Hangover Helper

Woo I overdid it last night, and yet for some reason, I still couldn't sleep past 10:00 this morning. This getting old thing, sucks, for sure.

One of my worst habits is going grocery shopping while I'm still intoxicated from the night before. These trips are never inexpensive, and I usually wind up with a ton of junk food, which I VERY rarely buy in more sober circumstances. Today, I woke up craving Ropa Vieja, which translates to "old clothes". It's Cuban, I think, but the Venezuelans have a version as well. Oddly enough, I got it out of a Mexican cookbook. Whatever, I don't get it either.

One thing I do get, though, is that Ropa Vieja is delicious. Completely delicious. Staggeringly delicious. This dish is the Edward Cullen of food, ugh, I can't believe I just made a Twilight reference, this hangover is a nasty one.

Anyway, here's what you'll need to put this together yourself.

3ish lbs of cheap beef
1 yellow onion
1 can of pickled serrano chiles with carrots. They sell it in Mexican grocery stores and woo boy is that juice/oil hot. Don't put your finger in it.
A few cloves of garlic, smashed
A couple other random peppers if you feel like it
Water with boullion cubes, or beef stock (I forgot beef stock, ugh)
A tablespoon or so of kosher salt
A tablespoon or so of cumin
Chili powder

I think that's it, just throw in Mexican tasting crap.

So, to start. Grab your crock pot. Throw the meat into it. Add the spices directly on top of the meat. Add the rest of the stuff into the pot. Um, it's not hard.

Set the crock pot depending on how long you want it to take. I got started around 11:00, and I wanted to eat before midnight, so I stuck it on high. About 5 hours later, it was tender enough to cut with a fork. That's what you're looking for (um, in case you've never done meat in a crockpot before). Reserve your liquid because it is wonderful.

So let it cool down unless you're a total masochist, and then shred your beef.

You'll want to get a big frying pan ready. Stick it on medium high heat, add a couple tablespoons of vegetable oil, and add the beef as you shred it to save time. Once it's in there, add a few ladles full of the cooking liquid. Try to catch a few peppers while you're fishing for broth.

I have no idea how long this step actually takes because I've never paid proper attention, but you'll know it's done when the Maillard Reaction takes place and the beef becomes crunchy. The broth will evaporate leaving behind concentrated, awesome, amazing flavor in the meat.

Once this is done, serve it up on flour tortillas with chopped radishes (trust me on this), guacamole, and queso fresco if you can find it. If your grocery store doesn't carry queso fresco (or if you were too hungover to remember it), any sort of Mexican cheese blend will do in a pinch.

Another thing you can do while waiting for the beef to crisp is to throw together side dishes! YAY! Sean calls these my "fancy beans". You'll need:

1 can corn, drained (I like the no salt added stuff, but whatever)
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
4 cloves of garlic, smashed and chopped
1 shallot, chopped
1 jalepeno, chopped and seeds removed
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp chili powder
A couple ladles full of the meat liquid

This couldn't be any easier. Cook the garlic, shallots, and jalepenos for a minute or so, until the garlic and shallots are translucent. Then, add the rest of the crap and cook it for as long as you want. I keep telling Sean that this is one of the easiest things I make, but he continues to act impressed. I'll take it.

Speaking of Sean, he went to Sam's to pick up some provisions, and look, he's back. Just in time. Everything looks done. Time to feast.