About this Dish
Cuba's national dish — shredded beef slow-braised in a tomato, pepper and onion sauce until the meat pulls into long, tender strands resembling old tattered clothes (which is what the name means). Served with black beans, white rice and sweet plantain. The dish has roots in the Canary Islands and spread through Cuba with Spanish colonisation. One of the great braises of world cuisine.
IngredientsServes 4
🥩Flank steak or beef brisket, 1kg
🍅Crushed tomatoes, 400g tin
🫑Green and red bell peppers, 1 of each, thinly sliced
🧅White onion, 1 large, thinly sliced
🧄Garlic cloves, 6, minced
🫒Pimento-stuffed green olives, 80g, roughly chopped
🍷Dry white wine, 120ml
🧂Ground cumin, 1 tsp; smoked paprika, 1 tsp; dried oregano, 1 tsp; bay leaves, 2
🥫Beef stock, 500ml
🫙Tomato paste, 2 tbsp
Method
1
Season the flank steak generously with salt and pepper. Heat a splash of oil in a large heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven over high heat and sear the steak for 3–4 minutes per side until deeply browned, then set aside.2
Reduce the heat to medium and add the onions and peppers to the same pot, scraping up any browned bits. Cook for 6–8 minutes until softened, then add the garlic, cumin, paprika and oregano and stir for another minute until fragrant.3
Add the tomato paste and cook for 2 minutes, then pour in the white wine and let it bubble and reduce by half. Add the crushed tomatoes, beef stock and bay leaves, then nestle the seared steak back into the pot — the liquid should come about halfway up the meat.4
Bring to a gentle simmer, then cover and cook on the lowest heat for 2.5 to 3 hours, turning the beef once halfway through, until the meat is completely tender and falls apart when pressed with a fork.5
Remove the steak to a board and use two forks to shred it into long, rough strands — the longer and more ragged the better. Remove and discard the bay leaves from the sauce.6
Return the shredded beef to the pot along with the chopped olives, stir everything together and simmer uncovered for a further 10–15 minutes so the meat soaks up the sauce and it thickens to a rich, glossy consistency. Taste and adjust salt as needed.7
Serve piled over white rice with black beans on the side and slices of fried sweet plantain, spooning plenty of the sauce over everything.User Reviews
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