Ropa Vieja/ Carne Desmechada (Cuban/Colombian Shredded Beef) | Kenji's Cooking Show
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 11 ก.ค. 2022
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Daniel Gritzer has a good ropa vieja recipe on Serious Eats, here: www.seriouseats.com/ropa-viej...
Here is a carne desmechada recipe from My Colombian Recipes, which is a great Colombian recipe site: www.mycolombianrecipes.com/sh... - แนวปฏิบัติและการใช้ชีวิต
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The way the steak fit into the bottom of the dutch oven was very satisfying
The triangle piece at the end was really something
I held my breath a little 😮💨
The way the glass enameled dutch oven screamed as he scraped those metal forks against the bottom of it made me cry.
@@fennecbesixdouze1794 real
It made me laugh at the end when you were telling us this is what ropa vieja looks like when it cooks longer, and pretty much all we could see was the lid of the pot propped against the backsplash. Not complaining at all, it’s a pain to angle a camera correctly when it’s on your head, I’m just amused. And hungry! Your ropa vieja looks amazing.
That and the mistimed first snap, lol. Kenji, I'll edit your videos for free
@@TomMathew1981 I think that one was on purpose cuz he looked over and saw the cumin still there 🤣🤣
Lol totally agree, like why did he even include that footage at the end 😂. Probably trolling us
Totally pissed me off! Like offering me a taste of something, then popping it in your own mouth .
@@juneauesque pissed off at the youtube man!!
As a Cuban, I'd say the only things my family adds differently are a little garlic powder and "Sazón completa" or "Adobo" powder (which is mostly powdered onion and garlic with some MSG), as well as a splash of wine at the end! The wine really helps to cut through the greasiness a little bit and add a little needed acidity. We always add bay leaves too, kind of a Cuban staple. Otherwise, seems great and authentic! :)
Call me crazy pero vaca frita > ropa vieja
@@helix031 you're not crazy, you're correct haha
Agree. Most of the Cuban families I knew (as well as my own) also put raisins and went heavier on the olives. Also ours was way thicker than his, less soupy. The sour olives with the sweet raisins are something special!
@@meikgeik how would you recommend to thicken it up? Kenji's looks good but I tend to like stuff like this less soupy
@@fuzzbuttles I mean you can ways add a bit of cornstarch slurry to thicken it, or just let it cook and evaporate longer
Maybe this was obvious to everyone else but Kenji just blew my mind with that stove top vs oven comparison with regard to temperature consistency. I have learned so much from watch Kenji's videos
Thank you Kenji. I lost my mother to pancreatic cancer a week ago, but I spent the entirety of the pandemic cooking for her, before and after she got sick. I took a lot of recipes and inspiration from your videos, and I feel very lucky to have discovered your videos and your books. Thanks again
Hope you're doing ok Nick, so sorry for your loss. Sounds like she raised a caring and intelligent son.
Hugs, man 🫂 I'm sure she enjoyed your company and cooking during her fight with cancer.
I lost my mom to pancreatic cancer in January, on her birthday, so I feel your pain deeply. I wish I would have been able to cook for her more, but last year I asked my local In-N-Out for packets of their spread, packed them on ice in a cooler, and drove them from Southern California to El Paso, TX. I did my best to recreate an In-N-Out burger for her and she absolutely loved it. I have so many fond memories of her showing me how to cook and making me delicious, comforting food as a kid, so I had to return the favor. Big hugs to you, Nick. It sounds like your mom knew how much you loved her. 🫂
@@ixD9 Hugs all around Ivan. Nothing says I love you mom quite like a good meal.
The best part about your videos is you just feel so casual. And you give easy alternatives while your doing it. It makes these recipes look so doable. So many channels like these are so strict with every step but you make these look approachable. I really feel I can make this at home because you make it seem that way. Thank you
Put leftover Ropa Vieja on a toasted hoagie roll or ciabatta or baguette and melt some cheese onto it for the most glorious sandwich🤤
Kenji whipping out the homemade chicken stock is the biggest flex every single time
Interesting take on orientation of peppers, Kenji.
I do the opposite. If I have a dull knife I ALWAYS place skin side down. My reasoning is that the dull knife is more likely to "slip" on the skin, and the fleshy side is easier to "grip" for the dull knife. Plus when you get to the skin (with flesh side up orientation), you can use the cutting board that's in contact with the skin to sandwich it...helping the dull knife to cut through it.
