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8 Best Dishes Miami Is Known For

What is Miami known for? Well, it’s a place famous for its beaches, cultural architecture, parties, and its food, among other things. Did you know Miami is home to some of the finest dish ideas in the United States? From sandwiches to salads to seafood, there is a variety of different options, making Miami food available for anybody. What are some of the most unique and special Miami famous foods, you ask? We have selected a total of 8 incredible recipes for local dishes and plan to share all of them with you! So, without further ado, here are the top 8 recipes for the best food in Miami you can easily try to make at home!

Top 8 Miami Florida Food Recipes

1. Cuban Style Arepas

Ingredients:

  • 200 g Harina Amarillo yellow cornflour
  • 200 g warm water
  • 70 g grated mozzarella cheese
  • 2 tablespoons milk
  • 1 pinch of salt
  • 1 sliced avocado
  • 1 sliced tomato
  • 1 sliced onion
  • 1 squeezed lemon juice

The best food in Miami doesn’t have to be overly complex. To create this Florida famous food recipe at home, combine the flour, water, salt, milk, and half the cheese, and mix thoroughly. Leave the mixture for five to six minutes, then form disk-shaped arepas – each should be ca 7 cm in diameter and 5 mm thick. Butter the skillet slightly and preheat over medium heat. Cook the arepas, till both sides turn golden brown and crispy. Sprinkle the remaining cheese between the arepas, and top each with tomato, onion, and a squeeze of lemon.

2. Cuban Miami Sandwich

An all-time classic when it comes to Miami food and local dishes, the Cuban Miami sandwich is delicious and easy to make!

Ingredients:

  • 1 roll of Cuban bread
  • 4 slices of ham
  • 3 slices of slow-roasted pork
  • 5 slices of cheese
  • mustard
  • pickles
  • butter 

It’s rather simple to make this Miami Florida food dish – cut off the ends of the bread, then slice it in half. Place some mustard on the first bun, then add pork, ham, cheese, and pickles. Cover with the second bun. Place the sandwich on a pan, over low heat, and brush with melted butter. Press the sandwich in a panini press (you can also place a heavy pot on the sandwich and push it down). Cook for about 6-10 minutes, till each side turns golden brown and the cheese melts.

3. Cuban Fish Sandwich

A true Miami food staple, you can’t go wrong with the Cuban fish sandwich.

Ingredients:

  • 4 small fish, about 100g-150g (no bones)
  • 2 eggs
  • 150g plain flour
  • 250g breadcrumbs
  • 500ml canola oil for frying
  • 1 lime
  • 1 iceberg lettuce
  • 1 small white onion
  • 4 soft bread rolls
  • Soffrito mayonnaise
  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 small onion
  • 1 small green capsicum
  • 1 small red capsicum
  • 1 long red chili (optional)
  • 3 garlic cloves
  • 250ml tomato passata
  • 125ml dry white wine
  • 250g mayonnaise
  • Tabasco to taste (optional)

To prepare this Florida famous food, you need soffrito. And to prepare soffrito, heat olive oil over medium heat and add diced onions, capsicums, chili, and garlic with salt to taste. After a couple of minutes, proceed to add tomato puree and white wine. Cook on low heat for 10-15 minutes, add more salt and leave to cool. When soffrito is cool, mix it with mayo and a couple of Tabasco dashes and then place in the fridge.

To make the sandwiches, season the fish with salt and set it aside. In the meantime, take 3 bowls. Put flour in one, whisked eggs in the 2nd, and breadcrumbs in 3rd. Add an empty flat plate as a 4th. Proceed to coat the fish fillets in flour, then in eggs, then in breadcrumbs, and then place on the plate.

Heat the oil over medium-high heat and once the temperature reaches about 180°C, proceed to fry the prepared fish. Once the fish is golden-brown on both sides, take it out, drain the oil, and add some salt.

To prepare your sandwiches, split the buns in half and place a fish fillet on each bottom half. Add the lettuce, onions, and soffrito on top of the fish, and cover with the top bun halves.

4. Joe’s Stone Crab – Miami Mustard Sauce

Ingredients:

  • 3 1⁄2 teaspoons dry English-style mustard
  • 1 cup mayonnaise
  • 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 teaspoon A.1. Original Sauce
  • 1⁄8 teaspoon salt
  • 2 tablespoons light cream

When we talk about what is Miami known for in regards to food, we can’t ignore seafood. And Miami’s famous food can’t miss the classic sauce, can it? And mix all ingredients together except the cream and beat slowly with an electric mixer. As you beat, proceed to slowly add the cream. Once you’re satisfied with the consistency, you’re done. Simply chill the sauce in a fridge and use it for any type of seafood.

5. Stone Crab Key Lime Pie

A classic when it comes to both Cuban and Miami food!

Ingredients:

Crust

  • ⅓ lb graham crackers
  • 6 tablespoons of melted unsalted butter
  • half a cup of sugar

 

Filling

  • 3 egg yolks
  • 1 ½ grated key lime zest
  • 1 can of sweetened condensed milk
  • 2 cups of freshly squeezed lemon juice

 

Topping

  • 1 cup of heavy whipping cream
  • 1 tablespoon of confectioners sugar

For the crust, preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, and butter up a 9-inch pie plate. Process the graham crackers to crumbs. Add sugar and melted butter and pulse until the ingredients combine with each other. Press the mixture into the pan in such a way that the mixture borders the edges finely. Bake for about 8-10 minutes and set aside on a wire rack.

