Rancho-Style Beef Stew

Ingredients

• 1 kg Oxtail (or short ribs, beef shank, or shin)
• 1 tbsp Vegetable oil (to sear the meat and fry vegetables)
• 0.5 White onion (for the cooking broth)
• 2 Garlic cloves (for the cooking broth)
• 3 Bay leaves
• Water (enough to cover the meat)
• 0.5 White onion (chopped for the stew)
• 1 Garlic clove (chopped for the stew)
• 2 Red tomato (chopped)
• 0.5 tsp Coarse salt (for the molcajete)
• 0.25 tsp Whole peppercorns
• 1 tsp Oregano (dried)
• 3 Whole cloves
• 0.25 tsp Cumin (whole or ground)
• 0.33 cup Water (for the seasoning mixture)
• 1 Guajillo chili (in small pieces for finishing)
• Fresh cilantro (to taste)

Steps

1. 1

   In a large pot, heat a little oil and sear the meat (oxtail, short rib, or shank) on all sides until browned.

2. 2

   Add a piece of white onion, the garlic cloves, and the bay leaves to the pot.

3. 3

   Pour in enough water to cover the meat completely. Important: do not add salt at this point so the meat does not toughen.

4. 4

   Cover the pot and let it cook over medium-low heat for approximately an hour and a half or two hours, until the meat is very tender.

5. 5

   While the meat is cooking, finely chop the remaining onion, garlic, and red tomato.

6. 6

   In a molcajete (or mortar and pestle), place the coarse salt, whole peppercorns, oregano, cloves, and cumin. Grind well until a fine powder is obtained.

7. 7

   Add 0.33 cup of water to the molcajete, mix well with the ground spices, and set aside.

8. 8

   In a separate saucepan, heat a little oil and sauté the chopped onion until translucent.

9. 9

   Add the chopped garlic to the saucepan and sauté briefly without burning it.

10. 10

    Incorporate the chopped tomato and cook for about 5 minutes until it releases its juices and softens.

11. 11

    Add the cooked meat to the saucepan with the tomato mixture.

12. 12

    Pour in a bit of the broth where the meat was cooked to give it a stew-like consistency.

13. 13

    Add the spice mixture from the molcajete and adjust the salt to taste.

14. 14

    Add a few small pieces of guajillo chili and fresh chopped cilantro on top.

15. 15

    Cover the saucepan, let everything simmer together for a few minutes so the flavors meld, and serve hot.

Notes

The author suggests that you can mix different cuts of meat like short rib and beef shank. If you don't have whole cumin, you can use ground cumin. It is recommended to serve with freshly made corn tortillas.

Nutrition per serving

• stew
• beef
• Mexican food
• main course
• traditional
• homemade
• rancho-style