Beef soup recipe (Caldo de res) VIDEO
Jump to Recipe
A soup that can be enjoyed year round!
Beef soup recipe, or caldo de res, is so good and has all the qualities of a soup worth making year round. Above all, It remains as a true testament our ancestors loved to cook and took presentation seriously. It definitely had to taste great, but colorful dishes were made to lead you to taste by sight before you even took a bite or in this case a sip. The colors in this bowl are certainly stunning and the flavors are beyond your imagination.
THREE main components
The meat
Choose a cut of meat that needs to cook for a long time, it’s bony, contains fat, and the meat tenderizes beautifully when fully cooked.
Cuts you can use:
- Oxtail- My favorite and the one I used for this recipe.
- Beef bone-in shank
- Beef short ribs
Guajillo sauce
Color and flavor are, without doubt, a huge part of this bowl of goodness. Guajillo is a chili widely used in Mexican cuisine and has always been present in tasty dishes made by my mother. so If you find yourself cooking Mexican food often, this chili needs to have a place in your kitchen. Remain well stocked on them for sure. In the picture below, the Guajillos are paired with a great selection of aromatics, and as a result, it makes for a sauce packed in flavor.
Important note about guajillos:
If you are toasting them prior to hydration and blending, make sure they do not burn. otherwise, Burnt chilis will ruin the sauce by making it extremely bitter.
Vegetables
I can honesty tell you, we made soup year round while growing up in Mexico. Part of the greatness this recipe offers is due to the amount of vegetables incorporated. So, If you are looking for a soup that’s easy to make, hearty, and filling; look no further, this is it!
Prep the vegetables:
- Cut into medium size pieces
- Cut as uniform in size as possible
Add the vegetables gradually:
- First – add the vegetables that will take longer to cook during the cooking process.
- Second – When the first set of veggies are half way cooked, add the remainder except for the Zucchinni or calabazita.
- Third – When all are almost cooked, add the zucchini. Zucchini cook faster, this is why it needs to be added last.
Calabazita
Typically “calabacita” would be used instead of zucchini. This is a very popular summer squash found in Mexico and its name means, “little squash”. Whenever I don’t have calabacita, I choose to use zucchini.
One pot soup
Use a large pot because this soup does have a lot of ingredients.
Feel free to check the video tutorial below the directions↓
If you enjoyed the video please SUBSCRIBE to my Youtube channel and don’t forget to click the bell icon so you get a notification every time we post a brand new video. Thank you!
(As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases)
🛒 Feel free to visit Villa Cocina’s Amazon storefront where you can check out most of our tools or visit our shop page.
Beef soup recipe (Caldo de res) VIDEO
Course: SoupsCuisine: MexicanDifficulty: Easy6
servings10
minutes3
hours3
hours10
minutesBeef soup or caldo de res has all the qualities of a soup to be made year round. Our ancestors loved to cook and took presentation seriously; It definitely had to taste great, but colorful dishes were made to lead you to taste by sight before you even took a bite or in this case a sip.
Ingredients
- To cook the meat
2.5 lbs of oxtails
Salt – To taste
Black pepper – To taste
15 cups of water
- Guajillo sauce
4 ea garlic, cloves
7 oz roma tomatoes, diced
1/2 medium white onion, diced
4 ea guajillo chilis, devained & rinsed
2 TBSP olive oil
1 cup of water
- Aromatics
1/4 tsp black pepper, whole
2 ea cloves, whole
1/4 tsp turmeric, ground
1/2 tsp ancho chili or paprika, ground
1/2 tsp oregano, dry
1/2 tsp thyme, dry
- Vegetables
13 oz gold potatoes, peeled & cubed
2 ea corn on the cob, cut each into 4 slices
3 ea carrots, sliced
1 ea chayote, cubed
1 ea zucchini, sliced
1/2 head small cabbage, sliced
1 ea jalapeno, sliced in half
- Herbs
1/2 bunch of cilantro, chopped
5 ea mint or hierba buena, sprigs
- Season with salt to taste
- Toppings
Red onion, diced
Cilantro, chopped
Radish, diced
Acovado, diced
Lime Juice
- *** Accompany with corn tortillas ***
Directions
- To Cook the meat: Season the meat with salt and black pepper. Heat the oil in a large pot over medium-high heat and brown the meat on all sides. Carefully pour the water and let it reach a boil. Lower the heat to medium-low, spoon out any scum from the surface, cover, and let it cook for about 3 hrs on a low simmer.
- Guajillo sauce: Heat the oil over medium heat and sauté the onions. When they have softened, stir in the garlic and once the onions are translucent add in the tomatoes. Stir frequently and when the tomatoes are cooked, incorporate the aromatics, which are the : pepper, cloves, turmeric, ancho chile, oregano and thyme. Stir everything to combine including the guajillo chilis, just for a few seconds. Lower the heat and carefully pour in the water. When the water begins to simmer remove the pan from the heat and allow the chillis to rehydrate, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a blender and process until smooth.
- Vegetable prep: The potatoes, corn, carrots, chayote, zucchini and cabbage all need to be cut into medium size pieces. The jalapeño needs to be sliced in half but stop before you reach the stem, this way it holds the pepper together. Go ahead and prep the “herbs”.
- Finish the soup: Add the guajillo sauce (strain if needed) into the pot of soup 30 minutes before the meat is done. Stir and skim off any fat that may settle on the surface. Next add the corn, potatoes, chayote, jalapeño, cilantro and mint leafs. When half way cooked, add the carrots, cabbage and stir in salt to taste. When all the veggies are almost cooked, add in the zucchini. Cover and allow all the vegetables to finish cooking.
- Serve: The soup is ready when the vegetables have cooked perfectly (not mushy) and the meat is fall off the bone tender. Serve in a bowl and add toppings such as red onion, cilantro, radish, and avocado. Lastly squeeze some lime juice over the soup and accompany with a nice stack of corn tortillas. ENJOY!
Hey I was just wondering if have these recipes written in Spanish?
Hi there! unfortunately I don’t have them in Spanish.