for caldo de res. i dated a mexican girl for awhile and this used to be in the regular rotation. i have been dying to have some again.

I don't have a recipe... but it looks like a nice hearty beef stew.

I try to make soup every week starting in October. I'll give this a try this weekend and tell you how/what I did.

http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/caldo-de-res-mexican-beef-soup/Detail.aspx

i'm going to run with this recipe if nobody on here as another one. the cilantro and limes are key which i guess is redundant when talking about real mexican food.

Ingredients

2 pounds beef shank, with bone
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons ground black pepper
1 onion, chopped
1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes
3 cups beef broth
4 cups water
2 medium carrot, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 potato, quartered (optional)
2 ears corn, husked and cut into thirds
2 chayotes, quartered (optional)
1 medium head cabbage, cored and cut into wedges

1/4 cup sliced pickled jalapenos
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 limes, cut into wedges
4 radishes, quartered
Directions

Cut the meat from the beef bones into about 1/2 inch pieces, leaving some on the bones.
Heat a heavy soup pot over medium-high heat until very hot. Add the oil, tilting the pan to coat the bottom. Add the meat and bones, and season with salt and pepper. Cook and stir until thoroughly browned.
Add 1 onion, and cook until onion is also lightly browned. Stir in the tomatoes and broth. The liquid should cover the bones by 1/2 inch. If not, add enough water to compensate. Reduce heat to low, and simmer for 1 hour with the lid on loosely. If meat is not tender, continue cooking for another 10 minutes or so.
Pour in the water, and return to a simmer. Add the carrot and 1/4 cup cilantro, and cook for 10 minutes, then stir in the potato, corn and chayote. Simmer until vegetables are tender. Push the cabbage wedges into the soup, and cook for about 10 more minutes.
Ladle soup into large bowls, including meat vegetables and bones. Garnish with jalapenos, minced onion, and additional cilantro. Squeeze lime juice over all, and serve with radishes.

Why don't you just throw a cute little mexican gal back into the regular rotation. Seems a lot easier than having to cook your own food.

After making a bunch of different regional stews, the one one thing I've learned is to add bullion and other fresh seasonings if it seems weak.

Cooking that bone in meat for a long long time is also important. I'd do low and slow for 4 to 6 hours depending on the total volume.

We had great success with recreating brunswick stew a month ago.

If I were go try and make this I would cook it a long time for sure, and add some of the fresh ingredients at the end so they don't turn to mush.

sean has an excellent idea.

Que es chayote?

You aren't supposed to follow a recipe for caldo de res. You either A. throw stuff in a pot in between loads of laundry and assaulting your kids/grandkids with the wooden spoon/chancla/dish towel, or B. throw stuff in a pot during commercials on a college football Saturday.

Best thing about it finally getting cooler is that soon we'll have that first "cold" day and it's perfect for the first pot of caldo or posole. And the caldo must be served with corn tortillas and rice.

Sloan - that's the recipe I use, it works really well.

Jim - a chayote is a type of squash - looks like a pear

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sean has an excellent idea

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Yep....You can't go wrong taking dating advice from a guy with a certified blow up slumpbuster.

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the one one thing I've learned is to add bullion and other fresh seasonings if it seems weak.

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If you are using decent beef broth (preferably stock) then you won't need a bullion cube. Chances are you get enough sodium in your diet anyways. And you should be using fresh seasonings already. And I'm not just talking about herbs. Things like chili powder and cumin go stale and lose their flavor too. Don't buy those huge, pint size containers of dried seasoning. Buy smaller ones that you'll use all of before the become useless.

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Don't buy those huge, pint size containers of dried seasoning. Buy smaller ones that you'll use all of before the become useless.

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Or put the giant containers in the freezer to help them maintain freshness. Better yet, piecemeal the large container into smaller saved jars and get only one of them out of the freezer at a time.

We always call it Caldo de Basura or Trashcan Soup. You basically throw scraps in to make it. Basically beef vegetable soup with some tomatoes cilantro jalapenos chili powder and cumin thrown in. If you need a recipe for that you should probably leave it to someone else.

Could you throw all of this into a large crockpot?

I don't see why you couldn't. You'll miss a little flavor by not caramelizing the onions. But it'd working a crock pot.

I've done it in the crock pot before. As Isle said, it's not quite the same, but still pretty darn tasty.

IsleAg11 has it. My suggestion for spices is to buy the bulk spices that you can get in better gro stores. Just buy in small amounts. These are the freshest. This is the only way I buy my paprika. It is so much better.