Go Back
Cuban Ropa Vieja

Ropa Vieja (Cuban Old Clothes Dish)

Chef's Pencil Staff
4.91 from 88 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 4 hours
Total Time 4 hours 10 minutes
Course Main Course
Cuisine Cuban

Ingredients
 
 

  • 2 pounds beef flank steak or skirt steak, trimmed
  • 1 large red onion thinly sliced
  • 3 bell peppers thinly sliced
  • 4 cloves garlic minced
  • 2 teaspoons dried oregano
  • 2 teaspoons ground cumin
  • 2 teaspoons sweet paprika
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 2 teaspoons kosher salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/2 cup dry white wine
  • 1 cup chicken broth (or vegetable broth)
  • 16 ounce canned crushed tomatoes 1 can
  • 6 ounce tomato paste 1 can
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 large carrot cut in half
  • 1 stalk celery cut in half
  • 1 cup pimientos-stuffed green olives (or use green olives and 1/2 jarred pimientos separately)
  • 1/2 cup roasted red peppers canned
  • 2 tablespoons capers rinsed and drained
  • 1/3 cup fresh parsley chopped

Instructions
 

  • Pat the meat dry and season well with salt and pepper.
  • Next, heat up some oil in a casserole dish over high flame and once well heated, add the meat in. Brown on both sides and transfer to a separate dish. Keep the melted fat as we'll use it to flavor to vegetables.
  • Add all the sliced vegetables to the pot and cook, stirring often for about 20 minutes until beautifully browned and caramelized.
  • Stir in the spices and minced garlic and mix for a minute, Next add the splash of white wine, bring to a boil and deglaze by scaring the browned bits off the bottom of the pan.
  • Next, pour in the chicken broth (or vegetable broth), tomato paste, crushed tomatoes and bay leaves and leave to simmer for about 5 minutes.
  • Place the roasted beef pieces in the pot together with the carrot and celery slices. Once the contents are boiling, lower the heat and simmer for about 3-4 hours until the meat pulls apart easily.
    Take out the carrots, celery and bay leaves and discard them.
  • Take the beef out, shred it and introduce the capers, red peppers, olives and simmer uncovered for about 30 minutes to thicken the sauce.
  • Once done, season with salt and pepper to taste, stir the meat back in and top with freshly chopped parsley.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!