I may have to experiment
This is what I was always told too, skin down so the knife doesn't slip. As someone who keeps their knives sharp I never listened and cut which ever way I felt, but I have had it pointed out to me on several occasions.
That's what I've always thought too
Agree... I always prefer skin side down, with either dull or sharp knifes.. it always felt safer that way.. too many Bad experiences with skin side up ...
same
Was about to comment this. Also, with skin side down, even if the knife is blunt and has trouble cutting through the skin, it wont crush the rest of the pepper since all the soft flesh has already been cut through and isn't under the skin.
This seems pretty intuitive, so either Kenji is wrong about something in his video, which is rare, or something that seems intuitive and completely reasonable is actually wrong.
That’s hilarious! I kept seeing you blow by the cumin and oregano and I was like, “when is he gonna put that in?!” 😂
Just sat down to relax, didn't know what to watch. Opened TH-cam and was greeted with a 27 minute Kenji video; exactly what I needed!
There's a dish in portuguese cuisine with the same name, "roupa velha". It's made from the leftovers of Christmas Eve's traditional boiled salted codfish (bacalhau), which is served with cabbage, carrots, onions, potatoes and sometimes other vegetables, all boiled in the same water. Roupa Velha is traditionally eaten the next day (Christmas day) and mixes all of those vegetables and the codfish, adding some of the water that they were boiled, in a delicious shredded pot of goodness. To my knowledge (and I am portuguese) it is really only eaten in that occasion, since the whole two day/leftover thing is really crucial to its flavor. Just wanted to share since the name reaminded me of this, and it tastes so good when eaten in that special occasion.
I regularly make salt fish with cabbage and carrots, but now I have to investigate this day after dish since it sounds so delicious. Thanks!
The best part of a Portuguese Xmas for sure
I love the after explanation. Very useful for dialing in the texture. As Chef John says, “That’s just you cooking”. It’s SUCH an important concept for home cooks (like me) to get. I’ve cooked since I was a kid, and feel comfortable modifying to taste and preference, but I’ve met so many that do not feel the same way. This type of example really helps folks out.
Follow a recipe to the letter until you know what it tastes like. Then feel free to jam. Same thing with music, writing... life.
Love the detail and information that you provide to the viewer, I feel like I learned a lot watching your videos
Your videos are my favorite on youtube, they lower my stress so much and I learn a ton. You're a gem. Thanks Kenji 🤘🤘🤘
I'm really glad you talk about the science of what's going on in cooking! It's super important that people actually UNDERSTAND how to cook and not just blindly follow recipes. It also helps to stop the spread of misinformation! Thanks Kenji for all you do!
Always appreciate braised beef and a good Goonies reference.
So excited to watch this, just saw the title and clicked right away. Kenji making one of my childhood favorites, there's no way I'm missing this video. Thanks for the Cuban love!
Thank you Cuba, thank you Colombia and thank you Kenji. This dish was delicious
My Cuban mom never added olives and I never saw them when eating in Cuban restaurants, either. One thing she did was pull the pieces of flank steak out, shred them on a board, then put them back in. There’s a wonderful non-tomato version version, no spices or peppers, just garlic and lemon juice, called vaca frita. That’s even better. The searing happens *after* the shredding and you get bits of toasted meat. Now I want to go and make it!
I have been in utter love with this recipe since I tried Chef John’s. I will have to try using the oven and branching out on olives like you have though! Thanks Kenji
Always gotta appreciate kenji. Everything he does is usually pretty spot on and correctly made with very few exceptions. It's a rare quality in youtube chefs unfortunately.
Thanks for introducing us to another interesting dish, I've never heard of Kenji. Appreciate the education. Looks fantastic
orange bells have always been my favorite, both for snacking for their sweetness and cooking for their sweetness☺️☺️
The whole theory of desensitizing yourself to the dish by smelling it all day and thus finding it tastes better the next day was kind of brilliant and definitely makes sense when you think about it. I suppose that letting the meat sit in the braising liquid overnight might also serve as a marination of sorts, albeit less effective since the muscle proteins are now cooked, which might improve dishes that were only exposed to the flavorful liquid for a relatively short period during the braise.
Thanks for posting Kenji, definitely understand the exhaustion that comes from kids, especially infants! Love your instruction and real-time footage!
Love it…very clear your instructions.
Came for the cool ingredients, stayed for the best ingredient of all time, all the knowledge you serve us
Has to be one of the funniest episodes! Brilliant 👌🏻
19:39 Kenji with another clutch Goonies reference 👌👌👌
We have a similar dish here in Brazil 🇧🇷 It's called "Carne Louca" (literally "Crazy Meat"). Insanely tasty. One of my favorite dishes for sure!
