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Yucca ALWAYS comes out dry - - what am i doing wrong?

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Since having some seriously awesome yucca frita w/salsa in Arlington, VA so many years ago I have attempted a good number of times to immitate it with no luck at all. Always pastey and dry on the inside and the outside gets too tough. I have straight fried them and also boiled & fried - - same result either way. Any ideas folks? Am I just not buying the right yucca? Have purchased it from 4-5 different sources over the years. Going nuts.

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  1. I usually just boil it for like 25 mins, let it air dry, then deep fry it. Also, Goya sells frozen yuca that you can fry. It comes out nice and crispy.

    1. You really have to wash out the extra starch. What you are describing - mushy insides and tough outsides - that sounds like you haven't soaked them and dried them before cooking.

      1. Anyone know if you can boil yucca that comes frozen?

        4 Replies
        1. re: amyzan

          i knew of the frozen yucca but have yet to locate it. i guess i need to contact goya and figure out the local purveyors of it. i am in southern cal so i suspect it can't be too far away. but maybe i was unclear, mushy (like french fries) is not really my problem. it's more pastey and dry like you need to chug a beer after each mouthful. the ones i had those many years ago had pretty much the identical texture qualities as a good french fry, which to me is pretty much mushy on the interior.

          1. re: MaxCaviar

            If you fry the yuca for too long, it dries it out. Try peeling, rinsing, boiling, then allow to cool and air dry completely, then cut it into large wedges. Heat oil and fry until very pale golden. When you take it out of the oil, the color will darken to golden. Salt/season after frying. You may have left the yuca pieces in the oil for too long, and they toughened. Inspired by your query, I recently made a blog post about frying yuca that explains step by step what to do. We are not supposed to link personal blogs in posts here (my blog is very amateurish anyway), but the link is on my profile if you want to have a look.

            1. re: MaxCaviar

              I've had the same problem (pasty and dry) and found it was because I was not boiling long enough. And try a gentle boil so the inside of the yuca cooks before the outside starts to fall apart.

            2. re: amyzan

              Before I ever found fresh yucca, I always boiled it from frozen. I don't recall ever having a problem with the frozen stuff. Maybe a little mushy around the edges though, after boiling. I think it crisped up nicely despite that fact.
              I wonder how it would be if it was fried twice in the oil, the first time at a lower temp, after boiling. Hmm, have to try that next time! Gives me a good reason to make yuca frita--in the name of science!