Ropa Vieja Old Clothes Recipes

ROPA VIEJA (CUBAN BEEF)

Steps:

• Cut flank steak in half across the grain. Mix salt, black pepper, and cayenne. Season both sides generously with the salt mixture.
• Heat olive oil in a pot over high heat. Add steaks and cook until outsides are well browned, 4 to 5 minutes per side. Remove steaks to a plate.
• Reduce heat to medium. Add red onion, garlic, and more of the salt seasoning. Cook and stir until starting to soften, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in cumin, paprika, oregano, cayenne pepper, cloves, and allspice. Cook and stir for 1 minute. Pour in white wine, scraping up the browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Stir in tomato sauce and chicken broth.
• Return beef and accumulated juices to the pot. Season with salt and add bay leaves. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer until beef is almost fork-tender, not falling apart, about 2 hours.
• Remove pot from heat and let stew cool to room temperature, at least 45 minutes. Refrigerate, 8 hours to overnight, for best results.
• Remove beef to a plate and set stew over medium heat. Tear beef along the grain into 1/8- to 1/4-inch-wide shreds; place back in the stew. Add bell peppers, poblanos, smoked paprika, capers, olives, and sugar. Stir together and reduce heat to medium. Simmer until peppers are soft and meat is tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Turn off heat, remove bay leaves, and stir in cilantro.

OLD CLOTHES (BEEF STEW): ROPA VIEJA

Steps:

• Boil the flank steak with bay leaves, carrots, 1 onion, and oregano with enough water to cover the ingredients. Cook for 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
• Drain and let the meat cool, cut into 2-inch cubes and then shred.
• Saute the remaining onion, peppers, and garlic in olive oil until translucent. Deglaze with sherry. Add tomatoes and cumin. Cook for 15 minutes. Add the shredded meat and cook for 1/2 hour. Season with salt and pepper.

ULTIMATE ROPA VIEJA

Steps:

• Pat the beef dry and sprinkle with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
• Heat a little oil in a Dutch oven over high heat. Once very hot add the beef and brown generously on all sides. Transfer the beef to a plate. (Do not discard the drippings and blackened bits in the pot, they are key to the flavor.)
• Add the sliced vegetables to the pot and cook over medium heat for 15-20 minutes until caramelized. Add the garlic and spices and cook for another minute. Add the white wine and bring it to a rapid boil, deglazing the bottom of the pan (scraping up the browned bits on the bottom of the pan).
• Add the broth, crushed tomatoes, tomato paste and bay leaves. Simmer for 5 minutes.
• Return the roast to the pot along with the pieces of carrots and celery. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer for 3-4 hours or until the beef is fork tender and falls apart easily. Discard the celery, carrots and bay leaves.
• Transfer the beef to a plate and shred it. Return the shredded beef to the pot.
• Stir in the olives, roasted red peppers, capers and pimientos. Simmer uncovered to thicken the sauce for 30 minutes. Stir in the parsley and add salt and pepper to taste.

AUTHENTIC CUBAN ROPA VIEJA (SHREDDED BEEF RECIPE)

Steps:

• In a Dutch oven, add the meat with water and salt. Cook at medium-low until the meat is tender, about 2 hours. (In a pressure cooker, this takes about 40 minutes). Transfer to a plate. Shred meat and set aside.
• In a skillet, heat olive oil at medium heat. Add green pepper, onion, and pimientos. Sauté for 1-2 minutes. Add garlic and sauté for 30 seconds.
• Add dry cooking wine, tomato sauce, ground cumin, oregano, bay leaf, salt, and pepper. Cook for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Add the shredded meat to the skillet and stir to combine with the sauce. Cover and cook on low for about 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally, without letting it dry out. Remove bay leaf and serve over white rice and sweet plantains. Enjoy!

ROPA VIEJA

Steps:

• To braise beef:
• In a 5-quart kettle combine all braising ingredients and simmer, uncovered, 1 1/2 hours, or until beef is tender. Remove kettle from heat and cool meat in liquid 30 minutes. Transfer meat to a platter and cover. Strain braising liquid through a colander, pressing on solids, into a bowl. Return braising liquid to kettle and boil until reduced to 3 cups, about 30 minutes. Stew may be made up to this point 1 day ahead. Cool braising liquid completely and chill it and the beef separately, covered.
• In kettle cook green bell peppers and onion in 2 tablespoons oil over moderate heat, stirring, until softened.
• While vegetables are cooking, pull meat into shreds about 3 by 1/2 inches. To onion mixture add shredded meat, 2 cups braising liquid, tomatoes with juice, tomato paste, garlic, cumin, oregano, and salt and pepper to taste and simmer, uncovered, 20 minutes.
• While stew is simmering, in a large skillet cook red and yellow bell peppers in remaining 2 tablespoons oil over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until softened. Stir peppers into stew with enough additional braising liquid to thin to desired consistency and simmer, uncovered, 5 minutes. Stir in peas and olives and simmer, uncovered, 5 minutes.
• Serve ropa vieja with yellow rice.
• To make the yellow rice:
• In a heavy 3-quart saucepan heat oil over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking and sauté cuminseed 10 seconds, or until it turns a few shades darker and is fragrant. Stir in saffron and rice and sauté, stirring, 1 to 2 minutes, or until rice is coated well. Stir in water and salt and boil rice, uncovered and without stirring, until surface of rice is covered with steam holes and grains on top appear dry, 8 to 10 minutes more. Remove pan from heat and let rice stand, covered, 5 minutes. Fluff rice with a fork.