Cuban Ropa Vieja
Cuban Ropa Vieja is made from shredded beef, peppers, onions and spices that are cooked for hours until tender and so full of flavor. This ropa vieja recipe produces really tender shredded beef and is perfect for leftovers. Serve it with fluffy basmati rice for the ultimate meal.
Servings: 6 servings
Ingredients
- 1 Flank Steak I get a cut the about the length of my elbow to hand approx. 2 lbs. It shrinks up in the cooking process
- 1 14 oz can diced tomatoes
- 1 large red pepper
- 1 large green pepper
- 1 large spanish onion
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 teaspoon cumin (divided)
- 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt plus more to taste
- ½ teaspoon fresh black pepper
- water enough to fill a pot ¾ full.
Instructions
- In a large stock pot (with a lid), add the flank steak and fill with water about ¾ full. If you would prefer to use a slow cooker, see notes above.1 Flank Steak, water
- Next, cut the red and green peppers in half then remove and discard the seeds.1 large red pepper, 1 large green pepper
- Add one of the green pepper and red pepper halves to the stock pot. Reserve the remaining halves of the peppers for later.
- Next, cut off about ¼ of the onion and throw that into the stock pot as well. Remember to reserve the remaining peppers and onion for later.1 large spanish onion
- Add the bay leaf, black peppercorns and 1 teaspoon of the cumin to the stock pot and cover.1 bay leaf, 1 teaspoon black peppercorns, 2 teaspoon cumin (divided)
- Bring to a boil and then reduce to low to keep a steady simmer going but not boiling over. Cook for about 3-4 hours until testing the meat shows it will fall apart easily.
- You may need to top off your pot with more water if too much of the cooking liquid evaporates during cooking.
- Once the meat is ready (easy to pull apart) take it out of the pot and place it on a plate to rest.
- Scoop up 3 cups or so of the water that the meat cooked in and set aside for later (I use my large measuring cup). You can now discard the rest of the water in the stock pot.
- After the meat has cooled, begin shredding it by using 2 forks to create strings with the meat.
- After that is done, get out the peppers and onion from earlier and thinly slice them along with the garlic.2 cloves of garlic
- With a deep saute pan, saute the peppers, onion and garlic for about 3-4 minutes and add a pinch of salt to get them to release their juices.
- Next add the can of diced tomatoes and the remaining 1 teaspoon of cumin and stir together.1 14 oz can diced tomatoes, 2 teaspoon cumin (divided)
- Add the shredded meat to the pan along with about 1 cup of the cooking liquid (or more if needed to surround the meat well with the broth). Mix well so that the meat is sitting in all of the yummy broth.
- Let this simmer on low heat for about 30 minutes.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve over a bed of rice that will soak up all of the yummy juices.1 teaspoon kosher salt, ½ teaspoon fresh black pepper
- Enjoy!
Notes
How to make Ropa Vieja In The Slow Cooker
Add the flank steak to a slow cooker with enough liquid to just cover it. Add in half of a green and red bell pepper, half an onion, and spices (listed above in the recipe for cooking the meat on the stovetop). Set the cooker to high and cook the meat for about 5 hours until the meat is tender and able to be shredded easily. From there, you just follow the recipe above for shredding the meat and cooking it a second time which takes only about 30 minutes.Nutrition
Calories: 68kcal | Carbohydrates: 4g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 23mg | Sodium: 123mg | Potassium: 283mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 96IU | Vitamin C: 7mg | Calcium: 39mg | Iron: 2mg
Nutrition Values are estimates only.
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