If you love a taste of Caribbean food this slow cooked crock recipe will rock your kitchen and make the crowd smile. Inspired by my riding partner, who has family ties to Jamaica, Ropa Vieja is a perfect meal to put in the crock before you go to work and have ready for your family when you come home. Let’s make this tender delicious beef dish and serve it with rice and a chopped mango side. Eat well my friends….we have hundreds of more recipes to explore.
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 pounds beef flank steak
salt and pepper for seasoning
1 cup beef broth
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
1 green bell pepper, seeded and sliced into strips
1 small onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon chopped fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon white vinegar
Season flank steak with salt and pepper. You can either heat vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat, add flank steak and cook until browned, about 4 minutes per side. or take outside and grill on both sides on your outdoor grill (like I did). I like the grilled flavor over the pan fried flavor with my steak.
Transfer steak to a slow cooker; pour in beef broth and tomato sauce. Add tomato paste, bell pepper, onion, garlic, cumin, cilantro, olive oil, and vinegar; stir until well blended.
Cover and cook on Low for up to 10 hours, or on High for 4 hours. Do not leave the crock unattended and go to work if you are cooking on HIGH (Know thy hardware)
When you are ready to serve, Gently lift beef out of crock and shred with two forks.
Taste your veggie stock and adjust the salt and pepper to taste.
Plate the beef in equal portions on the serving plates and scoop the wonderful salsa from the crock over the beef. DELICIOUS!
Enjoy this recipe. I have been making it since I was shown the meal by my long past Panamanian girlfriend. Serve with rice and diced mango as the side dishes. Wow…invite me over. I am hungry just thinking about how delicious this tastes.
As a note: I make tacos with the left overs. YUM!