Wagyu Flank Steak Spanish Ropa Vieja Recipes

ROPA VIEJA

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• Pat the flank steak completely dry with a paper towel. Cut in half or thirds (across the grain) if needed to fit into your pot in a single layer. Season with 2 teaspoons salt.
• Heat the olive oil in a medium Dutch oven or a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Working in batches if necessary, add the steak in a single layer and cook until a deep brown crust develops, 5 to 8 minutes on each side. Remove to a plate and set aside.
• Add the onions and peppers to the same pot. Season with 1 teaspoon salt and a few cracks black pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables have softened, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic, cumin and oregano; stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring, until it starts to develop color, about 1 minute. Add the vino seco to deglaze and cook, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon. Add the tomato sauce, beef stock and bay leaf. Stir to incorporate. Nestle the steak in the sauce, submerging it slightly. Be sure to add any accumulated juices from the plate.
• Cover and cook in the oven until the meat shreds easily with two forks, about 1 hour 30 minutes.
• Transfer the pot back to the stovetop. Remove the steak to a cutting board or medium bowl and shred into long thin pieces using two forks. Meanwhile, simmer the sauce over low heat until slightly reduced, about 3 minutes. Return the steak to the pot and stir to combine. Add the lime juice and olives, capers or pimientos, if using.
• Serve with white rice and black beans.

ROPA VIEJA ROULADE

Steps:

• Prepare an outdoor grill for direct and indirect grilling. (If your grill has a thermometer, aim to keep the temperature at about 350 degrees F throughout grilling.) Cook the poblano and bell peppers on the grill, turning occasionally, until completely charred on the outside, about 15 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and cover with a plate to steam for about 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, grill the onions until golden and soft, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a plate. Peel the poblano and bell peppers and remove and discard the stems and skins. Cut the flesh into 1/2-inch strips and set aside. (Keep the poblano strips separate from bell pepper strips.)
• Set the steak on a cutting board. Using a long thin knife and starting at the thin, narrow end of the steak, slice it in half horizontally leaving 2 inches of the meat uncut at the wide end of the steak so the pieces stay attached. Open it up like a book so you have one long piece. Pound the steak with a meat mallet to an even thickness of about 1/4 inch.
• Arrange the steak flat on a work surface with a long side facing you. Combine the cilantro, tomato paste, oil, cumin, oregano, scallions and 2 teaspoons salt in a bowl. Spread the paste all over the top of the steak. Working in three batches, arrange vertical stripes of the poblanos, bell peppers, onions, and olives on the steak until the steak is covered, leaving 2 inches empty at each end.
• Roll up the steak like a jelly roll, starting at one of the short ends. Tie the steak closed around the circumference with butcher's twine at 2-inch intervals. Tie one more piece of twine lengthwise around the steak.
• Put the steak on the direct heat side of the grill and cook, turning, to brown all 4 sides, about 2 minutes per side. Move the steak to the indirect heat side of the grill, cover and cook, turning occasionally, until the center of the steak registers 115 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer, 25 to 30 minutes for a steak that is well-done on the outside and medium-rare in the center. (Test frequently; the time will vary based on the temperature of your grill.) Let the steak rest about 10 minutes.
• Untie the steak and cut it into 6 thick slices.

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.

ROPA VIEJA

Steps:

• Season both sides of flank steak with sazon and place in pot with just enough water to cover and simmer for 2 to 3 hours.
• Remove flank steak and shred with 2 forks. Preserve 1 cup of the liquid.
• Heat oil in skillet on medium, add sofrito and cook for 5 minutes.
• Add 1 cup of the liquid from the pot, tomato sauce and adobo.
• Simmer while stirring occasionally for about 10 minutes.
• Serve over white rice.

ROPA VIEJA

Steps:

• Season beef or pork with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over high until lightly smoking. Working in batches as needed, cook the meat in a single layer, turning occasionally, until well browned on all sides, about 8 minutes per batch, reducing heat as necessary if the oil smokes excessively.
• Add braised peppers and onions, tomatoes, olives, raisins, capers and chicken stock. Scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Bring to a boil, reduce to a bare simmer, cover with the lid slightly cracked, and cook, stirring occasionally and scraping any crust that has formed at the edges of the pan back into the liquid, until meat is completely tender and shreds easily with two forks, about 2 1/2 hours. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Shred meat with two forks, and serve immediately with white rice, black beans and hearty greens. Ropa vieja can also be shredded, allowed to cool, and stored in the fridge for up to 1 week. It will improve in texture and flavor with time.