Recipe Ropa Vieja de Cerdo

[blades]

Ropa vieja means old clothes in Spanish. It is a classic Latin dish which is braised beef that is shredded and then cooked with sofrito, tomato sauce, condiments and spices. It is served atop long grain rice normally. One might surmise that the original author of the dish thought the shredded meat reminded of tattered old clothes. It is a great dish-very popular in Cuba. It was served from time to time at my grandfather's house in Havana and was one of my favorites. You can find it on the menu at virtually every Cuban restaurant. My wife is allergic to beef so I made a version using pork loin for dinner. Try it. I think you will enjoy it.

Ingredients

2 lb. pork loin quartered along the grain
1 yellow onion sliced
2 green bell peppers sliced lengthwise
1 jalapeno pepper SEEDED and sliced lenghtwise. NOTE: Optional. Cuban food doesn't normally have hot peppers so I stressed that it should be seeded.
4 cloves garlic
2 tsp oregano
2 tsp cumin seeds
2 tsp paprika
1 pinch allspice
1 pinch ground clove
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup chicken stock
15 oz. can crushed tomato
1 cup stuffed green olives halved
1 tbsp capers
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Fill a stock pot with water and put the meat to braise for 2 hours or until it is cooked enough to shred. Remove the meat, shred it and set it aside. Rinse the pot, oil it and saute the sofrito (onion, pepper and garlic) until the bell pepper is soft. Add the remaining ingredients including the reserved shredded pork and simmer uncovered for 15 minutes to reduce the liquids. Serve on rice. I served it with a side of corn and black bean salad.

 

[karadekoolaid]

It is, as you say, a classic in Latin America. Here we call it pabellón criollo ( because we add black beans and fried plantains to the dish) and in Colombia they call it Sobre Barriga.
Excellent choice!

 

[blades]

It is, as you say, a classic in Latin America. Here we call it pabellón criollo ( because we add black beans and fried plantains to the dish) and in Colombia they call it Sobre Barriga.
Excellent choice!

I love the Colombian name for it. The black beans are in the side salad here and the plantains will wait for breakfast tomorrow.

 

[Morning Glory]

Looks good. I like the fact that olives and capers feature alongside earthy spices (allspice, cumin and cloves).

 

[blades]

Looks good. I like the fact that olives and capers feature alongside earthy spices (allspice, cumin and cloves).

The classic recipe has a little less of that. You can make a pulled beef or pork or chicken cooked with sofrito, tomato sauce and a little cumin and it would qualify as a ropa vieja. I'm sure Mr Koolaid can talk about variations in the Venezuelan version. I spent some time looking at internet recipes for pabellon criollo (Venezuela) and sobrebarriga (Colombia). There is ample room for variations to suit anyone's preference. Ropa vieja is the name Cubans give this kind of dish.

I think most dishes benefit from some acid so the wine, green olives and capers brighten up the classic recipe for me and, importantly I had them in stock. I normally add Worcestershire sauce to my picadillo and black beans and you won't find that in traditional recipes. The ropa vieja at my grandfather's house in Havana had olives and pimiento. I used pimiento stuffed green olives because it is what was in the pantry. I look forward to reading about your version.

 

[karadekoolaid]

I'm sure Mr Koolaid can talk about variations in the Venezuelan version

Over here, it's skirt of beef, usually cooked in a pressure cooker until it falls apart. Then the beef is "pulled" into shreds. The basic flavour comes from the sofrito (mirepoix) which is typical of many Venezuelan dishes: onion, ají dulce ( a sweet chile which looks like a habanero, but has no heat) and garlic. Once that's softened, the beef is added, along with water, usually; perhaps the cooking water. Splash of Worcestershire sauce, possibly some soy as well, diced tomato and red bell pepper, and a pinch of cumin.

 

[blades]

Over here, it's skirt of beef, usually cooked in a pressure cooker until it falls apart.

Ah yes, the sobre barriga! Apparently I'm not the only person who uses Worcestershire with traditional Latin recipes. Yes I think the pressure cooker is a good idea and a time saver. I had all day so I didn't fuss with the pressure cooker which I rarely use. Traditional ropa vieja is also beef, usually one of the tougher cuts like flank steak that benefits from the brasising.