To make the filling, beat the lime zest and egg yolks until they turn very fluffy (for about five minutes) using an electric mixer. Next, gradually add up the condensed milk, and continue to beat for a further 5 minutes. Lower the speed of the mixer a bit, and add lemon juice. Pour the mixture onto the crust, and bake for about 10 minutes. Cool on the wire rack, then place in a refrigerator for 15-20 minutes.

For the topping, whip the cream and the confectioners’ sugar so that the mixture becomes stiff. Cut pie in wedges, and serve it while it’s very cold.6. 

6. Miami Fried Chicken

Do you like chicken? So do we! And if you’re interested in what’s Miami known for recipe-wise, try the delicious Miami Fried Chicken!

Ingredients:

Marinade

  • 8 chicken drumsticks
  • 2 cups buttermilk

Coating

  • 1 ½ unbleached flour
  • 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
  • 1 tablespoon paprika
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1 tablespoon garlic powder
  • 1 tablespoon onion powder
  • 1 tablespoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon dry mustard
  • 3 cups vegetable shortening

For this Miami Florida food staple, start by marinating the chicken. Simply cover it with buttermilk and store it in the refrigerator for 12 hours or so.

Combine the flour with baking powder, spices, and salt. Remove the chicken drumsticks from the buttermilk and dredge them in the flour mixture. Remove any excess buttermilk by shaking. Once you’ve done this with all the chicken drumsticks, repeat the whole process once again. Then place them on a baking sheet.

Preheat the vegetable shortening to 165°C. Prepare another baking sheet and line it up with paper towels.

Fry the drumsticks in the hot oil for about 15-20 minutes. When the meat thermometer inserted into the center of a drumstick (without touching the bone) reads 180°C, your dish is ready. Season it with salt and keep warm.

7. Cuban Fritta Burger

When it comes to Florida’s famous food, the Cuban Fritta Burger quickly became an all-time favorite.

Ingredients:

Sauce

  • 1 cup ketchup
  • ¼ cup water
  • tablespoon white vinegar
  • 1 ½ tablespoon Spanish paprika
  • 1 tablespoon ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • half a tablespoon dried tomato
  • half a tablespoon sriracha

Shoestring Potatoes

  • 4 russet potatoes
  • 1 cup vegetable oil

Burgers

  • 1 pound ground beef
  • 1 pound ground pork
  • 2 tablespoon minced garlic
  • 1 ½ cup minced yellow onion
  • 3 tablespoons ketchup
  • 1 tablespoon ground cumin
  • 2 tablespoon sweet paprika
  • 2 tablespoon sweet smoked paprika
  • 1 ½ tablespoon kosher salt
  • black pepper to your taste

Also

  • 8 Cuban bread rolls
  • lettuce leaves

To make the sauce, simply mix all of the ingredients in a small pan. Cook gently, partially covered, for about 5-7 minutes. If you want, you can prepare the sauce a day ahead – simply refrigerate it until it’s ready to be used.

Peel the potatoes and shred them in a food processor, using the coarse shredding blade.  Swish them with a bowl of water, and then pour the water out. Continue until the water is clear. Drain the potatoes in a colander, and then dry them using a paper towel; the dryer the potatoes are, the better. Pour oil into a non-stick skillet and preheat over medium heat. Place the potatoes in the skillet (in small batches) and fry them until they turn golden brown. When ready, transfer them to a paper towel-lined plate and season with salt.

Using a food processor, prepare the meat mixture. Combine both ground meats with onions and garlic by pulsing them a few times in the food processor. Next add ketchup, paprikas, cumin, and salt. Mix with your hands, or use the food processor again – pulse until the ingredients combine. Form 8 thin patties.

Preheat a bit of vegetable oil in a frying pan. Cook the patties in batches, each side for about 2-5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to your taste.

Finally, assemble the frittas. Smear the sauce over the lower half of a bun. Place a patty on top, smear with some more sauce. Next, add some finely chopped onion and a big batch of the shoestring fried potatoes. Spread the top half of the bun with a little bit of sauce and cover the burger.

8. Chicharrón de Cerdo (Dominican Pork Crackling)

Ingredients:

  • 2 lb of pork belly
  • ½ gallon of water
  • 1½ teaspoon of salt
  • 1 teaspoon of oregano
  • 1 teaspoon of cracked pepper
  • ¼ cup of bitter orange/lime juice
  • 1 cup of frying oil
  • 6 lime wedges to garnish

We can’t talk about Miami’s famous food without mentioning this delicious recipe. Proceed to place pork, water, orange juice, salt, oregano, and pepper in a bowl and mix well. Cook everything over medium heat until all the liquid is gone. Place the meat in another Dutch oven and fry in oil until golden brown and crispy. Drain the meat and let it cool down before you cut it into cubes and garnish with lime wedges.

If you want to try the best food in Miami and its local dishes, feel free to pay us a visit at Root & Bone. We pride ourselves on delivering the best Southern food in Miami while providing the ideal setting to relax and unwind after a long day. 

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