This is my mom’s recipe and hands down, my favorite Caldo de Res recipe. I called my mom from HEB and ask her to give me exact instructions and ingredients cause I wanted to do it right, just like she does, and I did!! Well, almost, My mom still makes the best.
Note: Beef shank is the classic cut of meat used for
Recipe below.
Ingredients
- 2Lb Short ribs
- 3 to 4 qt water
- 1/2 onion
- 2 garlic cloves
- 2 ripe Roma tomatoes
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 2 carrots
- 2 calabacitas (Mexican zucchini)
- 1/2 cabagge
- 1 bunch fresh cilantro
Instructions
- in a large pot add the short ribs, water, 1/2 onion (in one piece) and garlic cloves. Cook until the meat is very tender 2-3 hours.
- While the meat is cooking, slice the carrots, about 1/4″ rounds, the calabacita 1/2″ rounds and cut the cabbage in big pieces making sure the pieces have some core attached. Set aside.
- In the same pot add the tomatoes and cook them for a few minutes until the skin starts to break. Remove the tomatoes and blend them with the salt, pepper, and cumin.
- Once the meat is done remove the onion and garlic. Add the tomato sauce to the meat along with the carrots, cabbage, and cilantro. Cook for about 10 minutes until carrots are tender.
- Add the calabacitas and cook for about 5 more minutes.
- Taste the caldo and adjust seasoning.
- Enjoy!
When you say blend tomatoes, do you mean in a blender?
yes, in a blender.
The recipe sounds great but you can’t have Faldo without Mexican rice! Hello, my name is Bernardo Lopez. My cooking memories come from Mexico too. My dad from Torreón, and mom from San Antonio.
Here’s my problem or challenge. I’ve already bought all my ingredients. At the last minute my oldest daughter starts saying how she can just taste the short ribs! I had purchased shank bones and neck bones. I know I can cook them together
But the difference in cooking time might be a problem. To keep the shank bones from falling apart I’m thinking cooking them in separate pots and when the doneness, matches throw them all together. I also have to cook cabbage separately!
I will cook the cabbage in the caldo broth. Yes we’re having Mexican rice, corn tortillas and homemade salsa.
I’ll shut up now, thanks for listening.
Hey, Bernando! Thank you for your comments. In my opinion, there’s no wrong way to do caldo. Every family has a different way to do it and in my experience, they are all delicious. Short ribs are not traditional, but it is what I like the best, I don’t like the texture of beef shanks very much but sometimes I add them in for flavor (and tuetano, yum!) Yes to rice and very spicy salsa on corn tortillas! That’s the way we eat it in Monterrey too. Your caldo sounds amazing, I am sure it will be delicious.
Hi Marisol You don’t have to respond to (unless you’ve seen my website😊) this post. I just finished my salsa and while I’m waiting for the meat I’ll pass on a little advice. I messed up. I was going to make my salsa from scratch, the roasting and peeling of everything, then grinding them on the molcajete. Big mistake for me! It was so time consuming. I was making a quart but ended up doing the final third in the blender then combining both batches together. You really couldn’t
Tell I cheated. Sometimes we feel a little too nostalgic and forget technology really can save some time. If technology doesn’t compromise the flavor.
It was nice talking food. I type so slow the meat is almost done!
Later, Bernardo