Meat & Seafood · Latin American & Caribbean

Ropa Vieja Cubana

Name: Ropa Vieja Cubana
Total time: 210 min
Yield: 2
Ingredients: 3 lb beef chuck (2-inch pieces); 2 tbsp olive oil; 1 unit onion (sliced); 1 unit red bell pepper (sliced); 5 clove garlic (minced); 2 cup tomatoes (crushed); 1 cup beef stock; 2 tsp dried oregano; 2 tsp ground cumin; ½ cup green olives (sliced); 1 tbsp capers; 2 tsp salt; ½ tsp black pepper

13 ingredients · 210 minutes · 2 servings

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No porkNo alcohol

Ingredients

Servings:

3 lb	beef chuck (2-inch pieces)
2 tbsp	olive oil
1 unit	onion (sliced)
1 unit	red bell pepper (sliced)
5 clove	garlic (minced)
2 cup	tomatoes (crushed)
1 cup	beef stock
2 tsp	dried oregano
2 tsp	ground cumin
½ cup	green olives (sliced)
1 tbsp	capers
2 tsp	salt
½ tsp	black pepper

Method

sear12 min
heavy pot over medium-high heat; beef dry and uncrowded
Season the beef, then brown it in batches. Dark surface browning gives the eventual shredded meat depth; crowding drops the pan temperature and trades browning for gray steam.
saute8 min
medium heat in the same pot
Cook onion and bell pepper until softened, then add garlic, oregano and cumin for the final minute. Scrape up the browned fond as the vegetables release moisture so its flavor moves into the sauce instead of staying glued to the pot.
braise150 min
covered at a bare simmer until the beef separates easily with forks
Add crushed tomato and stock, return the beef, and keep the liquid at a lazy simmer. Hard boiling tightens the meat before collagen has time to dissolve; patient low heat makes the fibers easy to pull apart.
prep10 min
beef removed to a tray and shredded into long strands
Pull the tender beef into coarse strands, discarding large seams of fat. Keep the pieces substantial enough to retain texture after they go back into the sauce.
simmer20 min
uncovered; sauce reduced until it clings to the shredded beef
Return the beef with olives and capers and simmer uncovered. Reduction is the final control: stop when the sauce coats the strands without pooling, then adjust salt only after the olives and capers have contributed theirs.