Crock Pot Ropa Vieja (Beef, Peppers, and Onions)
Ropa Vieja is one of those "dishes that keeps on giving." It is supposed to be shredded beef. But when I serve it, it's more like a stew, with chunks of meat. Then when it's cool, I get in there and shred the meat with my hands. It takes only about two minutes and is so much easier than using forks. Then I serve it over spaghetti squash, or, for yet another option, serve in low-carb tortillas with avocado and cilantro.
Ropa Vieja is one of those "dishes that keeps on giving." It is supposed to be shredded beef. But when I serve it, it's more like a stew, with chunks of meat. Then when it's cool, I get in there and shred the meat with my hands. It takes only about two minutes and is so much easier than using forks. Then I serve it over spaghetti squash, or, for yet another option, serve in low-carb tortillas with avocado and cilantro.
- 2 bay leaves
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 2 medium green peppers chopped
- 3 pounds chuck roast (cut it into pieces about 2-3 inches on a side - the butcher can
- 1 small onion chopped (red or yellow onion)
- 1 cup chopped celery (or more)
- 2 medium red peppers chopped
- 1 can chopped tomatoes (15 oz)
- 1 small can tomato paste (6 oz)
- 3 cubes beef boullion
- Carbohydrate 9.96076125108124 g
- Cholesterol 0.1755 mg
- Fat 0.637551250331533 g
- Fiber 2.77312498040349 g
- Protein 2.02569250024252 g
- Saturated Fat 0.135022250058414 g
- Serving Size 1 1 (107g)
- Sodium 68.7461966345624 mg
- Sugar 7.18763627067775 g
- Trans Fat 0.145302000054893 g
- Calories 48 calories
Step-by-step
- Salt and pepper the meat, and brown it (can chop veggies while meat is browning).
- Layer onion and celery on bottom of crock pot (slow cooker).
- Put meat on top.
- Drain the tomatoes and save juice. Layer tomatoes and peppers over the meat, along with the bay leaves.
- Mix the rest of the ingredients together (including the reserved tomato liquid) and pour over the rest of the food. Cook 2 to 3 hours on high, or 5 to 7 hours on low.
Raw beef chuck roast requires advance structural preparation before entering the slow cooker vessel, specifically cutting the 3-pound cut into uniform two-to-three-inch pieces to ensure heat penetration reaches the center of the muscle fibers. Heavy-bottomed stainless steel or cast iron skillets work best for the initial searing phase, establishing the Maillard reaction needed for savory depth before the meat joins the aromatic vegetables in the slow cooker insert.
Thermal mass matters significantly when browning meat; overcrowding the pan drops surface temperature and causes the beef to steam rather than sear, so batch-cook the 2-inch chunks if the skillet diameter is under 12 inches. Layering dense vegetables like celery and onions on the bottom of the ceramic crock protects the beef from scorching against the direct heating elements while releasing moisture upward during the initial hours of cooking.
Shredding cooked chuck roast demands mechanical efficiency once internal temperatures drop safely below boiling but while the protein remains warm enough to yield easily to hand manipulation; using clean hands rather than forks accelerates the process to under two minutes per batch. Adjusting this recipe downward for smaller households requires reducing the slow cooker liquid by 25 percent to prevent the bell peppers and tomatoes from becoming overly watery during the 5-to-7-hour low-heat cycle.
