Slow Cooker Ropa Vieja
After a long day at work or running errands, coming home to a hot, hearty, home-cooked meal is wonderful. It’s even nicer when someone—or something—else did the cooking. The beauty of using a slow cooker is that meals require scant hands-on time. Ropa Vieja is one of my favorite slow cooker go-to recipes. This savory Cuban dish packs a lot of flavor.
The time-saving appliance was invented by Irving Nachumsohn, and by 1940, it was finding its way into American kitchens. He ultimately sold his invention to Rival, and after aggressive advertising campaigns, sales surged from $2 million in 1971 to an astounding $93 million by 1975. Slow cookers are again seeing a surge in popularity, and Americans purchase an average of 12 million slow cookers annually.
Many slow cookers now have a browning/searing option, which enables you to brown and sauté without using a separate pan. If yours doesn’t, don’t worry. For this recipe, brown the steak and lightly sauté the vegetables in the skillet before adding them to the slow cooker. While I prefer to use chuck steak, Ropa Vieja is traditionally made with flank steak.
Ingredients
- Cooking spray
- 1 Tbsp. olive oil
- 1 ½ lb. chuck steak
- ¾ tsp. salt, divided
- ½ tsp. freshly ground black pepper, divided
- 1 cup thinly sliced yellow onion
- 1 cup thinly sliced red bell pepper
- 1 cup thinly sliced green bell pepper
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 cup golden raisins (optional)
- 1 cup unsalted beef stock
- 3 Tbsp. tomato paste
- 1 tsp. ground cumin
- 1 tsp. dried oregano
- 1 14.5-oz can unsalted fire-roasted diced tomatoes
- 1/3 cup pimiento-stuffed olives, halved
- 3 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro
- Hot rice for serving
Directions
- Coat a 6-quart slow cooker with cooking spray.
- With the cooker set on brown/sear, heat olive oil. Sprinkle steak evenly with ¼ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon black pepper; add steak to the cooker. Cook 4 minutes on each side or until browned. Add onion, bell peppers, garlic, and raisins to the cooker; stir to coat with oil and juices.
- Combine the stock, tomato paste, cumin, oregano, tomatoes, remaining ½ teaspoon salt, and remaining ¼ teaspoon black pepper in a medium bowl. Pour tomato mixture over steak and vegetables in slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 7 hours or until steak is tender. If using flank steak, increase cooking time to 8 hours.
- Using two forks, shred steak. Stir in olives and cilantro. Serve over hot rice. Serves 6
***BIO***
Carolyn is an award-winning feature writer and has been a journalist for more than 30 years. Enjoy more on her blog including Chats With Authors, Book Reviews, 'What's on My Mind', and On the Table at www.carolyntillery.com!