Best Ropa Vieja With Arepas Recipes

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:

• Add the olive oil to a large, heavy pot and heat over medium-high heat. Add 2 teaspoons salt, broken bay leaves, crushed red pepper flakes and halved jalapeno and stir. Add the quartered onions, chopped carrot, parsley, and mashed garlic cloves and stir again. Place the brisket in the pot, season with salt and pepper and add enough water to cover by 2-inches. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat so that the liquid just simmers, and cook the brisket until the meat is tender enough to shred, 2 to 3 hours. Remove the meat from the cooking liquid and set aside until cool enough to handle. Strain the cooking broth through a fine-mesh sieve and discard solids. Reserve 1 1/2 cups of the broth for the ropa vieja and use the remaining broth for another purpose.
• When the meat has cooled, shred it into 3 to 4-inch strands. Set aside.
• Combine the minced garlic, oregano, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper in a mortar and pestle and work into a smooth paste. Set aside.
• In a large skillet, heat the olive oil and add the sliced onion. Saute until translucent, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic paste and bay leaf and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the tomato sauce, reserved beef broth, wine, and vinegar and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the shredded beef and roasted green pepper strips, stir to combine, and cook, covered, for 30 to 40 minutes, or until the meat is fork tender and falling apart, coated with a thick sauce, and the flavors have come together. If the sauce gets too thick, add a bit more of the reserved beef broth. Taste and adjust the seasoning, if necessary. Remove the bay leaf and serve, garnished with the pimiento slices, lime juice and cilantro, if desired.

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 (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 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.