Barquitos

When I was little my grandmother bought these off the Schwan's truck all the time. Little single serve pizza like things except instead of sauce and peperoni it has a layer of spiced shredded pork and then topped with cheddar cheese.  I had nearly forgotten about them and then I made tamales one day and I snuck a piece of the meat while I was mixing in the spices. BAM, I was right back at my grandmothers kitchen table. It took a while after that to figure out the right bread recipe but spurred on by my vivid and delicious flashback my wife and I cracked the code.

For the meat you will need:
A Crock Pot \Covered Roasting Pan\ You could even cook it on your grill if you wanted to watch and turn it all day. The idea is to cook it slowly so the meat shreds easily with two forks.  (Crock Pot with a low setting recommended)
Muffin Pan (optional) We have a stone muffin pan that works great for this.
A 3-5 lb Pork Roast\Tenderloin\Boston Butt (any of these will do and you can also mix in a whole chicken if want but if you do you will need to use the full amount of spices in the linked tamale recipe. My wife and I usually just use the pork but the chicken does add flavor and helps the pork from being too dry.)
​
1/2 cup Corn Oil
4 Tablespoons Chili powder
2 Tablespoons of Garlic Powder
2 Tablespoons of Cumin
1 Tablespoon of Salt
2 Teaspoons of Black Pepper
1-1/2 - 2 cups of Cheddar or Colby Jack cheese (to be used at final step)

• Add about 2 cups of water and cook the pork on low or if in the oven about 250° until the pork is fork tender about 7-8 hours
• Move the pork into a large mixing bowl and shred once it is cool enough to handle
• Mix the Chili Powder, Garlic Powder, Cumin, Black Pepper and Salt together in a small mixing bowl.
• Add the corn oil to the spices and heat slightly about 3 minutes over medium heat  in a sauce pan stirring constantly on the stove or 1 minute in the microwave in the mixing bowl. You don't want to fry the spices just get it mixed in good.

For the Bread:
Mix
1 1/2 cups warm water
1 Tablespoon yeast
1 Teaspoon sugar

Let that mixture proof for 5-10 minutes

Mix in
2 Teaspoons Kosher Salt
1 1/2 -2 cups Finely Ground Corn Meal

Add
2-3 cups Flour 1 cup at a time and knead in a stand mixer (or by hand if you like) until no dough is sticking to the sides or bottom of mixer. You may need additional flour.

• Coat dough in corn oil and let rise until doubled in size about 30 minutes- 1 hour
• Divide into 6 equal pieces if you want to make traditional barquitos or 12 if you want to use a muffin pan.
• Take the 6 pieces and shape them into long ovals with thicker edges and thinner centers resembling the shape of a boat (barquito means boat in Spanish) . If using the muffin pan roll into a ball, flatten with your hand and press into the muffin pan creating a shell.

• Bake at 400° for 15 minutes then add meat on of each loaf packing it down slightly. Top with Cheddar or Colby Jack cheese then bake about 5 more minutes until the cheese is melted. Enjoy!

You May Also be interested in....

WAIT WHAT DO I DO WITH ALL THE OTHER MEAT!?!?!?!
Glad you asked. This recipe makes a lot of meat that you couldn't possibly pile on just one or even two batches of Barquitos and you will probably be tired of them if you made three batches but not to worry this meat has several other applications. You could make a small batch of tamales, top nachos (I highly recommend this), pile in a burrito, or eat with scrambled eggs. Get creative this meat is delicious and if you come up with any other ideas please leave them below in the comments.

​
Son of the South Tamales (The only recipe you will ever need. We usually use the full amount of spices and about 3-5 pounds less meat. It still makes enough tamales to feed a family of six for a week and the increase of the spice ratio is needed for our tastes. They also freeze well.)
http://www.sonofthesouth.net/tamales/Tamale_Recipe.htm

Bonus Tip: Bake your boats until they are no longer sticky to the touch before adding your meat and cheese.