This post is sponsored by the Certified Angus Beef ® brand in conjunction with a social media campaign through Sunday Supper LLC. All opinions are my own. Enjoy this recipe for Ropa Vieja made with Certified Angus Beef ®.
Are you a fan of Cuban food? I am. When we visit my mother in Florida, there is a little Cuban restaurant that we like to go to for Cubano sandwiches, fried yucca and, naturally, mojitos. Cuban cuisine is a unique mélange of Spanish, Caribbean and African flavors and ingredients. It is not known for being spicy, but rather deeply flavorful.
One of my all-time favorite Cuban dishes is ropa vieja, a piquant stew of shredded beef, peppers and tomatoes. When you read the ingredients for ropa vieja — beef, peppers, tomatoes, capers, raisins? — you may wonder if it even tastes good. Trust me, it does. The sauce balances sweet and sharp flavors in a way that stimulates the appetite and brings a certain lightness and delicacy to what looks like a hearty stew. Remember, it gets hot in Cuba. No one wants to eat stodgy food in tropical climates.
Ropa vieja, as many of you know, means “old clothes” in Spanish – a name which comes from the appearance of the torn-up shreds of beef. However, “old clothes” could just as easily refer to the texture of the beef – ropa vieja is typically made with tougher cuts of meat. To make sure that your ropa vieja does not eat like wet rags, it is important to braise the meat, which means cooking it in liquid.
Typically, a braise means a long, slow cook on the stove. But with the magic of pressure cooking, such as in the Instant Pot, you can achieve tender, succulent ropa vieja — even when you start with a tough cut of meat — without hours and hours of long, slow simmering. Just forty minutes under high pressure in the Instant Pot and the meat easily shreds using nothing more than a fork. Ropa vieja and the Instant Pot are a match made in Havana. (Sorry!)
My inspiration for this Instant Pot ropa vieja recipe was a sale that my local Certified Angus Beef® retailer, Cermak’s Fresh Market, had on Sirloin Tip Roast. Because all Certified Angus Beef® brand surpasses the USDA’s stringent Prime standards and meets ten quality specifications, even inexpensive cuts of meat taste great. It’s just important to cook them correctly for best results. (For recipes, cooking tips and more, be sure to join the Certified Angus Beef® Kitchen Facebook group.) After doing some research, I learned that Sirloin Tip Roast is perfect for ropa vieja.
I served this Instant Pot ropa vieja over rice, as one does, and it was a huge hit with my family. My daughter was very skeptical of the raisins in particular — they turn out to be an integral part of the dish — but she grudingly admitted that it was delicious. Yes, I got a teenager to admit she was wrong about something, people. As for my husband, the next day, he was working from home and he asked worriedly how we would divide the leftover ropa vieja for lunch. (Reader, I let him have it.)
Ingredients
- 3 TB neutral cooking oil such as canola or grapeseed
- 3 lb. Sirloin Tip Roast, cut into 2-inch pieces
- 1 white onion, diced
- 3 mixed red and yellow peppers, cut into thin strips
- 5 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 TB cumin
- 1 TB oregano
- 2 tsp. paprika
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 3/4 cup white wine
- 1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
- 1/4 cup capers, drained
- 1/2 cup golden raisins
- Juice of two limes
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Cilantro
Instructions
- Heat oil in the Instant Pot using the Saute function set on medium.
- Season beef with salt and pepper.
- Add some of beef to the pot, being sure not to overcrowd the pot, and brown on all sides, turning as needed. Remove to a plate. Working in about four batches, brown the remaining pieces of beef.
- When all the beef has been browned, add the onion to the pot, season with salt and pepper and saute until softened, about five minutes.
- Add the peppers and continue to saute another 5-10 minutes until the peppers are soft.
- Add the garlic and spices and stir to combine. Saute a few additional minutes until fragrant.
- Add the white wine and tomatoes and stir to combine. Return the beef to the pot along with any juices that have accumulated.
- Cover and cook on high pressure for 40 minutes. Allow the pressure to release naturally for at least fifteen minutes.
- Remove the top of the Instant Pot and with a slotted spoon, transfer the beef to a large bowl. Using two forks, shred the beef.
- Turn the Instant Pot to the saute function set on low and simmer the sauce to thicken it.
- Return the beef to the sauce along with the capers, raisins and lime juice. Taste and adjust seasoning.
- Serve over rice with cilantro to garnish.
