🇲🇽 Mexico · called puchero in the north
Caldo de resMexican beef soup
A Mexican soup of bone-in beef, usually shank, simmered in a mild broth with seasonal vegetables such as corn on the cob, carrots, potatoes, cabbage and chayote or squash, and eaten with lime, cilantro and tortillas.
Origin and history
Caldo de res is a Mexican beef and vegetable soup, a whole meal in one pot of beef, corn and vegetables, served from a bowl with lime, cilantro and tortillas. The sources give no date or origin for it; in parts of northern Mexico it is also called puchero.
Make it at home
- Makes
- 6 servings
- Total time
- 2 h 30 min
- Hands-on
- 40 min
Ingredients
- 1.2 kg2.6 lb bone-in beef shank (chambarete), or short rib or chuck, in thick pieces
- 2 marrow bones, optional
- 2.5 l2.5 quarts water
- 1 white onion, halved
- 4 garlic cloves
- 2 ripe tomatoes, chopped
- salt and black pepper, to taste
- 3 ears of corn, cut in 4 cm (1.5 in) rounds
- 3 carrots, peeled, in thick pieces
- 3 medium potatoes, peeled, halved
- 2 chayotes (or zucchini), peeled, in large pieces
- 1/2 small green cabbage, cut in wedges
- 1 small bunch cilantro
- limes, chopped onion, chile (serrano or chile de árbol) and warm corn tortillas, to serve
Method
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1. Put the beef and marrow bones in a large pot with the water, half the onion and 2 garlic cloves. Bring to a boil and skim off the foam.
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2. Lower the heat, add salt, cover partly and simmer gently for about 1 1/2 hours, until the beef is nearly tender.
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3. Add the tomatoes, the remaining onion half and garlic, the corn and the carrots, and simmer 15 minutes.
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4. Add the potatoes and chayote and cook 15 to 20 minutes more, until a knife goes in easily.
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5. Add the cabbage and the cilantro and cook 8 to 10 minutes, until the cabbage is tender but still holds its shape.
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6. Taste and adjust salt and pepper. Skim off excess fat.
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7. Serve in large bowls with a piece of beef, corn and a mix of vegetables in each, with lime, chopped onion, chile and tortillas on the table.
Notes
- The vegetables follow the season and the family; the sources use corn, carrots, potatoes, chayote (zucchini is a common stand-in), cabbage and cilantro. The constants are bone-in beef, a clear mild broth and big pieces of vegetable.
- In some regions of northern Mexico the soup is called puchero.
- A pressure cooker cuts the beef stage to about 40 minutes.
- Serve with Mexican red rice on the side if you like, and eat the marrow spread on a tortilla.
- It keeps for 3 days in the fridge; cook the cabbage and potatoes slightly under if you plan to reheat.
Adapted from Directo al Paladar México, Cómo hacer un buen caldo de res (puchero) and America's Test Kitchen, Mexican beef and vegetable soup.
At the festivals
No festival we list has printed it on a menu yet.