Cuban Shredded Beefatk Recipes

SHREDDED SLOW COOKER CUBAN BEEF

Steps:

• Cut roast into 4 quarters and season liberally with salt and pepper. Place a large cast iron pan over high heat and coat with olive oil; heat until smoking. Place meat in the hot pan and turn to sear on all sides until a crust forms, 5 to 10 minutes. Transfer seared meat to a slow cooker.
• Add bitter orange marinade, garlic marinade, onion, garlic, and cumin to the slow cooker. Make sure meat is mostly covered in marinade.
• Cook on Low for 6 hours; shred meat in the slow cooker using tongs or a fork. Continue cooking on Low for another 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Add additional salt or cumin if desired.

CUBAN SHREDDED BEEF (SLOW COOKER)

Steps:

• SEARING THE MEAT: Take the beef chuck roast and using a small paring knife, make 3 small 'x' marks into the meat. Take 3 cloves of garlic and insert them into the 3 'x' marks so that the clove is completely inserted into the thickness of roast. Season both sides of the meat with a pinch of salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a large, deep skillet. Add the beef in one piece and fry on each side for 5 minutes, turning only when the exterior is browned. This will splatter a bit but don't cover the pan as the meat will end up steaming rather than searing.
• FOR THE ROPA VIEJA: Chop the remaining 3 cloves of garlic into thin slices and add to the slow cooker along with all the remaining ropa vieja ingredients. I used a 6-quart slow cooker but a 3-quart slow cooker will work too. Cover and let cook on the low setting for 7-8 hours. When the beef falls apart easily when pulled with two forks, it's done. Shred the beef with the forks and give it a stir. Taste for seasonings, season with additional salt and pepper as desired.
• TO SERVE: Serve over a bed of rice with cuban-style black beans on the side topped with additional cilantro and a few lime wedges. You can also use the shredded beef for burritos, breakfast quesadillas, or tacos! The possibilities are endless!

VACA FRITA (CUBAN SHREDDED BEEF)

Steps:

• Simmer roast with bay leaves in a Dutch oven on the stove until tender, about 1 to 1-1/2 hours.
• Cool at room temperature; reserve cooking water for another use if you wish.
• When beef is cool, shred and place in a glass container.
• Combine lime juice, lemon juice and garlic; mix into meat.
• Season with salt and pepper and marinate overnight.
• (The sirloin roast is excellent at"soaking up" the juices!) Next day, remove meat from marinade, squeezing excess liquid (if you need to; I normally don't) and fry in a large skillet in olive oil until slightly brown, about 10 to 15 minutes.
• Add thin onion slices and parsley and cook for another 10 to 15 minutes, until onion is tender and meat is well-browned.
• Squeeze more lime juice on meat and serve over rice.

CUBAN SHREDDED BEEF(ATK)

Steps:

• Bring beef, 2 cups of water, 1 ¼ teaspoons salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper to boil in 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to low, cover, gently simmer until meat is very tender, about 1 hour 45 minutes. (Check beef every 30 minutes adding water so that bottom third of beef is submerged.) While beef simmers, combine garlic, oil and cumin in bowl. Combine orange juice, lime zest, and lime juice in second bowl.
• Remove lid from skillet, increase heat to medium, and boil until water evaporates and beef starts to sizzle, 3 to 8 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer beef to rimmed baking sheet. Pour off and reserve fat from skillet. Rinse skillet clean and dry with paper towels. Place sheet of aluminum foil over beef and using meat pounder or heavy sauté pan, pound to flatten meat into about 1/8" thick pieces, discarding any large pieces of fat or connective tissue. (Some of beef should totally separate into shreds. Larger pieces that do not separate can be torn in half.).
• Heat 1 ½ teaspoons reserved fat in now empty skillet over high heat. When fat begins to sizzle add onions and ¼ teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are golden brown and charred in spots, 5 to 8 minutes. Add sherry and remaining ¼ cup water and cook until liquid is absorbed, about 2 minutes. Transfer onions to bowl. Return skillet to high heat, add 1 ½ teaspoons reserved fat and heat until it begins to sizzle. Add beef and cook, stirring frequently, until dark golden brown and crusty, 2 to 4 minutes.
• Reduce low and push beef to sides of skillet to clear center ; add garlic mixture to clearing and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant and golden brown, about 30 seconds. Remove pan from heat, add orange juice mixture and onions, and toss to combine. Season with black pepper to taste. Serve immediately with lime wedges.

CUBAN SHREDDED PORK

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, combine water, juice of one lime, thyme sprig, peppercorns, garlic powder, onion powder and salt. Bring mixture to a boil. Add pork chops, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, until meat is very tender. Add more water as necessary to keep chops covered.
• Turn off heat and let the chops rest in the broth for 30 minutes. Remove chops from broth and shred, removing excess fat; set aside.
• In a large frying pan, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the shredded pork and fry until it is almost crisp, about 5 minutes. Add the onion and garlic and continue to cook until the onion is just tender yet slightly crisp, about 10 minutes more. Add the juice of one lime, mix though and toss with cilantro. Serve and enjoy.