Tough Ropa Veja

[bobmac]

Made ropa veja with flank steak and it was deliciously but so tough that my wife joked the ropa obviously means rope. Given that flank steak ain't known for being tender, is this pretty much it? I assume skirt steak would be similar.

Edited June 19, 2008 by bobmac (log)

[scubadoo97]

Did you cook it on the stove in liquid or braise in the oven? Flank has so little fat that if the meat is cooked too long past being done it can dry out even sitting in liquid.

[Daniel]

Made ropa veja with flank steak and it was deliciously but so tough that my wife joked the ropa obviously means rope. Given that flank steak ain't known for being tender, is this pretty much it? I assume skirt steak would be similar.

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Chuck steak or arm roast is the meat I have seen suggested in the recipes I have used.. I guess the best way to see where you went wrong is to describe your process.. But mainly you brown the meat, cover with liquid and simmer for a couple of hours.. You shred and then cook a little more.. I have also seen it suggested that you put in a slow cooker for 8 hours or so.. Were you boiling your meat for a long period of time?

Edited June 20, 2008 by Daniel (log)

[BarbaraY]

Perhaps a pressure cooker, if you have one, would do a better job.

[Poffertjes]

Made ropa veja with flank steak and it was deliciously but so tough that my wife joked the ropa obviously means rope. Given that flank steak ain't known for being tender, is this pretty much it? I assume skirt steak would be similar.

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Ropa Vieja (don't forget the I) can dry out and get tough if cooked too long. How did you do it? What recipe did you use?

[bobmac]

Thanks, everybody. I used a Michael Chiarello recipe, which calls for simmering 1 1/2 - 2 hours. I do have a problem simmering on my stove, having to use of those heat absorption plates to keep it low enough.

Or, maybe it's because I left the "i" out of vieja.

[Daniel]

Ahh if you left out the I, there is your problem.. Or perhaps the biggest problem is you listened how to make Ropa Vieja from a guy named Chiarello..

[esperanza]

Made ropa veja with flank steak and it was deliciously but so tough that my wife joked the ropa obviously means rope. Given that flank steak ain't known for being tender, is this pretty much it? I assume skirt steak would be similar.

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I just reviewed his recipe, which is, as it should be, very much Cuban-style.

Once you cook the whole flank steak or skirt steak (either works just fine) according to his instructions, cut it across the grain in 2 or 3" sections and shred the sections lengthwise. Then continue with the recipe as it's written. It won't be tough.

In Spanish, this is shredding method is called carne deshebrada.

The translation of ropa vieja is 'old clothes'.