Ropa Vieja (Cuban Shredded Beef)
I love this dish! Ropa vieja means old clothes in Spanish. The Cubans call this dish old clothes because of the look of the beef after it has been cooked. I have been trying to get my grandmother to teach me this recipe for ages, but she refused. So after a lot of trial and error, I came up with my own recipe.
I love this dish! Ropa vieja means old clothes in Spanish. The Cubans call this dish old clothes because of the look of the beef after it has been cooked. I have been trying to get my grandmother to teach me this recipe for ages, but she refused. So after a lot of trial and error, I came up with my own recipe.
- Carbohydrate 5.4262565625 g
- Cholesterol 49 mg
- Fat 22.710951875 g
- Fiber 1.38439065021276 g
- Protein 33.1626109375 g
- Saturated Fat 4.763836875 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (292g)
- Sodium 465.919875 mg
- Sugar 4.04186591228724 g
- Trans Fat 5.622710625 g
- Calories 363 calories
Step-by-step
- Heat 3 Tbsp of cooking oil in a deep skillet on medium heat. Place steak in skillet and brown on all sides and remove.
- Add the remaining oil to the skillet with Garlic, Onion and green peppers; cook until the onions are translucent.
- Stir in black pepper, meat, tomato sauce, water, and sofrito. Simmer until meat shreds easily. Approx. 1 hour. Server on top of rice.
- You can get the recipe for sofrito on my page.
- You can also add diced tomatoes if you want something chunkier or sliced green olives with pimientos.
Swapping flank steak for chuck roast alters the final texture entirely, yielding a richer dish due to higher intramuscular fat while requiring an extra thirty minutes of simmering time. Flank steak provides the distinct, long muscle fibers that pull apart into neat shreds, visually justifying the dish name meaning old clothes.
Preparing this braise demands a heavy-bottomed, deep skillet with a tight-fitting lid to trap moisture during the hour-long simmer. Without a heavy lid, liquid evaporates too quickly, concentrating the tomato sauce and scorching the garlic before the meat tenderizes. Maintaining a medium-low heat setting prevents the bottom from burning while the connective tissue breaks down.
Success hinges entirely on the braising phase; pulling the meat before it reaches the fork-tender stage yields tough, stringy protein rather than tender strands capable of absorbing the sofrito and tomato sauce mixture. Test readiness by pressing a fork into the thickest part of the steak; if the fibers separate with zero resistance, the beef is ready to shred.
