Vaca frita

Ingredients

Beef

• 1 kgflank steak or brisket
• 1onion
• 1carrot
• 2bay leaves
• 1 tsppeppercorns
• salt
• water to cover

Marinade

• juice of 4 limes
• 6 clovesgarlic, crushed
• 1 tspground cumin
• 1 tspdried oregano
• salt and black pepper

To fry

• 4 tbspoil, or lard
• 2large onions, sliced into rings

To serve

• white rice
• black beans
• fried plantain
• lime wedges

Directions

1. Use flank steak or brisket, with a clear grain running through it. Those cuts have long muscle fibres that separate into strands when cooked and pulled, which is exactly what you need. Simmer the beef with the onion, carrot, bay and peppercorns for about 1 hour 30 minutes. Keep it at a gentle simmer rather than a boil, which toughens the meat. It is done when it pulls apart easily with two forks.
2. Keep the broth, which is good stock. Pull the meat apart along the grain into long thin strands. Shred it into genuinely thin strands rather than chunks. Thin pieces have far more surface to crisp, and a thick lump will never fry properly.
3. Toss the shredded beef with lime juice, crushed garlic, cumin, oregano and plenty of salt and pepper. Use a great deal of lime. It is the defining flavour of vaca frita and it also brightens what is otherwise a fairly plain boiled meat.
4. Leave it for at least an hour, and longer is better. Before frying, squeeze the marinated beef out and pat it thoroughly dry. Spread it on kitchen paper and press it dry.
5. Keep the squeezed-out marinade, since a little goes back in at the end. Now the frying, and the pan must be hot and not crowded. Heat the oil in a wide heavy pan or a cast iron frying pan until it shimmers. Add the beef in a single layer, in batches. Fry it in batches with space around it.
6. Let it sit for 3 or 4 minutes without moving it. That uninterrupted contact with the hot pan is what forms the crust, and constant stirring gives you warm shredded beef instead.
7. Turn it and press it again, and repeat until much of it is deep brown and genuinely crisp. Some strands should be almost frazzled, which is correct. Fry the sliced onions separately until soft and golden with browned edges. Cook them separately rather than with the beef, since they release water and would stop it crisping.
8. Add the onions to the crisp beef and squeeze over the remaining marinade and a little fresh lime. Let it hiss for a few seconds and take it straight off the heat. Add the lime at the very end so its brightness survives, and do not cook it in.
9. Taste it and season it to finish. Serve it immediately, with white rice, black beans and fried plantain. Serve extra lime wedges at the table. It must be eaten straight away, since the crisp edges soften within minutes.

Technique

• Ropa vieja is the saucy stewed version and vaca frita the dry crisp one.
• Drying the meat before frying is the essential step.
• It is western Cuban and is closely associated with Havana.

Substitutions

• Brisket or skirt in place of flank.
• Chicken, as vaca frita de pollo.

Variations

• Made with chicken.
• With a splash of the cooking broth added at the end.
• With more onion, which many prefer.

History

Shredded beef, first boiled until tender then pan-fried until crisp at the edges, seasoned with garlic, lime and onion, developed in Cuban cooking as a way of transforming boiled beef, often leftover from making a beef broth, into a distinctly different textured dish through a second cooking step. Its name, meaning literally fried cow, directly describes the dish’s defining preparation technique, and the contrast between the beef’s tender interior and crisp, caramelised exterior edges is considered essential to a well-made vaca frita. It remains a popular dish across Cuba and within Cuban-American communities in the United States, commonly served with white rice, black beans and fried plantain.

Frequently asked questions

What is Vaca frita?

Vaca frita is a main from Cuba: crisped shredded beef with lime and onions. Shredded beef, first boiled until tender then pan-fried until crisp at the edges, seasoned with garlic, lime and onion, developed in Cuban cooking as a way of transforming boiled beef, often leftover from making a beef broth, into a distinctly different textured dish through a second cooking step. Its name, meaning literally fried cow, directly describes the dish’s defining preparation technique, and the contrast between the beef’s tender interior and crisp, caramelised exterior edges is considered essential to a well-made vaca frita. It remains a popular dish across Cuba and within Cuban-American communities in the United States, commonly served with white rice, black beans and fried plantain.

How long does Vaca frita take to make?

Vaca frita takes 20 min plus 1 hr marinating of preparation and 1 hr 30 min of cooking. The recipe makes 4 servings. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Vaca frita?

Yes, within limits. Brisket or skirt in place of flank. Chicken, as vaca frita de pollo.

What is the most important thing to get right in Vaca frita?

Use flank steak or brisket, with a clear grain running through it. Those cuts have long muscle fibres that separate into strands when cooked and pulled, which is exactly what you need. Simmer the beef with the onion, carrot, bay and peppercorns for about 1 hour 30 minutes. Keep it at a gentle simmer rather than a boil, which toughens the meat. It is done when it pulls apart easily with two forks.