Authentic Ropa Vieja (Cuban Shredded Beef Recipe)
Last updated on 27th April 2024
Ropa Vieja is one of the most classic dishes of Cuban cuisine. It is the authentic recipe for shredded beef simmered slowly in tomato sauce with dry wine, onion, garlic, bell peppers and spices. Ropa vieja is a truly flavourful and juicy main meal that will please everyone in the house at dinner time.
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What is Ropa Vieja?
Ropa Vieja is a recipe for slow-cooked shredded beef that allegedly originated in the Canary Islands, Spain in the 19th century and eventually travelled to Cuba. The name of ropa vieja literally means “old clothes” in Spanish. The legend vows that a man with no food to provide for his family cooked a bunch of old clothes that magically transformed in succulent pieces of meat. Other Latin countries have similar recipes of shredded beef, such as the Carne Mechada from Venezuela.
This ropa vieja recipe is a slow-cooked shredded beef recipe, although some versions use chicken or pork. When slow cooking beef, the flavours are enhanced and the consistency of the meat is very tender. This recipe calls for a slow simmering of the meat in tomato sauce with bell peppers and onions.
This rendition is a close version of the classic dish from the famous 1965 cookbook ‘Cocina al minuto’, by Nitza Villapol. The book remains a much sought-after item for people delving into traditional Cuban cooking or looking for a special gift for their loved ones.
Is Ropa Vieja the Cuban national dish?
Ropa Vieja is certainly a delicious dish, deeply-rooted in Cuban traditions and with a lot of history. However, to say that Ropa Vieja is the Cuban national dish could be too venturous. There are other dishes of great presence in Cuban cuisine such as the Ajiaco and Moros y Cristianos, both deserving to be in the conversation for Cuba’s national dish. The whole dilemma could be dealt with in an entire article.
For now, let’s say that Ropa Vieja is one of the more well-known Cuban dishes, both locally and abroad. We could certainly give it a place in the top three of the jam-packed list of classic Cuban dishes. Atop the list or not, here it is the invitation for you to cook this delightful, easy recipe which flavour will surely impress you.
How to cook ropa vieja?
Cook the meat until tender: Cut the meat in four to five pieces so they fit inside the pot of the pressure cooker (if using a saucepan over the hobs instead, read the instructions in the ‘Notes’ section). Season with a pinch of salt and black pepper. Boil one litre of water and add the beef stock cube to mix it through. Add a portion of the stock to the pot to cover the meat just enough. Cook in the pressure cooker for 25-30 min. This should be enough time for the meat to be soft and later being shredded.
Shred the meat: Place the meat in a separate container to cool down. You can keep the remaining stock in the freezer to use in other dishes. Once the meat has cooled down shred it apart with the help of two forks. As an alternative, you can do it with the hands. Reserve the meat threads for later.
Sauté the vegetables: Crush the garlic cloves with a mortar and pestle or with the flat surface of a knife. Take the half onion and thinly slice it in half rings. Cut the peppers into thin sticks. Then heat the oil in a pan over medium heat and sauté the garlic and onion for about 1 min or until the onions are translucent. Take care not to burn the garlic by stirring regularly or adjusting the heat. Then add the peppers and keep sautéing for another minute. Add a pinch of salt to help the vegetables sweat.
Simmer the meat with the other ingredients: Add the cooking wine, followed by the bay leaf, black pepper, cumin and oregano (I usually go with ½ tsp of cumin or half of the quantity of oregano, but in this dish I like all the spices in equal quantities and the flavour a bit more “cuminy” than usual 😉). Now add the shredded meat and mix with the other ingredients in the pan for about 30 secs. Add the tomato sauce and the salt. Mix everything together and wait till it starts to boil. Lower the heat and place the lid on the pan. Cook for about 15 min stirring occasionally if you think that the contents can stick to the bottom of the pan. Adjust salt and pepper to taste.
Serve and enjoy: After cooking the preparation, dispose the bay leaf. Dish up the ropa vieja and serve with white rice and fried maduros. Recommended to accompany the rice with an authentic Cuban black beans soup.
Top tips and fat facts
When simmering all the ingredients at low temperature, stir occasionally if you see that the contents are sticking to the bottom of the pan. If this happen too often check if you can lower heat even more as this may prevent it. Remember: the meat should be juicy and not dry when served.
As getting vino seco or Cuban dry cooking wine is very difficult for me in Scotland, I normally use Shaoxing wine. This is an amber-coloured Chinese rice wine that is very good for cooking and really resembles the authentic flavour of the Cuban dry cooking wine. It is available in some supermarkets and most Asian markets. Other possible substitutions are dry Sherry wine or white wines such as Sauvignon Blanc.
Ropa vieja is not spicy as other shredded beef recipes. In general, Cuban cuisine is not spicy but it is certainly very flavourful thanks to the use of several aromatic spices.
Authentic Ropa Vieja (Cuban Shredded Beef Recipe)
Not too complicated
Equipment
- 1 deep saucepan or pressure cooker – to cook the beef until soft
- 1 sautéing pan (26 cm diameter) – to cook the shredded beef in tomato sauce
Ingredients
- 500 g beef bavette or flank steak (brisket or rump if you can’t find it) cut into four/five pieces
- 1 cube beef stock
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- ½ brown onion thinly sliced into half rings
- 2 garlic cloves peeled
- ½ red bell pepper thinly sliced into sticks
- ½ green bell pepper thinly sliced into sticks
- ½ cup passata (or another unflavoured tomato sauce)
- ½ cup dry cooking wine or sherry (or another dry wine)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tsp ground black pepper
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp oregano
Instructions
- Cut the meat in four pieces and place them in the saucepan or pot of the pressure cooker. Season with a pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper. Boil one litre of water and add the beef stock cube to mix it through. Add a portion of the stock to the saucepan or pot until the meat is covered. Cook in the hobs on a low simmer for 90 minutes approximately, if using a saucepan. In the pressure cooker this time is reduced to 25-30 min. In both cases, after the cooking time the meat should be tender to later being shredded.
- Leave the meat to cool down in a separate container. Keep the remaining stock in the freezer to use in other dishes. Once the meat has cooled down shred it apart with the help of two forks or using the hands. Reserve the shredded meat for later.
- Crush the garlic cloves with a mortar and pestle or with the flat surface of a knife. Take the half onion and thinly slice it in half rings. Cut the peppers into thin sticks. Then heat a little oil in a pan over medium heat and sauté the garlic and onion for about 1 min or until the onions are translucent. Then add the peppers with a pinch of salt and keep sautéing for another minute.
- Add the cooking wine, followed by the bay leaf, black pepper, cumin and oregano. Then add the shredded meat and mix with the other ingredients in the pan for about 30 secs. Add the tomato sauce and the salt. Mix well everything and allow to boil. Lower the heat and place the lid on the pan. Simmer slowly for about 15 min but avoiding the sauce to reduce completely. Adjust salt and pepper to taste.
- After the preparation is cooked, dispose the bay leaf. Suggested to serve the ropa vieja with white rice and fried maduros. Optionally, accompany the rice with a black beans soup.
Notes
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