Vaca Frita Food

VACA FRITA (PAN-FRIED BEEF)

Steps:

• Cut 1 onion in half and thinly slice the remaining onion. Set aside.
• Combine flank steak, halved onion, bell pepper, and bay leaf in a large saucepan. Cover with water and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium and let simmer until meat is easily shredded with 2 forks, about 20 minutes. Transfer flank steak to a work surface and let cool, about 10 minutes. Strain beef broth and save for another use. Shred cooled meat using 2 forks and place into a separate bowl.
• Mix garlic with 1/2 teaspoon salt in another bowl. Apply paste onto the meat, along with lime juice, olive oil, and sliced onion. Let stand at room temperature for at least 30 minutes to 1 1/2 hours.
• Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and add butter. Working in small batches, spread shredded beef in a thin layer into the skillet and season with salt and pepper. Cook, turning once or twice, until sizzling and crispy, about 7 minutes per batch. Transfer to a platter and serve with lime wedges.

VACA FRITA

Steps:

• To a large pot, add steak, bay leaves, carrot, tomato, cumin, and oregano and cover with water. Boil the meat until it becomes tender, then remove from the liquid, and shred the meat. Into a very hot saute pan pour 1/8 cup olive oil, then add the meat, making sure to spread it out evenly. Flip it over and cook until both sides become crispy. In a separate pan, add the remaining oil and cook the onions until caramelized, then mix in the meat, cilantro, and lime juice. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

VACA FRITA WITH A TROPICAL TUBER HASH CAKE AND CARAMELIZED ONIONS

Steps:

• For the Marinade:
• Season the meat with cumin and black pepper. Sear it in high heat until nicely browned on all sides in a hot skillet with a touch of canola oil. Reserve.
• Heat the meat broth in a saucepan over low heat.
• Heat a large soup pot on medium heat with the bacon in it. Stir. When the bacon is almost cooked, add the butter. Allow the buttter to melt. Now add the garlic, red onion, carrot, celery, and bay leaf. Turn up the heat to fairly high. Cook about 10 minutes or until the point where some caramelization has occurred. Now add the broth and the skirt steak. Bring to a boil. Skim off any impurities and reduce the heat to medium-low. Cook for 1 1/2 hours.
• Strain off the broth through a fine strainer and reserve the meat in a bowl to cool slightly. Discard the vegetables.
• Reduce the cooking broth to a fairly intense consistency and reserve.
• Place each piece of meat on a cutting board and cover it with plastic wrap. Pound the meat with a hammer to cause the meat to separate into strands. Pull the meat apart and put it in a bowl.
• Mix the marinade ingredients together well and add them to the shredded meat. Allow the marinade to season the meat overnight in the refrigerator. The next day: Discard the marinade and allow the meat to warm up a little before cooking it for the second time.
• Heat a large skillet. Add a little light cooking oil and fry the meat in it, stirring well, until crispy and brown. Season with salt and pepper. Reserve the meat in a bowl. "Dress" the shredded cooked strands of meat in a ratio of 17 ounces of meat to 5 ounces of the reduced broth. (Reserve the extra broth to spoon around the hash cake.) Reserve.
• Form the hash cake in the bottom of each serving dish. Top with the Caramelized Onions and the cooked meat. Serve with more of the broth.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Peel, dice, and blanch the sweet potato, bonito, and yucca. Toss with the butter, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Oven roast until all are easily pierced with a small knife. Place them in a bowl.
• Saute the bacon until it starts to crisp. Add the butter and vegetables and saute. Remove from the heat while still al dente.
• Mix together the roasted garlic, vinegar, parsley, and cilantro. Toss with the roasted potatoes and the sauteed vegetables. Reheat in the oven to order.
• Heat a large saute pan over high heat. Add the olive oil and butter. When it begins to foam, add the onions and stir well once to coat. Now let it caramelize nicely, stirring and pushing the onions around only a little bit from time to time. When the onions are nicely colored, about 8 to 10 minutes, turn the heat down to medium and cook another 10 minutes.
• Now sprinkle the sugar over them. Stir gently again and let cook for 1 minute. Now add the vinegar and stir 1 last time. Let reduce until almost no liquid remains, about 1 to 2 minutes. Season the onions and remove them to a bowl until needed. Keep warm.

VACA FRITA

Steps:

• Combine the beef, quartered onion, tomato, carrot, and garlic cloves with 6 cups of water in a large pot.
• Bring to a boil over high heat.
• Skim off the scum that rises to the surface.
• Reduce the heat and simmer the beef, uncovered, skimming often, until tender, 30 to 40 minutes.
• Strain the meat, discard broth or save for another use.
• Let the meat cool.
• Using the tip of a knife, or your fingertips, tear the meat, along the grain, into the thinnest possible shreds.
• Toss the meat with the minced garlic, salt, and lime juice in a mixing bowl.
• Let marinate, covered, in the refrigerator for at least 15 minutes, or as long as overnight.
• About 5 minutes before serving, heat the oil in a non-stick frying pan until smoking.
• Add the meat and saute over medium-high heat until crisp, 3 to 4 minutes.
• Transfer the meat to plates or a platter with a slotted spoon or tongs.
• Add the sliced onion to the pan and fry until lightly browned, about 2 minutes.
• Top the Vaca Frita with the fried onion and serve at once, preferably with white rice and black beans.

VACA FRITA

Steps:

• Place the beef and bay leaf in a large saucepan, cover with salted water, and cook over low heat, covered, until the meat is tender, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
• Remove the meat from the stock and allow to cool at room temperature (save the stock for another use).
• When the meat is cool, cut into 2-inch chunks, shred it using your fingers, and place in a nonreactive bowl.
• Add the citrus juices, garlic, salt, and pepper, cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour, or overnight.
• Remove the meat from the marinade and squeeze out the excess liquid.
• In a large skillet, heat the oil over med-high heat until fragrant and cook the beef shreds, stirring 6 to 8 minutes.
• Add the onions and cook until the beef is crisp, another 5 minutes.
• Sprinkle with the parsley and serve over white rice.

VACA FRITA PAN-FRIED SHREDDED BEEF PATTIES

Steps:

• Pour the Mojito Marinade into the Ropa Vieja in the pan with the braising liquid, and mix it all up. Let the meat soak up all those good flavors for at least 4 hours.
• Grab one handful of shredded meat at a time, squeeze out as much of the marinade as you can, and shape the meat into a flattened patty about the size of your palm. Cover the bottom of a large skillet with 1/8 to 1/4 inch of oil, and get it heated up over medium. Add the patties and fry a few at a time in the oil, cooking them til crispy and richly browned on each side. Watch them carefully so they don't burn.
• Slide the fried patties onto a plate and serve 'em up with Black Beans & Rice.