Flank Steak Stew Ropa Vieja Food

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

Steps:

• Season both sides of flank steak with sazon and place in pot with just enough water to cover and simmer for 2 to 3 hours.
• Remove flank steak and shred with 2 forks. Preserve 1 cup of the liquid.
• Heat oil in skillet on medium, add sofrito and cook for 5 minutes.
• Add 1 cup of the liquid from the pot, tomato sauce and adobo.
• Simmer while stirring occasionally for about 10 minutes.
• Serve over white rice.

ROPA VIEJA

Steps:

• In a large pot, put the flank steak, garlic, yellow onions, 1 tablespoon of the oregano, salt, peppercorns, bay leaves and 2 ounces each of the red wine and Worcestershire. Add water to cover the ingredients by 2 inches. Bring to a boil, cut back to a simmer and cook for 3 hours, until the flank steak is falling apart.
• Remove the flank steak from the pot, cut into 3-inch sections and set aside. Strain the beef broth and reserve for a later step.
• Wipe out the pot and coat with the olive oil. Add the red onions, white onions, green peppers, red peppers and the remaining tablespoon oregano. Cook over high heat for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring every couple minutes.
• Add the flank steak back to the pot, along with the tomato sauce, red wine vinegar, reserved beef broth and the remaining red wine and Worcestershire. Bring to a boil, cut back to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes.
• Add the olives, peas and tomatoes to the pot. Let sit for 5 minutes before serving over coconut rice or white rice.

ROPA VIEJA (CUBAN MEAT STEW)

Steps:

• Heat oil in large heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Season meat with Adobo. Add steak to pot and cook in batches, flipping once, until well browned, about 10 minutes. Transfer meat to a plate. Lower heat to medium. Stir in onions and peppers. Cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are soft, about 10 minutes. Add sofrito and garlic to pot; cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
• Stir in 3 cups of water, tomato sauce, Sazon, beef bouillon and pepper. Bring mixture to a boil. Return beef to pot. Lower heat to medium low and simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, about 45 minutes. Stir in olives and capers. Cover pot; simmer until meat shreds easily with fork, 1 - 1 1/2 hours, adding more water in 1/4 cup measurements, if pot becomes dry. Transfer meat to work surface; shred meat with two forks. Bring remaining sauce to a boil. Mix meat and cilantro into sauce. Serve with white rice.

ROPA VIEJA

Steps:

• To braise beef:
• In a 5-quart kettle combine all braising ingredients and simmer, uncovered, 1 1/2 hours, or until beef is tender. Remove kettle from heat and cool meat in liquid 30 minutes. Transfer meat to a platter and cover. Strain braising liquid through a colander, pressing on solids, into a bowl. Return braising liquid to kettle and boil until reduced to 3 cups, about 30 minutes. Stew may be made up to this point 1 day ahead. Cool braising liquid completely and chill it and the beef separately, covered.
• In kettle cook green bell peppers and onion in 2 tablespoons oil over moderate heat, stirring, until softened.
• While vegetables are cooking, pull meat into shreds about 3 by 1/2 inches. To onion mixture add shredded meat, 2 cups braising liquid, tomatoes with juice, tomato paste, garlic, cumin, oregano, and salt and pepper to taste and simmer, uncovered, 20 minutes.
• While stew is simmering, in a large skillet cook red and yellow bell peppers in remaining 2 tablespoons oil over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until softened. Stir peppers into stew with enough additional braising liquid to thin to desired consistency and simmer, uncovered, 5 minutes. Stir in peas and olives and simmer, uncovered, 5 minutes.
• Serve ropa vieja with yellow rice.
• To make the yellow rice:
• In a heavy 3-quart saucepan heat oil over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking and sauté cuminseed 10 seconds, or until it turns a few shades darker and is fragrant. Stir in saffron and rice and sauté, stirring, 1 to 2 minutes, or until rice is coated well. Stir in water and salt and boil rice, uncovered and without stirring, until surface of rice is covered with steam holes and grains on top appear dry, 8 to 10 minutes more. Remove pan from heat and let rice stand, covered, 5 minutes. Fluff rice with a fork.

