Ropa Vieja

Here's a rather well-known beef dish, originally from the Canary Islands and now popular across the Caribbean and the southern United States, particularly around Miami. The name (ROH-pah vee-AY-hah) means "old clothes" and refers to the way the meat shreds into strings-an unflattering way to describe a terrific meal.

We used skirt steak, rather than the more traditional flank steak, because the skirt steak will end up in shorter threads and be easier to eat. Also, it's a far more flavorful cut.

Serve It Up!
Ropa Vieja is most often served with white rice and a pot of tender, saucy black beans.

Ingredients Explained
Prized for its good flavor, like a steak version of a chuck roast, a skirt steak is from a group of muscles on the underbelly in front of the cow's flank. This long, thin steak is familiar as the original cut used for fajitas; it was also called "Roumanian tenderloin" in old-school delis.

Keeps on Warm: 6 hours