I have been making this soup for many years, my husband is Mexican and he and our 3 children love it. My recipe is very similar, I do add some minced garlic and I have used stew meat when the shank was not meaty enough, we like a lot of meat in this. I don't use beef broth but instead I use water and beef stock base. Also cumin is a must in this recipe at least a teaspoon or two. I have also frozen this with great results, it does make a lot! Be sure to add the cilantro near the end of cooking and be sure to squeeze lime juice into your individual bowl before eating with a handful of corn tortillas.
And 5 more stars! This recipe has the best directions I've seen on this site! Remember, this soup is supposed to have chunks of veggies, so don't go crazy chopping everything into little morsels! This makes ALOT of soup...maybe 8 Aztec warriors could polish this off, but, heck, it get's better every day. I used 1 beef shank and 1 lb of boneless short rib meat cut into 1/2 cubes. I love the chayote, but if you can't find it, substitute 2 med. zucchini chunked, but don't put this in until you add the cabbage or it will over cook. I used 4 chunks of frozen corn-on-the-cob defrosted for the fresh corn. My only change was to also add 1 8oz. can of tomato sauce and a packet of Goya Sazon (if you read any of my reviews, it seems to find it's way into most everything). All you need for a complete meal is corn bread or garlic bread (yeah, excuse me for mixing ethnicities, but if it tastes good, do it!!) Thanks again for a fabulous recipe and for your attention to detailed instruction!
MY HUSBAND LOVES THIS RECIPE...BUT HE EATS IT WITH A FRESH JALAPENO DICED FINE TO ADD IN TO YOUR BOWL AT SERVING TIME AND A SQUIRT OF LIME IN THE BROTH! ALSO WE USE TOMATO SAUCE OR FRESH TOMATOES IN IT THIS DEPENDS ON THE SEASONS...WE DONT USE THE PICKLED JALAPENOS,AND WE ADD THE FRESH CILANTRO INTO THE SOUP AND THE END OF COOKING WHILE HEATING UP THE CORN TORTILLAS!BUT I NEED TO SAY THAT A SPRINKLE OF SALT AND A SQUEEZE OF LIME ON YOUR TORTILLA BEFORE YOU ROLL IT UP GIVES IT THAT ULTIMATE TASTE OF MEXICO!!!
I LOVE THIS DISH. I ADD GARLIC AND COMINO TO MINE. I ALSO ADD KNOR CONSOMATE FOR A GREATER TASTE. I ALSO ADD ZUCHINI SQUASH TO MINE AT THE END. I MAKE A PAN OF MEXICAN RICE FOR A MORE AUTHENTIC TASTE. ALSO, DONT FORGET THE CORN TORTILLAS AND THE HOMEMADE MEXICAN SALSA. ABSOLUTELY DELICIOSO!!!
Growing up in a large Mexican family in Texas, this was the "Sunday" soup of my childhood. My grandmother made this every Sunday for the family. We ate it with warm corn tortillas, sliced avacados and fresh salsa. None of us were fond of cilantro or chayote, so they were never in our caldo pot. Thanks for sharing the recipe...it brings back some wonderful memories!!!
The butcher recommended beef ribs which turned out amazingly moist and flavorful. This recipe is delicious. Will be making it again and freezing some this time.
My husband is mexican and he thought this tasted just like his mom's (big compliment)! This is a definite saver. This type of soup is really good with chicken and fish also (just change the stock that is used).
Great recipe, I live in Chicago where we have an abundance of great Mexican restaurants, and my pals all think this is the best they've ever had!
I used the beef shank bone, but also added 1lb of finely chopped beef. When I added the stock, I also threw in two cloves of slightly crushed garlic.
Instead of using just cold water, I added 2 additional cans of stock, 3 cups water, and two packets of tomato & cilantro Sayzon.
I'll be making this again and again!
This is wonderful my husband and his family are from Guadalajara Jalisco Mexico and i made this and invited them all over. They loved it!!! Thanks for the wonderful recipe!
This was not good and alot of work!
