Paleo Ropa Vieja Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is ropa vieja made of? ›

Ropa Vieja is a Cuban dish made with shredded beef that has been slowly cooked with onions, peppers, olives, tomato sauce, and spices like cumin and oregano.

The rich tomato-based sauce of Ropa Vieja is complemented by black beans and Cuban rice. You also can't go wrong with Tostones – fried green plantains. This traditional Cuban dish goes well with the tender shredded meat.

The words ropa vieja mean "old clothes" in Spanish.

Ropa vieja in Cuba is often served with congri rice and fried plantains. In Nicaragua, the dish is called carne desmenuzada, or less commonly ropa vieja.

Ropa vieja is usually made with flank steak, a lean cut with long, thick strands of muscle fiber that can quickly dry out when overcooked. It's at its best when briefly seared, then sliced thinly across the grain to minimize the chewiness of those fibers.

Shredded beef and vegetables that resemble a heap of colorful rags – that's Ropa Vieja. From the Spanish term for “old clothes”, this is one of Cuba's most popular and beloved dishes. So popular in fact that it's one of the country's designated national dishes.

However, ropa vieja is considered the national dish of Cuba, where residents hold a special affinity for it. The name ropa vieja translates to “old clothes,” likely because it's traditionally made with tough cuts of meat that break into long, thin fibers—resembling well-worn threads—when cooked.

It normally includes some form of stewed beef and tomatoes with a sofrito base. Originating in Spain, it is known today as one of the national dishes of Cuba. The name ropa vieja probably originates from the fact that it was often prepared using food left over from other meals.

Ropa Vieja de Lata is not your ordinary canned meat.

One legend says that, as the name translates to the phrase “old clothes,” it came to be when a penniless man cooked his own clothes to survive. He prayed over the pot and his boiled clothing miraculously turned into a rich meat stew.

What wine goes with ropa vieja? ›

Chef Nick's ropa vieja is a rustic dish consisting of tender shredded beef with stewed onions and peppers with a tangy tomato flavor. Olives add a subtle brininess, and the cilantro on top adds freshness. By serving it on a pile of rice and beans, paired with a bottle of River Ranch Montepulciano, the meal is complete.

My two standbys were picadillo (made of chopped meat) and ropa vieja (using shredded meat - and meaning "old clothes").

In the case of Cuba, a lot of the new Spanish arrivals hailed from the Canary Islands, where ropa vieja had long been a popular dish. After they settled in Cuba, these colonizers continued to cook ropa vieja. The tradition has lasted for generation after generation, and now Cubans regard ropa vieja as a national dish.

What we do know is that the recipe for ropa vieja is over 500 years old and originated with the Sephardic Jews in the Iberian peninsula of Spain. Because cooking was not allowed on the Sabbath, the Sephardi would slow-cook a hearty stew the night before.

Chuck roast is arguably the best cut to use for pulled beef. Similar to the front shoulder of pork (or the pork “butt”) chuck roasts, being from the front shoulder of the steer, are chock full of fat, collagen, and marbling. This is the stuff we need to make delicious juicy pulled beef.

Ropa Vieja meaning “old clothes” is named for the way this braised and shredded beef dish looks once finished, like the fibers of old clothes – but trust me, this tastes way better than old clothes!

Ropa vieja is Spanish for “old clothes”. The name for this dish comes from the shredded beef, which looks like colorful strands of tattered clothing. This classic Cuban dish is traditionally braised for hours on the stove top, until the meat is tender enough to shred.