Pulled Beef - Venezuelan Pabellon Criollo

PaulaG's Note:

Recipe by Tyler Florence

• Total Time: 2 hrs 20 mins
• Prep Time: 20 mins
• Cook Time: 2 hrs

Ingredients:

Servings: 6

• 7 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 2 onions, chopped
• 1 (1 1/2 lb) flank steaks
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 red bell peppers, chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, chopped
• tomato, drained and hand-crushed
• kosher salt
• fresh ground black pepper
• cooked black beans, as an accompaniment
• cooked white rice
• cilantro leaf, for garnish
• queso fresco, for garnish

Directions:

1. In a large casserole (that has a tight fitting lid) heat 3 tablespoons oil over medium-high heat. Add the carrots, celery, and 1 onion and fry for a few minutes until softened; remove the vegetables to a plate. Season the meat with salt and pepper; add 2 tablespoons more oil to the pan, if needed, and brown the meat on both sides, about 5 minutes. Return the softened vegetables to the pan along with the bay leaf. Add enough water to just about cover the meat and bring to a boil. Lower heat, cover, and simmer gently until meat is very tender, 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Remove meat from the pot and set aside; strain the liquid and reserve.
2. Add another 2 tablespoons oil to the pan and put in the peppers, garlic, tomatoes, and the remaining onion; fry on medium-low heat until everything is soft and broken down, about 15 minutes. Shred the meat and add to the pan to heat through. Add some of the reserved braising liquid if the mixture becomes too dry. Serve with Black Beans and cooked white rice, garnish with cilantro leaves and queso fresco.

Reviews

[Carly Siegel]

This was wonderful! I loved it! I didn't really know what it meant by crushing up the tomato, so I just chopped it up.

[mrsbudboden]

This has a good flavor, but uses the wrong cut of beef. It is tough, way too hard to chew even after cooked for two hours. I suggest a more fatty cut like chuck roast.

[Da Huz]

This was very very delicious! We modified the recipe by adding five serrano peppers and accompanying seeds along with the meat in step 1... nice and spicy! We will certainly make this again (and again). Six of us managed to eat the whole thing along with some sides... but we were very full.