skin it is sweet enough to be fried. The darker they become the sweeter they are.

How do you make Maduros?

Maduros are extremely easy to make. All you need are plantains that have ripen enough that they have become sweet and oil. The best plantains are those that have started to develop black spots on them, indicating that they are perfectly ripe.

To make them, you first peel the skin off of the plantain and then cut them into diagonal slices (as seen above). You then heat up oil over medium-high heat. Once hot, you place the plantains and cook for about 2 minutes on each side, till they are slightly browned!

Hope you enjoy!

If you love maduros, you have to check out my sweet plantain bread! It’s my cuban take to a banana bread and it is so good!