I can still remember the first time I had Cuban food. I was in college and I was home for one of the holidays. My sister was RAVING about this small Mom and Pop restaurant named Rincon Criollo on Las Vegas Blvd near a few… questionable stores with a shady parking lot. Good thing we went during the day (^_^). I’m a little sad as I write this because Yelp tells me that it’s closed :(. Anyways, I fell in love with Vaca Frita (Fried Beef) and Maduros (Fried Sweet Plantains) that day. I’ve tried a few other Cuban dishes over the years, but Vaca Frita is still my favorite. TIP: If you’re on vacation and are hungry near a Bongos/Larios, EAT THERE! I know, it’s a Gloria and Emilio Estefan restaurant, but it’s SOOOO good. Living in Baltimore, there isn’t much selection when it comes to ethnic food. I can get my fill of plantains at the local Peruvian Chicken Place, Chicken Rico, but I found an awesome and simple recipe for vaca frita at Hungry Sofia. This recipe is a little time consuming, but super worth it. The first step is to prep the beef. What you’ll need for this step:
1 ½ lbs flank steak (cut into thirds or fourths depending on your pot size)- 1 green bell pepper (cut in half and cored)
- 1 onion (I used a large Vidalia onion cut in quarters)
- 1 garlic clove
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp whole peppercorns
This is the easy part, you’re just going to put all of the ingredients in a saucepan, add water until the ingredients are mostly covered, partially cover the pan with a lid, and bring to a boil over medium heat for twenty minutes.
Tip: If you want to save the liquid (beef stock) to use afterwards, you will need to remove the impurities that you will see floating on the top. I just skim off the sludgy stuff with a spoon or a skimmer.
After twenty minutes, let the meat rest and cool. Once it is cool enough for you to touch, you’re going to shred the meat. I can get pretty OCD, so I remove all the fat/veins/anything that doesn’t look like the meat.
The second step is to marinate the beef. You will need:
- 3 TBSP Olive Oil
- 2 Limes (I know, there’s only one in the picture, but I used two.)
- 4 Garlic Cloves (more or less depending on how garlic-y you want it)
- 1 TSP Salt
Using a mortar and pestle or a knife, you’re going to mash the garlic into a paste. TIP: As a shortcut, you can use a garlic press and then mash in the salt.
Next, you’re going to zest the limes and juice them. Once the garlic-salt paste and lime juice-lime zest mixture are done, you’re going to mix both along with the olive oil into the shredded beef. The beef should be coated with the mixture, but not drowning in it. You’ll want this to marinate for at least an hour, but overnight in the fridge is always best.
Step three is to cook! You will need:
- 1 onion (I used another Vidalia onion)
- Lime (for garnish)
- Butter
- Olive Oil
You’re going to slice off each end of the onion, then cut the onion into slices (julienne-esc).
At this point, you can either add the onions to the meat mixture, or keep them separate. I keep them separate because I prefer my onions more caramelized and its easier to control the cooking of the onions versus the meat. (It’s also to keep them separated for those of you that have picky eaters (^_^).) You’re going to cook the beef in batches until all of the meat is done. I like to use my nonstick with a little butter and olive oil for the meat and a cast iron with butter for the onions. I like to mix the caramelized onions and beef in the last batch to eat for myself (^_^).
It’s all ready to eat!!! YUM!!! I like to serve mine with lime wedges, plantains, and garlic rice. I’ll be the first to admit, I haven’t completely mastered plantains yet, but the ones I sauté in butter do the job or I’ll just buy the deep fried ones from Chicken Rico (^_^) (That’s probably the secret, deep frying haha. Isn’t it always?!). I infuse garlic into oil, fry up some garlic chips, and mix in lime and salt for the rice. Here’s a nifty print out of the recipe!! Hope you enjoy!!
- 1½ lbs flank steak (cut into thirds or fourths depending on your pot size)
- 1 green bell pepper (cut in half and cored)
- 2 Vidalia onions (one cut into quarters, one sliced into julienne-esc pieces)
- 5 garlic cloves (one whole, four mashed)
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp peppercorns
- 3 limes (two juiced and zested, one cut into wedges)
- olive oil
- butter
- Place the steak, bell pepper, quartered onion, bay leaf, peppercorns, whole garlic clove, and one teaspoon of salt in a saucepan. Fill the saucepan with water until the meat is covered. Boil for twenty minutes.
- After twenty minutes, take the meat out of the saucepan to cool and rest.
- Shred the meat once it is cool enough for you to handle.
- Marinate the meat with the garlic-salt paste, lime-juice/lime-zest, and olive oil for one hour or over night in the fridge.
- Caramelize the sliced onion in butter in a cast iron skillet.
- Fry the beef in batches until the meat has been browned.
- Enjoy!
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