Ropa Vieja Cuban Food (Beef)

Ropa Vieja — “Old Clothes”
Cuban Shredded Beef
Serves 6 – 8.

This Cuban beef recipe is easy to make (although a bit time consuming) and very delicious. Make sure you cook the flank steak until very tender.

They say that this dish is called “old clothes” because the shredded beef frays on the ends as it cooks, like the fabric of old clothes.

Ingredients:

3 1/2 lbs skirt or flank steak or 3 1/2 lbs chuck or arm roast
salt and pepper
flour
olive oil
2 onions, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, mashed with 1 teaspoon salt
2 green peppers, chopped
32 ounce can crushed tomatoes or 2 cups tomato sauce
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 cup red wine
2 bay leaves
Olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Method

Do not trim excess fat from meat before cooking! (You can remove the fat when you shred the beef.) Salt and pepper the meat and lightly dust with flour. In a large Dutch oven, brown the meat in oil. Add enough water to surround the meat, but NOT cover it. Simmer, covered, until done, one to two hours. Meat will be fork tender. (Add more water as necessary to keep from burning!)
Remove from heat and cool. Shred the meat. (Slice flank steak across grain in 3-inch strips, then shred strips of steak by hand.)
Sauté onions, garlic and green pepper in oil until limp.
Add all remaining ingredients. Salt and pepper to taste.
Simmer for 30 minutes to 1 hour. Remove bay leaves and serve with rice.