Slow Cooker Cuban Vaca Frita

Slow Cooker Cuban Vaca Frita

Prep time: 20-30 minutes

Cook time: 8 - 12 hours

Ingredients for Slow Cooker

• 3-4 lb grass-fed beef (brisket, chuck roast, or flank steak)
• 4-6 roma tomatoes
• 2 onions (any color)
• 2-3 bell peppers (any color)
• 1 head garlic, peeled and crushed
• 3-4 dried bay leaves
• 2-3 tsp spice mix ("Sazon" substitute, recipe below)
• filtered/purified water for cooking

"Sazon" spice mix (to avoid MSG and excessive refined salt in the pre-packaged kind

• 1 part garlic powder
• 1 part dried coriander (substitute dried parsley if for some reason you can't find it)
• 1 part paprika powder
• 1 part ground cumin
• 1/2 part unrefined sea or Himalayan salt

Marinade ingredients

• 1 heaping Tbsp fresh pressed or minced garlic
• 1 Tbsp unrefined sea or Himalayan salt
• Juice of 1-2 limes (depending on how juicy they are)

Ingredients for Frying

• Shredded marinated beef
• several Tbsp cooking fat (lard, palm shortening, or tallow -- NOT coconut oil
• 1 onion, sliced or chopped
• 1-2 limes, quartered

Cooking Directions

1. Thaw roast in fridge about 2 days before you want to cook it.
2. Gather all ingredients for the slow cooker. Place thawed roast in your slow cooker's crock. Coarsely chop all vegetables (onion, bell pepper, and tomatoes) and add them. Peel garlic and crush each clove using the heel of your hand or the broad side of a chef's knife and add to crock.
3. Make "Sazon" spice mix. To make just enough for this recipe, use 1/2 tsp each of the garlic powder, dried culantro or parsley, paprika powder, and ground cumin and 1/4 tsp of salt. Or, make a larger batch to use in other recipes. It's a great all-purpose Latin seasoning. Sprinkle over ingredients in crock and then add filtered/purified water to cover ingredients.
4. Set slow cooker to low and cook for 8-12 hours, or until meat is falling apart tender (able to shred with a fork).
5. Carefully remove roast from your slow cooker and place it on a large plate or platter to cool. Strain broth and freeze for a soup or other recipe (don't throw it away!). Discard vegetables.
6. While you wait for the roast to cool, make the marinade. Press or mince the garlic into a small bowl and mix with salt and fresh-squeezed lime juice.
7. Once roast is cool enough to handle, use 2 forks to shred the meat. Place shredded meat in a large non-reactive bowl, then pour marinade on top and mix well with the meat. Make additional marinade if necessary. Cover bowl with an air-tight lid and place in refrigerator overnight (about 24 hours). Note: If you made a large roast and will be eating leftovers for a few days, do not worry about leaving the beef in the marinade.
8. Work in small batches. Heat about 2 Tbsp of your fat of choice over medium heat for 3-4 minutes. Spread out meat to cover about 1/2 to 3/4 of the surface area of the pan, and space the pieces out (as pictured). Let it sizzle and fry for several minutes on each side. As it is cooking, I like to use 2 forks to pull apart the meat into even smaller pieces that get crispier. DO NOT crowd the beef in the pan or else it will steam rather than fry and the texture will not turn out correctly.
9. After about 5-8 minutes of cooking, add 1/3 or 1/2 of a chopped onion. Continue to stir frequently and fry until the onion is softened, about 3-5 minutes. I recommend using a stainless steel spatula so you can scrape up any crunch bits that try to stick to the bottom of the pan. Add additional fat as needed to keep everything well oiled. Total cooking time should be between 10 and 15 minutes, and the end result should be darkened, crispy beef and soft onions (see photo).
10. If you are just cooking for one, you're done! If not, set aside and cook up additional batches as needed. Before serving, add all the beef and onions back to the pan and let them cook over medium heat for several minutes, stirring frequently, so everything is piping hot. Squeeze some fresh lime juice on top just before serving and garnish with an additional lime wedge. Enjoy!