Ropa Vieja

Cornfed

Hi, everyone. Does anyone have any good recipes for Ropa Vieja, the Cuban dish with shredded meat with the literal translation of "old clothes?" (mmmmm.....old clothes.....)[p]I've enjoyed this dish a few times the last few months and would like to make my own version. I'd be interested in either Egg or non-Egg recipes (I could always just throw the pot in the Egg and gratuitously simmer!).[p]I've seen some really simple recipes out there, and here's a relatively complex one from epicurious.com. Wondering if anyone out here has tips/techniques/recipes they'd care to share.[p]Later,
Cornfed
[ul][li]Ropa Vieja from epicurious.com[/ul]

Unknown

Cornfed,
There is a website Icuban.com that had agreat recipe. I just tried to look it up and you now have to buy their cookbook. I may have a paper copy at home I can typr up for you. Let me know if you would like it.[p]Rob

BlueSmoke

Cornfed,
This one from recipesource dot com sounds good. Never made it, but...[p]HTH
Ken

bobbyb

Pete,
Here are two I've collected, never made either, but one seems more complicated than the other

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"Ropa vieja" translates as "old clothes" and refers to the stringy,
shredded appearance of the meat in this Latin American classic.[p]Cuban Shredded Beef (Ropa Vieja)[p]1 lb (450 g) flank steak
8 cups (2 L) water
4-6 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 carrot, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper (capsicum), seeded and chopped
1 recipe sofrito (recipe below)
1/2 cup (125 ml) broth reserved from boiling the meat
1/2 cup (125 ml) frozen peas
1 2-ounce (56 g) jar chopped pimientos with their liquid
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste[p]Combine the flank steak, water, garlic, carrot, onion, and bell pepper
in a large pot and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat
and simmer covered for 2 hours. Remove the meat and allow to cool,
reserving 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid. Pound the meat with a mallet
or back of a large knife to separate it onto stringy fibers. Combine
with the sofrito, reserved broth, peas, pimientos, salt, and pepper in
a large skillet and cook over high heat for 5 minutes, stirring
frequently. Serve with white rice. Serves 4 to 6.[p]
Sofrito[p]1/4 cup (60 ml) extra-virgin olive oil
2-3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 green bell pepper (capsicum), seeded and finely chopped
1 cup (250 ml) tomato sauce
1 Tbs (15 ml) red wine vinegar
1/4 tsp (1 ml) ground oregano
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste[p]Heat the oil in a skillet over moderate heat and saute the garlic,
onion, and bell pepper until tender bit not brown, about 10 minutes.
Add the remaining ingredients and cook 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
Makes about 1 1/2 cup (375 ml).[p]Bon appetit from the Chef at World Wide Recipes[p]__________________________________________________[p]Ropa Vieja[p]Ingredients
2 lbs. Chuck roast or flank steak
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 green pepper, chopped
2 cups Clamato
1 bay leaf
1 tsp. oregano[p]Preparation
In a large pan over medium-high heat, brown onions and meat. Add garlic and
peppers and sauté another minute. Add Clamato, bay leaf and oregano, cover
and reduce heat to just a simmer for at least one hour or until tender.
Season with salt and pepper and serve.[p]Cheers, Bob

Unknown

bobbyb,
They both look good. This should be easy to do on the egg, I will try and find my recipe tonight and post.

Unknown

Cornfed,[p]Here is the way my mom fixes it, she wrote it in Spanish and I translated for a friend of hers. This is also the way my wife fixes it. It's the stove top way.[p]Enjoy
Pete - Tampa[p]Ropa Vieja (Old Clothes)[p]Make some Sofrito (see sofrito following)[p]One flank steak, cleaned (4-5lb)
Cooking oil
Brown on both sides (in the pressure cooker)[p]Cover with water[p]Cook until very tender, (You have to know your stove and pressure cooker).[p]Remove flank steak, let cool, clean and pull apart[p]Place shredded meat in the sauce
Simmer until the rice is cooked (real rice not minute rice)[p]The meat and the sauce should be just right when the rice is cooked.
Serve over white rice[p]Note: Save broth for Red Beans & Rice[p]
Cuban Sofrito[p]All purpose Cuban red sauce, good for, beef, pork, chicken, fish & shell fish.
This sauce is used thought-out Cuban cooking, with few regional changes.
The taste will vary to the cooks own taste, and adjusted accordingly, spicier sauce for shell fish, less water more wine etc.[p]2 cans 12-14oz Tomato sauce
1 can 4-6oz Tomato paste
3-4 Tbsp Olive oil
1 large Onion chopped
½ of a Bell pepper chopped (red or green or a mixture depending on taste)
6 cloves, Garlic (or more to taste)
1 cup Dry white cooking wine
1-2 Bay leafs
2 Tbsp Paprika (or more to taste)
2 Tbsp Cumin (or more to taste)
Pepper to taste
Salt to taste
About 2 cups Water [p]* Cilantro if you like it, a couple of Tbsp, chopped
* Red pepper flakes to taste, typically used when cooking shrimp
** Baking soda
** Sugar[p]Sauté onions garlic and bell peppers in olive oil till tender
Add all other ingredients
Adjust amount of water/wine to give the sauce a thick consistency (not to thick not to thin).
Simmer for about 1 hour; add more water/wine if it thickens too much.[p]* Cilantro, it’s a matter of taste if you use it
*If the tomato sauce/paste has too much acid, add a pinch of baking soda, and some sugar to taste.[p][p][p]

Cornfed

Pete,[p]Yes, that would be great if you could post it, but I don't want to ask you if it's too much work. If there's an easy way for you to get it up here, I'd love to see it.[p]Thanks,
Dave

Unknown

so it's TNT (as we say in the cooking forum biz - "tried 'n true"). So good and so easy, Dave! I liked it so much that my family and I built a whole 5-course Cuban meal around this recipe.[p]Lee[p]
[ul][li]Frug's Ropa Vieja[/ul]

Cornfed

QSis,[p]Awesome. Thanks! However, you should not have mentioned the other 4 courses. Have any TNT recipes for them?[p]I've been on something of a Cuban restaurant kick the last few months going to La Cabana at the Seaport in lower Manhattan a few times, this place somewhere in central Manhattan whose name I can't currently recall, plus Cuba Libre at the Tropicana Quarter in Atlantic City (I think the original restaurant of this name is from Philly). I also noticed one near me which I want to try.[p]I've been cooking flank and skirt steaks a bunch lately and was planning on working on homemade chimichurri sauce soon. I also did try to fry up my own tostones not too long ago with marginal success. Long story short, I'm interested in pretty much any good ones you have to share![p]Thanks,
Dave

Cornfed

Cornfed,[p]Thanks, everyone! I'm hoping to make a trial run on Saturday or Sunday this weekend...[p]Later,
Cornfed