Vaca Frita! Fried Cow? Holy Cow!!
Vaca Frita, a dish made with flank steak, was brought to the United States by the Cuban immigrants. Its rich flavors and funky name has made it a favorite of Americans, especially in Miami and other southern cities that host a large Cuban population.
Cuban cuisine
Cuban food has diverse influences, from European to African to Antillean. As with Latin American food, Cuban food is humble, yet incredibly flavorful. Again, the ingredients are basic, easy to obtain and also inexpensive. I will most certainly be including more Cuban recipes in this blog. Stay tuned!
Vaca Frita is a close cousin to Ropa Vieja (check blog), with one basic difference: Ropa Vieja is cooked only once while Vaca Frita is cooked twice: once when the meat is stewed and again when pan-fried, hence its colorful name!
The origins of Vaca Frita are also akin to those of Ropa Vieja, which hails from the Canary Islands (off the western coast of north Africa.) Most likely these beef recipes became popular in the plantations where slaves were given the toughest cut of meat. The ingenuity of these people in turning a not so palatable cut of meat into something flavorful and tender is nothing short of amazing.
My first Cuban meal
My first brush with Cuban food was many years ago. While I was growing up my family owned a condo in Miami for business reasons. I would often tag along on these business trips. Even at an early age, and with an undeveloped palate, I found Cuban food to be exploding with flavor. Vaca frita became an instant favorite of mine. My family has since sold the condo, but my husband and I travel to Florida on occasion, and one of my first items on the agenda, is to eat Vaca Frita, accompanied of course by black beans and rice!!
I think you will find Vaca Frita to be a nice addition to your family mealtime. If you are not fond of rice and beans, french fries or mashed potatoes are a great alternative side dish.
If you love Latin food then you have to try some of my all time favorite dishes or bookmark them for later. Here are some of the most popular ethnic dishes, their history and ingredients to make at home.
Mexican Pork Carnitas: Make this in the slow cooker and then broil for crispy goodness.
Cuban Ropa Vieja: A true comfort food of slow cooked beef served over rice.
Recaito: This is the ingredient used in many Latin soups, stews and black beans.
Sofrito: You need to have this base ingredient for Latin style beans and shredded chicken.
Tilapia Ceviche: A citrus cured fish or shrimp appetizer with some kick.
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Cuban Vaca Frita Recipe Card
Cuban vaca frita is a classic dish and you will love the crispy bits of beef that is pan seared to finish the flavorful beef dish. This is season, slow cooked and tenderized with all the aromatic flavors and then seared. This is truly one amazing Latin American dish!
Ingredients
- 2 lbs flank steak
- 2 bay leaves
- 6-8 springs cilantro tied with kitchen twine
- 1 tsp peppercorns
- 3-4 garlic cloves minced
- 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 cup onion thinly sliced
- 1 lime cut into wedges
Seasonings:
- 1 tsp salt paleo diet: sea salt
- 1 tsp oregano
- 2 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
Instructions
- Season flank steak with all the seasonings and allow to rest for about 1 hour.
- In a large skillet saute the onions and garlic until translucent. Add the seasoned flank steak and brown lightly on both sides (about 2 minutes per side.) Add enough water to cover the meat.. Add bay leaves, cilantro sprigs and peppercorns.
- Simmer on low heat until tender (about 1.5 hours)
- Remove the meat from the liquid, place on a cutting board covered and allow to cool for about 20 minutes.
- Slice across the grain into several pieces (about 6). Pound each piece of steak with a meat mallet until it is about half the original thickness.
- Strain the liquid, and add the solids back in the pan with a little olive oil. Fry the steak pieces until slightly brown on both sides. Squeeze lime over meat. Rice and black beans are a great sides.
Kim~madeinaday
My husband loves Cuban food, I haven’t tried enough to decide yet! This dish looks great!Thanks for linking on Merry Monday! Sharing your post today on my G+ Come back next Monday for another great party share! Party opens Sunday night! Have a great week!
Best,
Kim
Analida
Cuban food rocks! I will be posting more Cuban dishes.Thanks for sharing.
Kristen
How can you go wrong with this–looks fabulous! I would love this on a sandwich the next day too!
Analida
Kristen, it would be awesome on a sandwich. I must confess I’ve never done that, but why not?
Denise Wright
Yum! I love how this is cooked twice. I bet it’s tender yet has that nice browned flavor. I have never heard of this but now I sure want to try it. I love all your recipes! They are so usual to me. I’m half Lebanese so I’ve had some unusual middle eastern food but you have a bit of every thing on this site. Keep it coming!
Analida
Thanks Denise! I didn’t know you were half Lebanese. I love Middle Eastern food, the flavors are amazing. I like to dabble in many foods of different cultures.
Arlene
Hi Analida! This flank steak dish looks amazing, but that is not the traditional Cuban vaca frita. For this dish, the flank steak is prepared as above for the first step, but then it is cooled, shredded, then pan fried to a crisp in small batches with sliced onions and garlic.
Thanks!
Arlene Rodriguez
Jade @ Jonesin' For Taste
I can never get enough Cuban food! This is another dish i have to try.
Analida
Go for it Jade. Ins’t Cuban food amazingly delicious?
Joy @ Joy Love Food
Flank steak is one of our favorite cuts of beef, we usually grill it, this sounds like a wonderful preparation and we love Cuban flavors, so I will have to try it soon!
Analida
It’s really yummy! Yes, flank steak is great!!! Let me know how it turns out.
Caroline | carolinescooking
Cuban food is still one I am learning on (it didn’t really get to the UK while I was there and sadly I have never been) but I like all I come across and this too sounds delicious. our photos make it so tempting too!
Analida
Thanks Caroline! Yes, Cuban food is delicious, so full of flavor. My husband is the photographer, 🙂
I admit my photography skills are not the greatest.
lovelife
Seems I just gained 10 pounds by lusting after the meal. Can’t wait to have a share of this nice preparation.
Analida
You are funny!
Yes, sometimes I also feel that I gain weight just by looking at food! 🙂 I think you would like this dish; it is so flavorful.
Jay
Excellent
Analida
Thanks!