I noticed you forgot to toast the spices right after you remembered you had cherry tomatoes, every time you turned around I wanted to remind you 😭😂
Always love the videos thanks!
But wait--did anybody else's mind get blown when he said that the pimento peppers in olives are usually just pimento flavored agar agar jelly cubes?
I knew that olives were stuffed with “pimento” but I had zero idea what pimento was 🫒🫑
@@yay-cat Come to the south and get you a pimento cheese sandwich.
That makes so much sense 😵💫
He did say this, but a google search doesn't easily produce any verification...
It’s true but it’s actually done with sodium alginate not agar, loads of common foods are prepared this way or at least aspects of commonly eaten foods
Yeahhh, that first shred was like hearing nails on a chalkboard. I thought another hour was needed to melt the meat and the shred should be inaudible. Fortunately you found that out too. The best ropa vieja burrito I ever had was from a food truck in L.A. at midnight after the club.
Made this the same day the vid came out, but with chicken (what I had in the fridge). Superb recipe. Can recommend anyone to try this. Super simple. Amazing flavour
Thank you SO MUCH for explaining the different forms of myoglobin! I never knew this and like you said, just assumed the steak wasn’t too fresh. Now I know!
I appreciated the explanation on the stove/oven cooking comparison, thank you
Yeah! Excited to try this!
Thank you for this!
Love this new video!!
Combined thyme pun and Goonies reference, very nice 👌
Posted right as my break at work starts, perfect :D
Yes, many Jews will prepare a braised dish on Friday to be left in an oven all night for Saturday lunch/dinner. It's called cholent. I personally use a slow cooker to prepare Saturday meals.
As for dishes tasting better the next day, that has most definitely been my experience with Chinese style fried rice.
Mind blown about the “stews are better the next day” myth.
Also my three year old daughter has requested a “Pipo’s Cooking Adventures” animated show after reading Every Night is Pizza Night. Just throwing that out there.
22:00 the scraping of those metal forks against that gorgeous enameled Le Creuset is making me break out in cold sweats
oh my god, kenji doing my favorite childhood meal, a great surprise!
I love ropa vieja. Dunno why I've never tried making it before, now I gotsta.
Great recipe that I've made a number of times! I always struggle following the recipe from this video, so here is my version of the transcribed recipe. Hopefully it helps you all out!
Main Ingredients
- 1.5 to 2 pounds flank steak, cut against the grain into smaller slabs
- 3-6 bell peppers (any), sliced
- 1 yellow onion, sliced
- 6 cloves of garlic, sliced
- 1 Tbs oregano
- 1 Tbs cumin
- 2 cups crushed tomatoes (canned, fresh, any)
- 2 to 3 cups chicken stock (or water)
- Salt and pepper (start with 1 tsp each, then adjust to taste)
- 14 ounces olives, green or black, sliced or whole
Optional Ingredients
- Poblano or jalapeno peppers, sliced
- Small fresh tomatoes, halved
- 2-4 Tbs tomato paste
- 1-2 bay leaves
- Sprigs of thyme
- Juice of half a lemon, or more to taste
Instructions
1. Add 2 Tbs olive oil to a heavy-bottomed pot, such as a dutch oven. Set over medium-high heat.
2. Add the chopped flank steak in a single layer and sear (this is optional, but adds flavor). Continue prepping ingredients.
3. Slice the peppers, onion, and garlic. Remove the meat once seared, and set aside. Add the peppers and onions to the pot over medium heat and cook until softened.
4. Add the garlic, oregano and cumin, cook 30 seconds until aromatic. If using, add fresh tomatoes and tomato paste now.
5. Add the crushed tomatoes, stir, then add 2 to 3 cups stock. Season with salt and pepper.
6. Add the meat back to the pot, nestling it into the liquid. If using, add bay leaves and fresh thyme now.
7. Allow to come to a simmer over medium heat, then lower heat to and partially cover.
8. Simmer (not boil) for several hours. Start testing for doneness after 2 hours. If liquid reduces too low, add water and/or cover with lid. The meat is done if you can just shred it with a fork.
9. Shred the meat into the liquid. Remove bay leaves and thyme, if applicable. Add olives, stir, and taste for salt and pepper.
