What is the best recipe for ropa vieja/ carne mechada?

Ropa vieja is a Cuban dish, resembling old clothes, braised shredded flank steak with a number of vegetables. Carne mechada is the Venezuelan equivalent. I have found several sources for the recipe but not sure what is best.

GIOVANNI50
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6 Comments

PG B.
PG B. January 27, 2015
Ropa Vieja is a dish that is both beautiful and delicious.

This is an excellent recipe, looks spot on. https://food52.com/recipes/2954-ropa-vieja
 
GIOVANNI50
GIOVANNI50 June 28, 2013
Grazie Pierino.
 
GIOVANNI50
GIOVANNI50 June 28, 2013
Thanks. But ropa vieja is not the same as vaca frita. Thanks for trying to answer.
 
pierino
pierino June 28, 2013
Giovanni, first I would be fibbing if I said that I was an expert on this but I do have some familiarity with Cubano/Puerto Rican cooking. Yes, Roba Vieja literally means "old clothes". I think you could also use brisket for this---something that will break down during braising.
First make a soffrito; onions, peppers, LOTS of chopped garlic, cilantro and tomatoes. Give the meat a dry rub with salt, ground cumin, onion powder, black pepper. Add to the soffrito along with stock. Braise away. I hope this works because I don't Google recipes. That's just an annoying distraction from real cooking. Keep in mind that cubano/puerto rican style does use lot's of garlic.
 
sexyLAMBCHOPx
sexyLAMBCHOPx June 28, 2013
I've only tried those dishes in restaurants but made this recipe from the site: http://food52.com/recipes/13352-vaca-frita
 
GIOVANNI50
GIOVANNI50 June 28, 2013
Did this question stump my fave chefs on the net?
 
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