I’m a HUGE slow cooking fan, and this was one of the first recipes I made when I got my first slow cooker. Ropa vieja is Spanish for “old clothes”. The name for this dish comes from the shredded beef, which looks like old, tattered clothing. This dish is traditionally braised for hours on the stove top, until the meat is tender enough to shred. That makes it the kind of dish that needs a bit of planning. My slow cooker version captures all the deliciousness of this traditional Cuban dish, and makes it weeknight friendly! You need about 10-15 minutes to prep the slow cooker, and then you just set it and go about your day. You can even do all this prep the night before and just pop the ceramic insert into the fridge (covered). In the morning, pop the insert into the slow cooker, turn it on, and you’re done! Come home to a fully cooked roast that’s ready for shredding and serving in 15 minutes or less.

Ingredients