Arepas Reina Pepiada

The first time I saw a recipe for Arepas Reina Pepiada my first thought was, “This is a Latino chicken salad and croissants.” Amazingly, this has somehow not caught on with the ugg boot and pumpkin spice latte crowd. Someone is going to make a small fortune when they finally open up an areperia next to the local Starbucks. If you’re reading this and plan on raising capital, I want a cut!

What’s an Arepa Reina Pepiada?

Arepas Reina Pepiada is a classic Venezuelan dish that is perfect as a snack, lunch, or dinner. Translating as “The Queen,” Arepas Reina Pepiada was developed to honor a famous Venezuelan beauty queen. The Arepa itself is made from corn flour dough that is pressed and griddled. The “filling” consists of diced/shredded poultry and mixed with avocado, mayo, peppers, onions, and seasoning.

Perfect use for Leftovers

Whole chickens are on the menu at my house pretty regularly. We occasionally have leftovers that I freeze and save for various other dishes like soups, stews, and of course Arepas Reina Pepiada. This recipe is perfect if you have leftovers from the Smoked Turkey or Spatchcock Chicken recipes. Arepas are perfect after the holidays when you are just looking for something different and are tired of eating leftover turkey sandwiches. The video below consisted of leftover turkey from my family’s Thanksgiving dinner.

Mix it up

Don’t be afraid to experiment. People will likely have strong feelings about this but in my opinion, rules are made to be broken. There are all kinds of different variations that are just waiting to be discovered. One of my favorites is adding crumbled bacon, shredded lettuce, and diced tomatoes. It ends up as a weird but delicious BLT Arepa.

Wrap it up

The video below will walk you through the process step by step. As always if you make this recipe drop a comment below or hit me up on social media @ilovemeatdotcom. I love seeing other people’s creations and their take on the recipes here at ilovemeat.com. Hope this was helpful for everyone. Enjoy!

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Arepas Reina Pepiada

A beloved Venezuelan dish, Arepas Reina Pepiada combines a freshly griddled corn cake with a zesty chicken/turkey filling.

Prep Time 1 hour

Cook Time 15 minutes

Servings 4 people

Ingredients

Filling

• 1.5 pounds pounds of diced/shredded chicken or turkey leftovers from Smoked Turkey or Spatchcock Chicken recipes are excellent here.
• 1.5 cups diced avocado
• 1 cup mayo
• 1 cup diced red onion
• 1 cup diced red pepper
• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
• 1.5 TBS minced garlic
• 2 TBS salt
• juice of 1 lime
• black pepper to taste

Arepas

• 2 cups corn flour
• 2 cups warm water
• 1 TBS salt
• 1 tsp vegetable oil

Instructions

1. In a large mixing bowl combine filling ingredients together and mix thoroughly.

2. Set filling aside in the fridge

3. In a separate mixing bowl combine the arepa ingredients together and mix until a dough is formed.

4. Apply a small amount of vegetable oil to your hands so the dough does not stick.

5. Pull off a piece of dough and shape it into balls slightly smaller than your fist.

6. After you have your dough balls heat a skillet to medium-high heat and add a few TBS of oil or bacon grease.

7. Flatten your dough balls to about half an inch thick and place them in the skillet.

8. Cook on each side for 2 minutes or until brown and place on a plate to cool.

9. Carefully cut the arepa open using a knife and spoon in the filling.

10. Garnish with some lime juice and chopped cilantro.

11. Enjoy.

Andrew Armstrong