Carne Ripiada Dominicana Recipe

My mom worked at a factory where she had to stand eight hours a day. It was a physically strenuous and repetitive job, and she worked there until she retired. But there was always a bright spot in her week – Fridays!

Fridays meant potlucks. Every week, without fail, her coworkers gathered together on their lunch break and exchanged their favorite dishes.

One of my mom’s favorite dishes was Carne Ripiada, a recipe from the Dominican Republic. It’s a flavor-packed shredded beef stew with garlic, tomato, onions, seasonings, and Sofrito, that’s perfect served over rice.

Soon this meaty and flavorful dish made its way from the factory break room to our own family’s dinner table. It was just that GOOD!

We’re sure it’ll be a bright spot in your week too. Here’s the recipe:

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Carne Ripiada Dominicana Recipe

Ingredients

2 lbs beef flank or skirt steak or chuck roast
1 red onion, sliced
2 garlic cloves, sliced
½ red bell pepper, cut into small chunks
2 tomatoes, chopped
1 cup tomato sauce or tomato paste
1 teaspoon ground oregano
1 teaspoon ground thyme
4 tablespoons canola oil or olive oil
Salt & ground black pepper (to taste)

Directions For Dominican Beef Stew

Season meat with salt, pepper, oregano, and thyme.
In a large cast iron skillet, heat half the oil. When the oil is hot, sear the meat on both sides.
Cover the meat with water (about 3 cups) and cover with a lid. Cook over low heat until meat is cooked and able to be shredded (about 45 mins). Make sure to flip the meat every once in a while and add more water if it cooks off.
While the beef is cooking, in a separate pot, add olive oil and cook the red onions until translucent.
Add the bell peppers and garlic and simmer over medium heat for about 5 minutes. (Add 3 Tbsp of Sofrito / Sazon – See below.)
Add the tomatoes and cook for about 10 minutes (with the lid on) until the tomatoes are cooked and have a mushy texture.
Once beef is cooked and tender, remove from the water and shred it.
Add the tender meat to the cooked tomato mixture, then add the tomato sauce and liquid from the meat.
Simmer for about 30 minutes on low heat with the lid on in a cast iron skillet or Dutch oven.
Add salt to taste and serve with rice!

Sofrito/Sazón Ingredients:

Sofrito, or Sazón, is a flavorful blend of herbs, spices, and vegetables essential in Dominican cuisine. To make, blend all the ingredients below in a food processor and store in the refrigerator for up to 7 days.

1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried thyme
6 garlic cloves
1 red onion, diced
1 medium green bell pepper, chopped
1 tablespoon ground annatto (achiote)
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 cup of tomato sauce

Read more:

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I substitute tomato paste for tomato sauce?

Yes, you can use tomato sauce instead of tomato paste, but it does change the flavor and thickness. One key is that you can thin it out by adding water or broth and then boil it again until you get to a taste you like.

What’s the difference between carne de res guisada vs. carne guisada?

The difference between carne de res guisada and carne guisada is that carne de res guisada means beef stew and carne guisada could be any type of meat, not just beef. So carne guisada might be fine for those who do not eat beef.

For step-by-step directions, watch our video tutorial:

Mouth-Watering + Easy Recipe for Carne Ripiada Dominicana🇩🇴

Transcript

Let’s get shredded beef! Hello, I’m Jeanette at Rustic Pathways, and we take students ages 12 to 22 on immersive and fun-packed travel programs all around the world. Today, we’re bringing home some of those delicious flavors from the Dominican Republic with carne ripiada. Before I jump into the recipe, please take a moment to subscribe to our channel so you don’t miss out on any of our videos.

Carne ripiada means shredded beef, and Carne Ripiada Dominicana is basically a cousin of ropa vieja, which translates to old clothes, a recipe from Cuba. This is like a shredded beef stew, and many other Latin American countries also have similar recipes. Let’s jump into the ingredients for this recipe. You’ll need two pounds of flank steak, tomatoes, red onions, tomato sauce, garlic, red bell peppers, oregano, thyme, and I’m also adding some sofrito, which I’ll explain later.

Look at this onion! When I sliced it, it totally looked like a face, so I just had to add a smile and some eyebrows. Anyway, back to sofrito. I’m adding sofrito, also known as sazón, and there are different variations of this recipe, but think of it as a cooking base. I’m not going to show how I made this, but I will have the ingredients for it in the video description.

To start, season the meat on both sides with thyme, oregano, salt, and pepper. Get your cast iron skillet or a large skillet, add some oil, and let it heat up. You’re going to want to sear the meat on both sides. Once you sear the meat on both sides, cover it with water, about three cups, to cover the meat nicely. Put a lid on it, reduce the heat, and cook for about 45 minutes, flipping the meat over every 10 minutes. If the water runs out, add more as needed.

In a separate pot, add some oil and then add your onions, cooking until they’re translucent. I totally regret making the face on those onions because I felt really bad while cooking them. Once the onions are tender and translucent, add the garlic, bell peppers, and about three tablespoons of the sazón (aka sofrito).

Next, add the tomatoes. I forgot to film myself adding the tomatoes because I was so distracted by the fragrant aromas. Make sure to add a lid to the tomato mixture so it cooks down to mushy goodness, stirring every once in a while.

Now, grab the meat but don’t throw away the water you cooked it in. We’ll need that. Shred the meat, but wait until it cools to room temperature so you don’t burn yourself. Once the meat is shredded, return to the tomato mixture and add the tomato sauce and the meat juice. Add your shredded beef, stir it all up, and simmer for about 30 minutes with the lid on.

It’s so beautiful! I am so excited to taste this, and it’s the moment of truth. Here’s the thing, I expected this to be tasty because you really can’t go wrong with a tomato base and shredded beef, but I was so impressed with how delicious it was. I think it all had to do with the sofrito or sazón that I added.

Make sure to check out that sofrito recipe, which I will include in the video description. We hope you try this recipe this week. It would be something that’s really easy to make in a crock pot as well. Also, check out our travel programs to the Dominican Republic, which I will link in the video description for you. Let us know if you’ve ever tried this recipe.