Ropa Vieja

Though it was a pretty hot day here today, it's been a pretty chilly summer so far. Big cuts of meat in the crock pot are a welcome meal to come home to, especially when we are busy after work.

This recipe comes from the January 2009 issue of Good Housekeeping. Traditionally shredded flank steak in a tomato sauce base, this was an easy version of the dish that translates into "old clothes" in Spanish. I liked the added kick the pickled jalapeno chilies added (though the dish wasn't hot at all).

This recipe calls for stirring the cooking liquid back into the beef after it's shredded, putting the mixture into a bowl and serving with tortillas. We had a bunch of leftover tortillas that we decided to use to make Ropa Vieja burritos. Adding the liquid back into the shredded beef would have made the mixture too soupy. In fact, we had to drain the beef quite a bit before serving in tortillas just to have something that wasn't too messy to eat. Next time we'll put the mixture in a bowl and serve it more like a stew as intended.  The extra cooking liquid though, worked great over rice.

ROPA VIEJA

1/2 c. drained sliced pickled jalapeno chiles
3 red, orange, and/or yellow peppers, cut into 1/4-in-wide slices
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 lg. onion (12 oz.) cut in half and sliced
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1 bay leaf
Salt
2 beef flank steaks (3 1/2 lbs. total)
1 can (14.5 oz.) whole tomatoes in juice
Warm tortillas or rice (optional)

In a 6 to 6 1/2 quart slow cooker bowl, stir together jalapenos, peppers, garlic, onion, cumin, oregano, bay leaf, and 1 teaspoon salt. Top with flank steaks, cutting steaks if necessary to fit in slow cooker bowl. With kitchen shears, coarsely cut up tomatoes in can. Pour tomatoes with their juice over steaks in slow cooker; do not stir. Cover slow cooker with lid, and cook as manufacturer directs on low setting 9 hours.

With slotted spoon, transfer steak and vegetables to large bowl. Discard bay leaf. With 2 forks, shred steak, with the grain, into fine strips. Skim and discard fat from cooking liquid. Stir cooking liquid into steak mixture. Spoon into serving bowls, and serve with warm tortillas if you like. Makes about 10 cups (10 main-dish servings). 300 calories a serving.

Note: We drained the liquid from the meat mixture and made burritos. We also added some sour cream and shredded cheese to this. Completely takes away any authenticity of this being a Ropa Vieja but it made great burritos. And the remaining liquid did work great over rice.

Comments

[grace]

YUM. sadly, i've never had authentic ropa vieja (reason #254 to visit the southwest), but this looks extraordinary! i love every ingredient--thanks for the recipe!

[The Duo Dishes]

A big plate of old clothes for us please! This is good, good stuff.

[Sophia]

darn! I wish I had seen this sooner! My mom just asked if I needed any flank steak before she used it up, and I said NO! NOOOOOOO!!!!!
This looks marvelous by the way.

[Cassaendra]

Wow, this looks like the awesome filling for taquitos at my favorite restaurant. My husband peeped over and is intrigued, so we might be trying this recipe soon! Thanks! :)

[zoe]

Yum! I definitely want to try this one!

[Rachel (S[d]OC)]

Yum. I made a ropa vieja years ago from a recipe I got from a Frugal Gourmet cookbook. It was great stuff. This looks just beautiful.

With all of the cold and rainy weather this June has brought my area, I think a nice slow-cooked piece of beef is still right up my alley.

[Lynda]

This looks delicious and is something I will try-it has been in the 90's here for a couple of weeks now and the crockpot is a lot cooler than the stove!

[Mrs. L]

Grace - I've never seen it on a menu or if I did, I completely missed it. I'll have to look next time.

Duo Dishes - I thought the name was interesting. I probably should have put more about how the dish got it's name.

Sophia - We usually have a flank steak in the freezer all the time since it's great in the crock pot.

Cassaenda - Oh, do try it. Let me know if your husband likes it.

Zoe - On a hot day like today, it would be great to make and not use the oven.

Rachel - I have all the Frugal gourmet cookbooks. I'll have to look to see if it's in one of them.

Lynda - It was over 100 here today, so I didn't even bother cooking.

[foodhoe]

mmm, I've seen this on the menu at some tapas restaurants and also at a cuban restaurant. I didn't know that flank steak developed that texture with slow cooking! Looks delicious!