Cuban Ropa Vieja

Cuban Ropa Vieja is what comfort food dreams are made of with fall apart tender shreds of beef luxuriating in a rich, aromatic, and savory sauce. With earth and aromatic spices, sweet kisses of tomato, and soft strips of peppers and onion, this Caribbean classic will have you eating straight from the pan.

The flavors of the Caribbean have always had my heart, like Jamaican Jerk Clams and Habanero Mojo Chicken. The bold flavors of Cuban food have always been a favorite with the vibrant pops of acid, sassy kick of garlic, complex marriage of sofrito, and earthiness of cumin being common ingredients.

While this dish was born out of humble origins, its rich flavors and vibrant colors are perfect for making any dinner into a celebration. The slow simmering beef stew perfumes the entire house. Be warned, as the sauce reduces, and the beef gets shredded that there will be multiple bites stolen. Make extra because this won’t last long!

Why You Will Love this Recipe

Growing up in Florida, Cuban food and Cuban American food have always been a rich part of our culture. The oldest continuous restaurant in Florida, the Columbia, has been serving up traditional Cuban dishes since 1905. Rich in tradition, combining familiar ingredients into bold flavors, and made with love, this is a dish that will have your friends and family gathering around the table.

• Family Friendly – This shredded beef recipe uses familiar ingredients to make a savory dish with rich flavors, but mild spice.
• Versatile – This can be prepared in the oven or on the grill. While this is traditionally served with white or yellow rice, you can use the meat in tacos, on a bun, in empanadas, or even over the top of a baked potato. Have fun with the leftovers!
• Budget Friendly – While flank steak can be pricy, this makes a lot making it ideal to serve a crowd or perfect for leftovers.
• Meal Prep – This is one of those dishes that tastes even better the next day. It can be made ahead of time and then reheated. It also freezes well for another meal.
• Easy Process – This dish cooks low and slow. Once you have seared your meat and sautéed the veggies the rest of the cooking process is inactive. Juts cover it up and forget about it.

What is Ropa Vieja?

Ropa vieja, which translates to shredded clothes, is one of the national dishes of Cuba. While this dish has origins in Spain, you can also find versions throughout Latin America and the Philippines. In parts of Latin America such as Venezuela, it’s called carne desmechada. The version from Spain and the Canary Islands almost always includes garbanzo beans and potatoes.

This recipe is based on the authentic Cuban ropa vieja. It combines a sofrito base of onions, bell peppers, and garlic with a tomato forward sauce. Earthy cumin and bright and herbaceous oregano help round out the flavors.

Many traditional recipes call for boiling the flank steak with bay leaves, carrots, onion, and celery and cooking the sauce separately. This version turns it into a one pot dish.

Ingredients

This ropa vieja recipe combines flank steak with a few pantry staples and fresh and easily accessible vegetables. It’s not just delicious and easy to make, it’s also easy to shop for.

• Flank Steak – This lean cut of beef comes from the lower chest of the cow and is best cooked hot and fast, or braised low and slow such as this ropa vieja recipe.
• Olive Oil
• Adobo Seasoning – This common spice blend in the Spanish-Caribbean and Latin kitchens usually combines salt, garlic, black pepper, oregano, and often turmeric. Use your favorite blend.
• Yellow Onions – Adds strong onion flavor while forming the base of the sofrito. Sweetens as it cooks down.
• Bell Peppers – Use your favorite or a combination. Green bell peppers will add more of a bitter note while red, orange, and yellow bell peppers will add sweetness. This is also part of the sofrito.
• Garlic – The final component of the sofrito is garlic. It adds savory, aromatic, and pungent notes.
• Tomato Paste – Adds sweetness and depth to the braising sauce.
• Oregano – A little floral, and little citrusy, and aromatic, this herb is common in Cuban cuisine.
• Cumin – Earthy and aromatic, cumin is also a little citrusy.
• Kosher Salt

• Dry White Wine – The bright acid balances the sweetness of the tomatoes while helping to deglaze the pan.
• Whole Tomatoes – San Marzano tomatoes will bring the most sweetness to this dish but use your favorite whole canned tomatoes. This adds texture and dimension to the sauce.
• Celery – Infuses a note of fresh flavor into the sauce.
• Carrots – Adds a layer of sweetness.
• Bay Leaves – Adds a floral, aromatic note and gives depth to the sauce.
• Pimento Stuffed Olives – While these are optional, they add a pop of bright, briny flavor.
• Cilantro – Fresh, verdant, and citrusy, cilantro balances the rich flavors.
• Lime or White Vinegar – Wakes up all of the flavors and balances the richness.

How to Make Cuban Ropa Vieja

With just a little prep at the start, this one pot dish is all about slow and low cooking. Muddle up some mojitos and invite some friends over. This is sure to become a new favorite.

• Season – Cut your flank steak across the grain into 2-3 pieces each. Season both sides of the meat with adobo seasoning. This can be done the night before for the most flavor, or just before searing.
• Sear – Heat a Dutch oven on medium high heat and add olive oil. Working in batches sear each side of the flank steak for 3-4 minutes, allowing a brown crust to form. Transfer to a plate.

• Saute – Add the onions, bell peppers, and garlic and sauté until the onions are slightly transluscent. Add the oregano, cumin, salt, and tomato paste. Cook for another couple of minutes until the tomato paste deepens in color.
• Deglaze – Add your white wine, making sure to scrape up the brown bits from the pan. Allow it to come to a simmer and slightly reduce.

• Braise – Add the tomatoes and use your spoon to break them up. Nestle the flank steak on top of the tomato sauce. and add any drippings into the pan. Add the carrots, celery, and bay leaves on top and cover. Transfer the pot to a grill or oven preheated to 250 degrees. Allow the braised beef to cook for 2.5-3 hours or until the beef easily shreds.

• Shred – Remove the flank steak from the pan and allow it to cool before shredding. Discard the carrots, celery, and bay leaves.

• Reduce – While the beef is cooling, skim off any fat from the sauce. This is optional, but you can allow it to reduce over medium heat if desired. Add the shredded flank steak back into the pan and stir to combine. Taste and add additional salt if needed.
• Finishing Touch – Add the lime juice or vinegar along with olives and cilantro. Stir. Serve with rice, black beans, and maduros if desired.

Substitutions

Flank steak is the traditional cut of beef for this dish. However, you can make the same recipe using a chuck roast. You will need to skim off the fat and the shreds won’t be quite the same, but the flavors will.

In addition, you can swap out the olives for capers in this shredded beef recipe. Just give them a rinse and add at the end.

How to Serve Cuban Ropa Vieja

Just like this is a traditional Cuban dish, the way it’s served is also rooted in tradition. White or yellow rice are perfect for sopping up all of the juices dripping off the beef. Black beans are also often served alongside the rice. Arroz congri, or white rice cooked with black beans is another option.

Sweet maduros are another classic pairing. The sweetness of the fried plantains pairs well with the rich shredded beef. For a true taste of Florida, the Columbia classic 1905 salad adds instant freshness. Also paying homage to the Columbia is the always welcome loaf of Cuban bread begging to be dipped directly into the pan.

Tips From the Beach

• Marinate – For the most flavor, allow your flank steak to marinate in the adobo seasoning overnight.
• Reduce – For an extra rich and deeply flavored sauce, let it simmer on the stove while the meat is resting.
• Leftovers – This ropa vieja recipe freezes well and heats up easily. To freeze, allow it to fully cool before transferring to freezer safe storage bags. It will keep for 2-3 months. When ready to use it allow it to defrost overnight in the refrigerator and then simply heat it up in a skillet.

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