Ropa Vieja (Cuban Shredded Beef in Tomato Sauce)
Quick answer
- Total time
- 120 min
- Level
- Medium
- Servings
- 4 servings
- Ingredients
- 8
About this dish
The name means 'old clothes' in Spanish, a nod to the beef pulled into thin shreds that look like rags.
Read more
Chuck is simmered whole in water until it gives easily, then shredded along the grain and cooked again in a sauce of onion, green pepper, tomato, and paprika that every strand soaks up. The simmering liquid is kept rather than discarded and added as needed to loosen the sauce.
Ingredients
Instructions
- 1
Place 700 g beef chuck and 600 ml water in a pot and bring to a boil over medium heat.
Once boiling, lower the heat and cook until the meat gives easily when pressed with a fork.
- 2
Lift out the cooked beef and let it cool for about 10 minutes.
When it is cool enough to handle, pull it into thin strands with forks, following the grain so the texture stays even.
- 3
Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a pan over medium heat.
Add 180 g onion, 160 g bell pepper, and 3 garlic cloves, then saute until the vegetables soften and the onion looks glossy.
- 4
Add 350 g crushed tomatoes and 1 tsp paprika powder.
Simmer for 5 minutes, stirring across the bottom so the sauce does not catch, until the tomato aroma deepens and the sauce looks slightly darker.
- 5
Add the shredded beef to the sauce and pour in enough of its cooking liquid to loosen it.
Simmer over low heat for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally, and reserve the rest of the liquid for the final consistency adjustment.
- 6
Turn off the heat when the sauce is thick enough to spoon over rice or bread.
If it is too loose, simmer a few minutes longer; if it feels dry, adjust with the remaining cooking liquid.
Use-up ingredient planner
Turn these ingredients into two more meals
The overlap excludes basic seasonings. Open the next recipe and your selected dishes will stay with you.
Shopska Salad (Bulgarian Shopska salad)
onion, bell pepper
Albondigas en Salsa (Spanish Meatballs in Tomato Sauce)
onion, crushed tomatoes
Picadillo Cubano (Cuban Ground Beef with Olives and Raisins)
onion, bell pepper