Ropa Vieja Burgers Recipes

ROPA VIEJA

Steps:

• Add the olive oil to a large, heavy pot and heat over medium-high heat. Add 2 teaspoons salt, broken bay leaves, crushed red pepper flakes and halved jalapeno and stir. Add the quartered onions, chopped carrot, parsley, and mashed garlic cloves and stir again. Place the brisket in the pot, season with salt and pepper and add enough water to cover by 2-inches. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat so that the liquid just simmers, and cook the brisket until the meat is tender enough to shred, 2 to 3 hours. Remove the meat from the cooking liquid and set aside until cool enough to handle. Strain the cooking broth through a fine-mesh sieve and discard solids. Reserve 1 1/2 cups of the broth for the ropa vieja and use the remaining broth for another purpose.
• When the meat has cooled, shred it into 3 to 4-inch strands. Set aside.
• Combine the minced garlic, oregano, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper in a mortar and pestle and work into a smooth paste. Set aside.
• In a large skillet, heat the olive oil and add the sliced onion. Saute until translucent, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic paste and bay leaf and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the tomato sauce, reserved beef broth, wine, and vinegar and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the shredded beef and roasted green pepper strips, stir to combine, and cook, covered, for 30 to 40 minutes, or until the meat is fork tender and falling apart, coated with a thick sauce, and the flavors have come together. If the sauce gets too thick, add a bit more of the reserved beef broth. Taste and adjust the seasoning, if necessary. Remove the bay leaf and serve, garnished with the pimiento slices, lime juice and cilantro, if desired.

ROPA VIEJA BURGERS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F.
• Add 1 tablespoon of the butter, chopped onions and bell pepper to an 8-quart saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are softened, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring, until the tomato paste is toasted, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the garlic and crushed tomatoes and stir well. Add the hot sauce, lemon juice and seafood boil seasoning. Cook until the vegetables are tender, 4 to 5 minutes. Scoop up the onions and bell peppers with a slotted spoon and keep warm. Let the sauce cool.
• Meanwhile, heat a large cast-iron skillet over high heat. Season the beef with salt and pepper. Divide into 4 equal patties and transfer to the skillet. Cook for 4 to 5 minutes. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon butter and flip the patties. Top each patty with 2 slices of cheese and bake just until the cheese is melted, 2 to 3 minutes.
• Meanwhile, heat a cast-iron griddle over medium heat until hot. Gently toast the buns split-sides down just until they brown slightly, 1 to 2 minutes. Set aside.
• Combine the mayonnaise and up to 2 tablespoons of the cooled sauce in a small bowl and stir well. Slather 1/2 tablespoon on each of the split sides of the buns.
• Spoon the onion and peppers onto the bottom buns then top each with a burger patty.
• Top each burger with 1 tablespoon of the fried onions. Close the burgers and serve hot.

ROPA VIEJA

Steps:

• In hot oil quickly saute the pork and then the beef, making sure to caramelize well. Add the julienned caramelized onions, the diced vegetables, the chilies, garlic puree and cook a minute or two. Add the chicken stock, bring to a boil then simmer for a few minutes. Add the black beans and finish with the red wine vinegar and chopped cilantro, salt and pepper. Serve and garnish with salsa.

ROPA VIEJA

Steps:

• In a large pot, put the flank steak, garlic, yellow onions, 1 tablespoon of the oregano, salt, peppercorns, bay leaves and 2 ounces each of the red wine and Worcestershire. Add water to cover the ingredients by 2 inches. Bring to a boil, cut back to a simmer and cook for 3 hours, until the flank steak is falling apart.
• Remove the flank steak from the pot, cut into 3-inch sections and set aside. Strain the beef broth and reserve for a later step.
• Wipe out the pot and coat with the olive oil. Add the red onions, white onions, green peppers, red peppers and the remaining tablespoon oregano. Cook over high heat for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring every couple minutes.
• Add the flank steak back to the pot, along with the tomato sauce, red wine vinegar, reserved beef broth and the remaining red wine and Worcestershire. Bring to a boil, cut back to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes.
• Add the olives, peas and tomatoes to the pot. Let sit for 5 minutes before serving over coconut rice or white rice.

ROPA VIEJA

Steps:

• Season beef or pork with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over high until lightly smoking. Working in batches as needed, cook the meat in a single layer, turning occasionally, until well browned on all sides, about 8 minutes per batch, reducing heat as necessary if the oil smokes excessively.
• Add braised peppers and onions, tomatoes, olives, raisins, capers and chicken stock. Scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Bring to a boil, reduce to a bare simmer, cover with the lid slightly cracked, and cook, stirring occasionally and scraping any crust that has formed at the edges of the pan back into the liquid, until meat is completely tender and shreds easily with two forks, about 2 1/2 hours. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Shred meat with two forks, and serve immediately with white rice, black beans and hearty greens. Ropa vieja can also be shredded, allowed to cool, and stored in the fridge for up to 1 week. It will improve in texture and flavor with time.

ROPA VIEJA

Steps:

• To braise beef:
• In a 5-quart kettle combine all braising ingredients and simmer, uncovered, 1 1/2 hours, or until beef is tender. Remove kettle from heat and cool meat in liquid 30 minutes. Transfer meat to a platter and cover. Strain braising liquid through a colander, pressing on solids, into a bowl. Return braising liquid to kettle and boil until reduced to 3 cups, about 30 minutes. Stew may be made up to this point 1 day ahead. Cool braising liquid completely and chill it and the beef separately, covered.
• In kettle cook green bell peppers and onion in 2 tablespoons oil over moderate heat, stirring, until softened.
• While vegetables are cooking, pull meat into shreds about 3 by 1/2 inches. To onion mixture add shredded meat, 2 cups braising liquid, tomatoes with juice, tomato paste, garlic, cumin, oregano, and salt and pepper to taste and simmer, uncovered, 20 minutes.
• While stew is simmering, in a large skillet cook red and yellow bell peppers in remaining 2 tablespoons oil over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until softened. Stir peppers into stew with enough additional braising liquid to thin to desired consistency and simmer, uncovered, 5 minutes. Stir in peas and olives and simmer, uncovered, 5 minutes.
• Serve ropa vieja with yellow rice.
• To make the yellow rice:
• In a heavy 3-quart saucepan heat oil over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking and sauté cuminseed 10 seconds, or until it turns a few shades darker and is fragrant. Stir in saffron and rice and sauté, stirring, 1 to 2 minutes, or until rice is coated well. Stir in water and salt and boil rice, uncovered and without stirring, until surface of rice is covered with steam holes and grains on top appear dry, 8 to 10 minutes more. Remove pan from heat and let rice stand, covered, 5 minutes. Fluff rice with a fork.