Old Clothes

This week's special.   Old Clothes/ Ropa Vieja.

Popular Cuban Dish.






My brother Martyn put me on to this dish many months ago. I got around to making it today.  It is GOOD!

Unfortunately I did not pay close attention to the recipe, and to  the cheaper cuts of beef which serves it well.

I used bottom round which never became malleable enough to shred.

Flank or chuck steak would have been better -  after long and low temperature cooking those cuts are easily shredded with two forks -
creating meat which looks like old torn clothes.

I slow cooked then cubed the bottom round.  The flavour was good, but the dish never looked like ragged old clothes.

Given the current extremely high price for all meats, many of us will be searching out those cheaper cuts which cooked carefully (which means slowly)  have great flavour.

Many of us grew up on the flavour filled cheaper cuts of beef, lamb and pork.  We did well, thanks to our wise and skillful mothers who were as skilled as are 2022 Cuban women.



How Ropa Vieja should look.




P.S.  There are scores of Ropa Vieja recipes on line.

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