SLOW-COOKER ROPA VIEJA

Steps:

• Preheat a 5-to-6-quart slow cooker. Season steak generously with salt and pepper. In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over high. Add steak and cook until browned on both sides, about 8 minutes. Transfer to slow cooker.
• Add remaining 1 tablespoon oil to skillet. Add onions, bell pepper, garlic, jalapeno, and cumin seeds; season with salt and pepper and cook until vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in tomato paste; cook 2 minutes more. Add tomatoes and bring to a boil. Pour mixture over steak in slow cooker; cover and cook on high until very tender, 5 hours (or on low 10 hours).
• Transfer steak to a platter; cut in half crosswise. Using two forks, shred meat. Transfer sauce to skillet; cook over high heat until slightly thickened, about 10 minutes. Stir in shredded meat, olives, and capers with brine; cook just until heated through, 2 minutes more. Top with cilantro and serve, with rice and plantain chips.

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.

PULLED FLANK STEAK IN RED WINE SAUCE (ROPA VIEJA O CARNE RIPIADA)

Steps:

• Add the water, flank steak and bay leaves to the cooker. Season with 1 tablespoon (18 g) of the salt. Close the lid.
• Stovetop Pressure Cooker: Set to high pressure (15 PSI) and set the timer for 30 minutes. Cook over high heat until the pressure point is reached, then lower the heat to medium and
• Electric Pressure Cooker: Use the meat setting and adjust the time to 35 minutes, or set to high pressure (10-12 PSI) and 35 minutes.
• When done, remove the stovetop cooker from the heat and apply quick-release, or cancel cooking for the electric cooker and apply auto-release. When all the pressure is out, open the cooker and transfer the flank steak to a carving board, using tongs. Allow the beef to rest, about 5 minutes. Reserve 1 cup (235 ml) of the beef stock for later use and discard the rest. Do not discard the bay leaves. When ready, manually shred the beef, pulling it apart into 1/2-inch (1.3-cm) wide pieces. Heat the oil in the stovetop pressure cooker over medium-high or use the sauté setting for the electric pressure cooker. Sauté all of the vegetables and garlic, adding the oregano and cumin, until the onion begins to soften and the mixture is fragrant, about 2 to 5 minutes. Stir in the tomato sauce, red wine and reserved beef stock. Add the shredded beef, vinegar and black pepper, and adjust for salt. Stir well, cancel cooking for the electric cooker and close the lid.
• Stovetop Pressure Cooker: Set to high pressure (15 PSI) and cook over high heat for 10 minutes total.
• Electric Pressure Cooker: Use the meat setting and adjust the time to 15 minutes, or set to high pressure (10-12 PSI) and 15 minutes.
• When done, remove from the heat or turn off the cooker and allow the pressure to release on its own (natural-release), about 7 to 10 minutes. If the pressure is not fully released after 10 minutes, apply auto-release. Serve immediately.

LA NUEVA ROPA VIEJA (CROCK POT)

Steps:

• Put the tomato sauce, water, bay leaves, vinegar, garlic, cumin, salt and black pepper into the crock pot. Stir to combine.
• Peel the onion and cut it into quarters. Thinly slice the onion quarters, and add them to the crock pot.
• Place the beef over the onions, and spoon some of the liquid over the meat. (If ou are using skirt steak or flank steak, there will be several thin pieces, and they will overlap in the pot.).
• Rinse bell peppers and discard the seeds and membranes.
• Cut the peppers into quarters, thinly slice them, and add the pieces to the crock pot.
• Pour the diced tomatoes with their juice evenly on top.
• Cover the pot and cook on low until the meat is so tender that it practically falls apart, about 8 hours if using skirt or flank steak or 10 hours if using sirloin or chuck.
• About 20 minutes before serving, cook the rice.
• Before serving, removed the beef and vegetables from the crock pot to a large serving bowl.
• Use two forks to pull the beef into shreds. There should be some cooking juices in the bowl, but if not, add about 1/2 cup juices.
• Stir to mix the beef and vegetables.
• Season with additional salt and pepper if desired.
• Serve all but two cups of the beef vegetable mixture over hot rice.
• Refrigerate leftovers, skim off fat and store in the refrigerator for up to to 3 days or a month in the freezer. Use the leftovers in a beefy tortilla soup.