Papas rellanas are meat-filled, potato croquettes found in Latin American countries. Each region has its own variant of this fried snack. I chose to fill these with savory, salty venison picadillo—a mixture of ground meat, spices, and briny olives. The croquettes are coated in panko and deep-fried until crispy.

The picadillo recipe below makes double the filling that you’d need. Cut the recipe in half if you like, but I typically defrost a pound of venison at a time, so I might as well make use of it all. The mixture freezes well, so if you make papas rellenas again, it’s one less thing to do.

There’s a learning curve to forming the croquettes. I found this plastic wrap method most sensible, but you might prefer to use cooking gloves instead. Do whatever makes sense to you, but refrain from using too much potato because your papas rellenas can end up larger than you’d want. I like them no larger than 2 inches across.

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1. Peel and cut potatoes and boil in salted water until tender. Strain potatoes and mash until smooth. Season with salt and stir in cornstarch until evenly incorporated. Set aside to cool completely.
2. In a large skillet, heat a tablespoon of oil over medium-high heat. Add ground venison and cook until browned and crusty, breaking up meat with a wooden spoon. Transfer cooked venison to a bowl and set aside.
3. In the same skillet, sweat chopped red bell pepper and onion until softened over medium heat, stirring frequently—add more oil as needed. Next, add cumin, paprika, oregano and garlic, and stir for 30 seconds. Return cooked meat back to the skillet, along with brown stock, and simmer until meat is no longer soupy, but still moist. Stir in chopped olives and season to taste with kosher salt. Allow the mixture to cool completely.
4. Lay a square sheet of plastic wrap on your work surface. Add two to three tablespoons of cooled potato mixture in the middle and flatten with hands. Add a bit of the cooled venison mixture in the middle, and use the plastic wrap to work the potato around the filling, forming a tight ball that’s about two inches across. You should end up with 18 to 20 croquettes, using half the meat mixture. Store papas rellenas in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least two hours to firm up, or prepare them a day ahead. Freeze the remaining meat mixture for future use.
5. Beat eggs in one bowl, add flour to another, and add panko into a third bowl. First, lightly coat the papas rellanas in flour then wet them in the beaten egg, and finally, coat them in the panko breadcrumbs. Heat oil to 300-325°F and deep fry until golden brown and crispy on all sides. Serve immediately with hot sauce, optional.