10. Serve with rice, black beans, plantains, or whatever you want.
Thanks man
I use a mixture of red onion, red and orange bell peppers, and poblano peppers and I really like it. Doesn't add really any noticeable heat but certainly more flavor than green bell pepper. Also it's much better with mexican oregano rather than greek oregano imo.
I'd love to see a video on the best way to sharpen your knives or how you keep them as sharp as possible. Also how you clean your massive cutting board!
As a Cuban I have never seen ropa vieja be made like this but I'm sure it's still good!
This is the gangster version
@@boxscorewatcher413 fax
@@boxscorewatcher413 more like the gentrified version
How it is made originally? Como se hace en realidad? Tengo esa duda 😅 en México hay un platillo de nombre similar pero dudo que sea la misma receta
They make it this way in every cuban restaurant I've had it at in Miami 3 or 4... maybe they used tomato paste as well but I've made this and when we use tomato paste the tomato flavor is to strong.
Es la mejor receta de ropa vieja que he visto.
Just made this sooo good
There’s a chain cafe/restaurant in Southern California (LA and Orange County…hoping San Diego soon) called Porto’s Bakery that serves the Cuban version of ropa vieja. This version looks as delicious. Thank you, Kenji, for another great recipe.
Thanks for this.
I love how he causally grabs things from his fridge and is just like I should use these tomatoes up first. I’m lucky if I remember if I have milk in mine.
I've been intuitively preparing bell peppers like that for the past several months. Seeing you do it has me feeling mad validated.
I've wanted to make Ropa Vieja since grad school. I even had a coworker's grandmother's recipe at one point. I'm now finally inspired. Thank you! 💚🤍🧡 and ❤🤍💙
nice video, i love your style
The way I was taught to prep peppers was to square off the top and bottom then cut in and 'roll' the pepper around with your knife removing the core. No seeds and no waste as you can use the top and bottom pieces, and your main section is all squared off and really easy to work with.
Come for the tasty looking food, stay for the food science lessons 👌I'm so gonna try this sooner rather than later (probably with something a bit spicier than a poblano, but not too crazy). Sounds super tasty.
Nice dish. It also looks pretty common for any Mediterranean country.
this looks awesome! I haven't had good Ropa Vieja since I lived in southern Florida. With some yellow rice and fried plantains!
definitely need an arepa video
Looks awesome! And I love the choice to go with whatever ingredients are cheap and good. It’s a great way to shop and cook.
I love the Cuban version with olives (I first had it in Vinales and then have made it 2-3 times at home since then)... this looks yummy, too.
I'm old school Cuban and I have never seen Cuban Ropa Vieja with olives. Olives will give it a slight bitter/sour taste to it, which ropa vieja is not known.
Appreciated the subtle Goonies reference - just for that I'll have to try this!
I made this pretty similar to how you described but I was short on time so I transferred to the InstantPot instead of putting the Dutch oven in the oven (after browning the meat, cooking the veg and making sure to get some good colour on the tomato paste & spices). Cooked on low heat, high pressure for 1hr, then removed and shredded the meat, reduced the sauce back on stovetop, and warmed the meat in the sauce. I liked the texture of the meat, not dry at all. I don't want to be that substitutions commenter, but I thought this was a really good option to save a little time if it helps anyone else a bit short on time(or unable to budget for the cook time uncertainty).
So glad I found this channel. Science, cultural history, delicious food. Not much of a meat eater, but I'd eat this. A couple of times it seemed like the go pro on your head showed up in the video. Maybe a head lamp? Or have you got two means of filming overhead?
This looks fantastic. By the way, congrats on (at time of writing) 1.2M+ subscribers and counting, fabulous work and well deserved (you're popular because you're awesome).
In our cuban household we first braise the beef separately with onion, bay leaf, and oregano in water or broth. Then once the meat is done and cooling a bit we make the sofrito (onions/peppers/garlic/cumin) and tomato sauce. Then add the shredded beef to the sofrito-tomato mixture. Otherwise the onions and peppers get terribly mushy.
You gotta love how Shabu misses the food everytime and Jamòn calmly catches it.
Rest in Peace Shabu.
I'm Cuban and while this may not be the most traditional, I'd still eat it because it still looks pretty damn good and I'm sure it tastes great!
