Ropa Vieja Shredded Beef 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.

ROPA VIEJA DUMPLINGS

Steps:

• In a large pot over medium heat, add the flank steak, bell peppers and onion. Add the beef stock and cilantro. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and cover. Simmer, checking the liquid level once an hour and adding more beef stock if necessary, until the ropa vieja (steak) can be easily shredded upon picking up with tongs, 6 to 8 hours. Remove the ropa vieja and set aside to cool down, then shred.
• For the tamarind hoisin sauce: In a medium pan over medium heat, add the hoisin sauce, tamarind syrup and soy sauce. Cook, stirring, to allow the ingredients to emulsify, 5 minutes. Remove and set aside.
• For the dumplings: Grab a dumpling wrapper and brush egg wash over the edges only. Ball up a small amount of ropa vieja and place it in the middle of the dumpling wrapper. Crimp the two outer edges of the dumpling wrapper over the ropa vieja. Bring the top and bottom to the center over the ropa vieja and crimp with the other. (This should look like a small purse.) Fold the right edge to the backside and crimp. Fold the left side to the front and crimp. (The outcome looks like a mini money bag.) Repeat with the remaining wrappers and filling. Place the dumplings in the freezer for 2 hours.
• Fill a medium pot three-quarters of the way with water and set over medium heat. Bring the water to a boil. Add 5 dumplings from the freezer and for the first minute, stir to prevent them from sticking to the bottom. Cook until the wrappers become translucent, then remove.
• Heat the sesame oil in a small nonstick saute pan over medium-high heat. Turn off the heat and let sit for 30 seconds. Use a slotted spoon to drain the excess water from the dumplings as much as possible. Carefully transfer the dumplings to the pan (be careful; the water from the dumplings may make the oil splatter). Turn the heat to medium-high and cook, moving the dumplings continuously. This can be done by pushing the pan forward and back or by using tongs to flip the dumplings. Once the dumplings are seared on all sides, remove from the pan.
• In pasta bowl, add 1/4 cup of the tamarind hoisin sauce. Place the dumplings in the middle and garnish with the crushed pork rinds and sesame seeds. Save the remaining dumplings and sauce for another use.

CUBAN ROPA VIEJA

Steps:

• Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Brown the flank steak on each side, about 4 minutes per side.
• Transfer beef to a slow cooker. Pour in the beef broth and tomato sauce, then add the onion, bell pepper, garlic, tomato paste, cumin, cilantro, olive oil and vinegar. Stir until well blended. Cover, and cook on High for 4 hours, or on Low for up to 10 hours. When ready to serve, shred meat and serve with tortillas or rice.

SHREDDED STEAK WITH PEPPERS, ONIONS AND TOMATOES (ROPA VIEJA)

Steps:

• Cut the flank steak into large pieces and place them in a large bowl. In a small bowl, combine the adobo and the Worcestershire sauce to make a paste. Rub the paste into the meat, add the beer, and let marinate for 15 minutes in the refrigerator.
• Transfer the meat, as well as the marinade to a large pot and bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer until the meat is tender, about 3 hours.
• Remove the meat from the pot and reserve the cooking liquid. Using 2 forks, shred the meat and set it aside.
• Heat the oil in a large deep skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onions, peppers, scallions, and tomatoes and cook until they are soft, 10 minutes. Add the tomato paste and meat to the pan along with 2 cups of the reserved cooking liquid. Cover and simmer until the juices cook down, about 15 minutes.
• Combine all ingredients.

ROPA VIEJA

Steps:

• Do not trim excess fat from meat before cooking; you can remove the fat when you shred the beef.
• Salt and pepper the meat and dust lightly with flour.
• Brown the meat in oil in a big Dutch oven.
• Add enough water to surround the meat, but NOT cover it.
• Add in green pepper, sliced onion, and garlic.
• Simmer, covered, until meat is fork tender, about 2 hours (add more water as needed to keep from burning); remove from heat and cool.
• Discard vegetables and shred the meat.
• In the same pan you cooked the meat in, saute the chopped onions, garlic, and green pepper in oil until limp.
• Add in tomato paste, crushed tomatoes, cumin, wine, and bay leaf; add salt and pepper to taste.
• Finally, add the shredded beef; cover and cook on low for about 30 minutes, stirring occasinally.
• Remove bay leaf; serve hot over cooked rice.

SLOW COOKER ROPA VIEJA (CUBAN SHREDDED BEEF)

Steps:

• Rub each side of the steak with Adobo seasoning. Place in slow cooker.
• Slice peppers, onion and garlic and add to the slow cooker along with the olives.
• Mix the remaining ingredients in a large bowl and add to the slow cooker.
• Cook on low for 8 hours.
• When cooked, remove the meat from the slow cooker and finely shred with 2 forks. Return the shredded beef to the sauce in the slow cooker and stir.
• Cook the shredded beef on low in the slow cooker another 20 minutes.
• Serve over rice.