Ropa Vieja Cubana – Cuban Braised Beef Recipe

Hello Cuban Food Nation, thank you for stopping by! My name is JC, and I want to welcome you to the Redneck Cuban Kitchen, where today we will make a classic Cuban national dish and a staple of Cuban cuisine. I am talking no more and no less than Ropa Vieja!

This Cuban braised beef dish called Ropa Vieja translates to “Old Clothes” in English, and in fact, it does reflect some shredded old clothes if you come to think about it! I am not 100% sure how the name came about, but that is the rumor and knowing the culture of Cuba quite well, I am inclined to believe it.

If you like beef and don’t like ropa vieja, you likely haven’t an authentic Cuban ropa vieja recipe. Two issues are plaguing this dish on the internet but especially on YouTube! One, being the substitution of ingredients, primary the beef! Many people choose to make their ropa vieja with a chuck as a cost-cutting measure and claim it is the same! I am sorry, but it is not! The second is the instant crack (also known as the Instant Pot). Millions of people have been sold on the idea that this device produces fabulous tarting food, but I happen to disagree! While much like a pressure cooker, it accelerates the breakdown of muscular tissue because once you agitate molecules under pressure, they behave like millions of bouncing balls separating the muscle fibers. However, it does little to improve the taste. When it comes to taste, pressure is not a substitute for time! Otherwise, every 5-star restaurant in the world would have an array of Instant Pot machines lined up in their kitchen. Even old-school Cuban moms and grandmoms who swear by their “pressure cooker” use it very sporadically! There is a reason for that! Instant Pod food suffers from what some chefs I have worked refer to as “tase forward.” Meaning, the food is very tasty as you put it in your mouth, but as you start to chew, the taste quickly goes away, and you end up tasteless, whatever!

If you are one of the many that swear by their Instant Pot, I respect that. I mean, colors, sound, and taste are subjective and part of human nature. But I want you to think of something. Aside from the fact that Instant Pot’s are not us in the food industry,  why isn’t the “science” employed in making other things like wine, whiskey, and liquors like Grand Marnier, which required many years of aging to achieved maturity? The reason is that the science is flaw and nothing but a marketing ploy.

• 1 Flank Steak (About 1 ½ Pound)
• 1 teaspoon of Sea Salt
• 1 teaspoon of Black Pepper
• 1 teaspoon of Onion Powder
• 1 teaspoon of Garlic Powder
• 1 teaspoon of Cumin
• 1 teaspoon of Paprika
• 1 teaspoon of Dried Oregano
• 1 teaspoon of Brown Sugar
• 1 Pack of Sason Goya with Azafran
• A pinch of Allspice (optional)
• 2 Tablespoons of Olive Oil
• ½ Large Onion
• 5-6 Cloves Garlic, Sliced
• 1/2 Cup Dry White Cooking Wine
• 1 – 15 Oz Can of Fire Roasted Diced Tomatoes
• 1 ½ Cup of Broth (Chicken, Beef, Vegetable will do. I prefer beef)
• 2 Bay Leaves
• 3X ½ of Red, Yellow, Green Bell Peppers, Sliced (1 ½ of any will do!)
• 1 Cup Pimento Stuffed Green Olives
• 2 Cups of Water
• 1 Cup of tomato sauce (Pasta sauce will do)
• 2 Teaspoons of tomato paste

• We will start by cutting your flank steak into pieces about 2/3 the width of your saucepan. We are then going to take half of the dry seasonings and rub both sides. Make a pouch with aluminum foil for your steaks. After wrapping them, let them rest in the fridge for an hour or so (3-4 is even better).
• After the time has expired, let’s bring a little bit of oil in our saucepan to temp under medium-high heat. We are going to cook each of the pieces for about 2-3 minutes per side. We are not trying to cook through just sear the outside.
• Once done, put it aside, lower the heat to medium and let’s bring the onions to the saucepan. Cook them for 2-3 minutes or until they start to look translucent. Add the garlic, the rest of the spices, and cook for another 30 seconds to a minute! Then let’s deglazed the saucepan with some cooking wine.
• Once accomplished, add the diced tomatoes, followed by the tomato sauce and the beef stock, in one-minute intervals to avoid dropping the temp of the saucepan too drastically.
• Put the steak in the bracing liquid, bring the heat to high, add the tomato paste and the bay leaves once at a boil. Bring the temperature to low and cook at a low simmer for 2-hours.
• After the time has expired, please turn off the burner, move it away from the heat and let it cool down to room temperature. Once cool, please place it in the fridge overnight.
• The following day, about an hour before dinner, take your steaks out of the saucepan one at a time and shred them into ¼ pieces. You could use a fork, but after cooking for 2-hour, and rested overnight. The beef is going to be incredibly tender, and I think that by hand is better.
• Once done, put your beef back in the sauce and set your stove to medium-high. Once the saucepan has come to a boil, we’ll add our sliced peppers, olives, and a heaping teaspoon of brown sugar. Cover it and cook over medium heat for 20 minutes.
• As I mentioned in the video, I don’t think peas are part of the original recipe, but I think they add a noticeable added sweetness that I appreciate! So, about 5 minutes before plating, I usually add about a cup of frozen peas, and that is it!

My friends, I thank you for stopping by, and I hope you enjoy this Ropa Vieja recipe. Don’t forget to check us out on Facebook at the Cuban Food Nation group, and I look forward to having you as a subscriber at the Cuban Redneck DIY channel, where we do cooking and grilling on Tuesdays and DIY stuff on Fridays.