9:08 - I'm big into coffee brewing and I've always thought about this! I wonder to myself why the coffee tastes better out on the porch, or as soon as I take it out of the house. Thanks for confirming I'm not crazy
so impressive when Kenji just perfectly tiled the pieces of steak into the Dutch oven at 3:00
My wife's favorite dish! Serve with moros y christianos and plantains and she's very happy! I was taught the dish from a Cuban chef, so to answer your question in the video with a sample size of one the Cuban version of the dish does sear the meat.
need a note in the description about which knife is being used. always impressed by your cool kitchen knifes
This is very similar to the carne michada that I use for Pabellon. My MIL who lived in Venezuela for many years swears by the use of Heinz 57 in the recipe. Also, I switched up using the traditional flank steak for chuck roast for it's more tender and meaty flavor. Either way I'm sure it's very similar to the Colombian Carne Desmichada
Miso soup especially cabbage, crab or clam tastes better the next day and tastes great cold as well
The sound of the fork scraping the dutch oven 💀
Omg thank you. That was killing me, I wanted to yell at him.
Isn't a dutch oven's enamel essentially glass? You might leave a mark like a spoon on a cereal bowl, but that is a tiny bit of metal from the utensil sticking to the glass, not the glass getting damaged.
Nails on a chalk boardd
@@washingtonirving1345 the enamel is a glass coating, your bowl is probably ceramic. Don't use metal on a dutch oven
@@disturbed157 the coating on a glazed ceramic is glass
Been waiting for this one….
Here in Brazil we call this recipe "Crazy Meat". We usually put the meat inside a small 'ish bread and eat it like that. When I was a kid back in the early 2000's, this dish was very common at birthday parties.
Man. I just made shredded beef this past weekend and was looking for something like this from you. Let’s see what I could’ve done better!
@Kenji- When and where in your cooking do you prefer the different mortar and pestle styles?
very nice
Very nice God bless you
Hey Kenji! Love your videos and have made several of your dishes at home. I wanted to get your take on Instapots? Is this dish something you feel could benefit from that cooking method? Or would simmering/oven develop more flavor over a longer period?
Thanks!
Love the oven option. BTW - the posted recipe is different from video.
Goonies never say die
Excellent and easy recipe! ✨
Just thot about this… I think Filipino Caldereta is most similar to Ropa Vieja… cuz peppers and olives.
Makes sense… as it’s also Spanish roots.
After mentioning it so much with regard to the stages of meat breakdown, we finally get to see Kenji make Ropa Vieja! I might be a bit too excited
Hello Kenji, I really love this one. It reminds me a bit of the way swiss steak looks. Braising beef in a tomatoey base is just so delicious.
p.s. I always knew those darn pimentos were a lie! lol
The pimiento was an "oh god, I've been LIED to!" moment
Interesting point about whether foods taste better the next day. Ive often thought about this being the cook my house. When you cook all day you know the benefit of giving yourself some space from the food to be able to appreciate and even assess it, so that makes a lot of sense.
Also, as a cuban american, as others noted def adobo and bay leaf (though the adobo is prob a more recent thing, cheaper easy flavor enhancers like bullion are no doubt more modern innovation) and my grandma was def more on the spanish side of cuban cooking, adding raisins, olives and escabeche (of bell peppers) to these sorts of dishes
i'm from mexico. My mother used to cook this but the sauce was made with tomatoes and chipotle peppers
You look very good with this moustache :)
there's a spanish plate also named ropa vieja, but it's fairly different, it mostly uses the leftovers of cocido and decent meat scraps you have around the kitchen along with some vegetables to make a kitchen sink stir fry, humble but filling (and heavy) food
Hi Kenji, does that wok ring work on your stove kitchen?
hope you will share your arepa recipe. masarepa not always available - wondered what your view was on substitutes
As a spaniard is always interesting to find dishes that have travel away, to see how they have changed with time and the availability of ingredients. In Spain nowadays, ropa vieja is made the day before you eat cocido with the chickpeas and the shreded meat leftover, all sauted with some tomato.
This dish is very similar to a filipino dish named mechado, another country Spain brutally colonized
@@lowbrown4206 Are there non brutal colonizations?
@@Mumumuth I guess compared to other examples, the British colonisation of Malaya was relatively non-brutal. At least in terms of violence and bloodshed.
In Portugal "roupa velha" is also a dish made from leftovers but from the Bacalhau (codfish) used on Christmas Eve dinner. A big pot with codfish cabbage, eggs, my grandma used lots of vinegar too, would fit quite well in the dish
@@AshMenon I didn't know that, thanks for sharing. I guess the name is what is shared between all these dishes, along with the concept of "reusing" leftovers, and it's just adapated to each region cuisine/ingredients.