ROPA VIEJA: CUBAN SHREDDED SLOW COOKED BEEF

Ingredients

• 2 lb. flank steak, cut into 1 ½″ strips and seasoned with salt and pepper
• Kosher salt and black pepper, to taste
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 cups vegetable or beef stock

Sofrito

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced
• 1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
• 1 green pepper, thinly sliced
• 6 oz. tomato paste
• 1 tbsp. cumin
• 1 tbsp chili powder
• 1 tbsp dried thyme
• 1 tbsp dried oregano
• 1 tbsp fresh dill, chopped
• 1 tbsp freshly cracked black pepper
• 5 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 bay leaf
• ½ cup dry white wine
• 1 (16-oz.) can whole peeled tomatoes, crushed
• Additional salt and pepper to taste

Brine

• 3 tbsp. capers, rinsed and drained
• 1 tbsp. white wine vinegar

Garnish

• ¼ cup roughly chopped parsley
• Squeezes of fresh lime

How to Make

Stage 1

1. In a large skillet, heat 1 tbs of olive oil over high heat
2. Add the flank steak and sear until browned on both sides. Each side should get roughly ~2 minutes
3. After searing, transfer the meat to a plate
4. Deglaze the pan and leftover meat juices with your stock or broth. Remove the broth and set aside in a bowl

Stage 2

1. In a crock pot, add the meat, raw sofrito ingredients, and broth together and mix together
2. Turn the crock pot on low heat and let cook together for 8 hours. You can occasionally check how the meat is cooking and stir it together as it goes along

Stage 3

1. In the half hour before turning off the crock pot (so at the 7.5 hour mark), add the capers and white wine vinegar into the crock pot and stir
2. For the pieces of meat that are still intact, remove to a plate and shred with two forks. As soon as you press down on the meat, it should come apart by this point
3. Return the meat back to the crock pot to let simmer for 30 more minutes
4. After 30 minutes, turn off the crock pot and serve with chopped parsley and/or additional pimientos. This dish also goes famously with rice and beans