Eatentions

Organic * Local * Sustainable

soup

Beef Oxtail and Short Rib Soup with Root Vegetables and Barley

by

IMG_5470

Oh the memories are pouring in! I completely ADORE homemade beef oxtail and short rib soup. It is SUCH a soul-filled meal for me and during these cold months, I CRAVE it!!

My grandmother, Mau (that’s what we called her), ALWAYS had a pot of her oxtail soup cooking on the stove every Sunday. Back then, I didn’t understand why she started this soup at 10 am but now as I have perfected it over the years, if you plan on eating it the same day, you have to start it early……the broth needs to build for AT LEAST 5 hours and there is a great deal of time spent skimming the foam off the top to get that clear, yummy broth.

THE SMELL of that soup cooking all day is permanently LOCKED into my senses! It filled the air with all the root veggies and barley she added in. It didn’t hurt that she had a homemade loaf of bread baking at the same time…what a coincidence….oh the simple things!!!!

We went over every Sunday, about 5, and my grandpa was always lounging in his recliner chair, watching some silly TV show, I think probably Archie Bunker, but we RAN through the front door and straight to the kitchen and up to the stove where that old pot was stock full of this soup! Like a bunch of hungry cats, we pounced to the table and sat, acting so ravished as if we hadn’t eaten in 3 days….she complained how we were driving her a bit crazy but looking back, she couldn’t have gotten a better complement and she knew it, but she still had to fret.

I have a copy of her handwritten recipe but I think on purpose she left a few things off, mostly the “secret” of cooking the oxtails and short ribs for hours. There is just some scribbles about veggies and a few instructions but I treasure that recipe and have called on her to fill me with the cooking tricks only she knew. I think after several years, I got it, finally.

So here’s to you Mau, I think you would be proud.

Beef Oxtail and Short Rib Soup with Root Vegetables and Barley
 
Print
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
This is sincerely my favorite soup of ALL time! I promise it is worth the time to leave it simmer to create that delicious broth.
Author:
Recipe type: Soup
Cuisine: American
Serves: 8-10 servings
Ingredients
  • 2 lbs of beef oxtails
  • 2 lbs of beef short ribs, ask butcher to cut in half
  • 2 lbs of beef stew meat
  • 1 sweet onion, diced
  • 4 cloves garlic, diced
  • 6 carrots, peeled and sliced
  • 6 celery stocks, peeled and sliced
  • 2 sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed, ½ inch
  • 1 celery root, peeled and cubed, ½ inch
  • 2 rutabagas, peeled and cubed, ½ inch
  • 2 turnips, peeled and cubed, ½ inch
  • 1 small butternut squash, peeled and cubed, ½ inch
  • 3 bay leaves
  • sea salt and freshly ground pepper
  • olive oil
Instructions
  1. In a large dutch oven over medium heat, add about 2 T olive oil. In batches sear the oxtail until browned on all sides, remove and put on plate. Repeat with short ribs. Salt and pepper during searing.
  2. Add another 2 T olive oil and add beef stew meat. Sear and season with salt and pepper, remove and put on plate.
  3. Add another 2 T olive oil and add onion, garlic, celery, and carrots, Season with salt and pepper and cook until just getting soft. Add back ALL meats and bay leaves and fill pot with water about ⅔ full. Turn up to get to a rolling boil and put on cover (but leave a crack so that water doesn't boil over). Simmer for 5-6 hours skimming top of foam frequently.
  4. About 45 minutes before wanting to eat, cook barley as per directions
  5. About 30 minutes before wanting to eat, add in all the root vegetables and simmer until just soft. Taste broth and add salt and pepper if needed.
  6. Spoon in a little barley into bottom of bowl and top with soup. Serve immediately with homemade bread!
  7. *This makes a lot of soup so can cut down recipe but we LOVE leftovers and gets better with time! Can freeze but just don't add barley to soup as it will thicken it.

 

Delicious Pork Posole!

by

posole-pork-and-hominy-soup

Growing up in New Mexico, we ate posole all the time. It is especially popular as a dish during the holiday season, braised pork made from scratch and served with hominy and grandma’s homemade red chile sauce.

One of my favorite memories as a child was going to my friend Kathy’s house during the winter holiday break. She came from Mexican heritage and her grandmother always had the task of making the homemade red chile. Inevitably it would be snowing and after playing outside for hours making snow angels and sledding, we would come in frozen and soaked and sure enough there was always a change of clothes and a bowl of posole with homemade tortillas.

Years later I married my husband who is of Mexican decent and I was SURE he was a connoisseur of posole. Of course, before asking if he even liked it much less if he was a connoisseur, I had decided that I needed to become a master. On went the trials of perfecting the red chile sauce. Researching recipes, talking to grandmothers, I did it all and I was sure I was going to please my new groom.

I don’t remember how many chile pods I soaked and pureed nor how many aprons I stained but I do remember that as the date decended nearer and nearer, I realized I was never going to duplicate the heritage sauce and therefore would have to confess that afterall, I really wasn’t a master of posole….

After my last attempt, I slumped on the floor perplexed, I mean seriously, can it be this hard? There has to be something that the grandmother’s left out, was it an ingredient? Cooking time? Love? What was it? I guess at this point, it was a bit late to figure it out.

With my head down in a bit of shame, I went into my husband and got down on my knees and asked for forgiveness. He looked perplexed and a bit panicked really and then I blurted out that I WASN’T a master of his favorite dish and dropped my head on his knee in despair.

He breathed the biggest sign of relief (I guess I didn’t think he might have thought something WAY worse), he began to giggle and then break out into a belly roar. He announced that he wasn’t either, his mother didn’t make posole, and he didn’t like anything that was hot or spicy. OMG, seriously? I could have saved all those chile pods, aprons, and frustrations if I would have asked? I never would have thought that any person from Mexican heritage wasn’t a master of posole…..First lesson ask, second lesson don’t assume.

I decided in that moment that I had an opportunity. Instead, since I hadn’t perfected the red chile sauce much less even attempted the home made hominy, I was going to CREATE my version of posole and win my husbands heart, forever. Perfect.

With that motivation, this is the recipe I came up with. It is a more of a soup than traditional posole.  It is simple with bold flavors and uses both red and green chile. The only improvement that can be made to this dish is to use homemade stock, which is what I usually do.

Delicious Pork Posole!
 
Print
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
This is the simplest but BEST posole recipe, hearty and flavorful and gets better after a day or two.
Author:
Recipe type: Main
Cuisine: Mexican
Serves: 8
Ingredients
  • 2 lbs pork stew meat
  • 1 sweet onion, diced
  • 8 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 T dried oregano
  • 2 T New Mexico red chile powder
  • 10 ounces New Mexico green chiles, mild or medium, diced (can used canned if can't find fresh)
  • 2 - 28 ounce cans of hominy, white or yellow
  • 4 quarts low sodium chicken broth, preferably home made
  • sea salt and pepper to taste
  • Garnishings:
  • green cabbage
  • scallions
  • radishes
  • queso fresco
  • avocados
  • cilantro
Instructions
  1. Cut up meat, onion, and garlic. Peel, seed, and chop green chiles, if fresh. In a large dutch oven over medium heat, add, pork, onion, garlic, oregano, and red chile. Add 1 cup of chicken broth and cook until pork is a little "charred" and liquid has evaporated, about 30-40 minutes. Stir often and salt and pepper to taste.
  2. Add green chiles, hominy, and rest of chicken broth and bring to boil. Simmer over heat for 2 hours or until pork is really tender. Season more if necessary.
  3. Serve in large bowls and top with desired toppings