Mexican Beef Stew

Featuring:
Rumba Meats® Beef Cross-Cut Hind Shank

15 minutes Prep Time
30 minutes Cook Time
6-8 Servings

Original Blog & Recipe by
Mely Martinez

I’m Mely Martinez, passionate home cook and former teacher, born and raised in Mexico. Growing up, I was constantly thinking about food and watching how the women in my family cooked and prepared meals. Today, I enjoy teaching people how to cook Mexican food through my blog. Cooking my recipes with the best quality products is very important to me and Rumba Meats offers quality cuts of meat that are conveniently packaged and readily available.

See more of my recipes

Mexican Beef Stew

This beef stew cooked with the beef shank is one of my husband’s favorites. He also loves almost any dish made with this combination of tomatoes, olives, raisins, and capers.

Beef stew with the beef shank

This is a paid post, all comments and the recipe are 100% mine.

In this recipe, the meat is slowly cooked until tender and then combined with a thick and rich sauce made with tomatoes & wine. This elaborate mixture of ingredients is commonly used in the southern states of Mexico to make stews using different types of meats but I prefer to use Beef Shank.

Rumba Meats being Prepared in the Kitchen 2

I made this dish last week with my dear friend and fellow blogger Sonia (from the blog La Piña en la Cocina), who came to Dallas to visit me. When it came to choosing the recipe I was going to share with her, I wanted to use a dish that my family really enjoyed, so we made this recipe together and it was quite a fun day! I’m very grateful to Rumba Meats for making this reunion possible. We had a wonderful time cooking together and sharing our stories. We talked about growing up in a large family and the traditions passed down to us from our parents. Most of our conversation, however, was about food, since it is a passion for both of us. Meeting Sonia was like seeing a cousin I hadn’t see in a long time. Thank you, Rumba, for making this reunion possible!

Rumba Meats being Prepared in the Kitchen 3

We even had a Facebook live chat, go watch it now on the RUMBA Meats Facebook Page.

Now to the recipe for this mouthwatering stew.

Rumba Beef Shank Raw

Directions

Beef Shank Being Cooked

Place the Beef Shank in a large pot to cook, along with the onion, garlic, and bay leaf. Cover with water and cook until tender. I used an electric pressure cooker pot and it took 30 minutes to cook. (Please check the ingredients list below)
While the meat is cooking, heat the oil in a stockpot or Dutch oven. Add the onion and cook for about 2 minutes until transparent. Stir in the garlic and cook for one more minute.
Add the canned tomatoes with their juices to the pot and bring to a boil. Once it starts boiling, reduces heat to a gentle simmer for about 15 minutes. The tomatoes will start to lose their shape. At this time, use a potato masher to mash the tomatoes to form a chunky salsa texture.
Add the diced carrots and cook for 5 minutes, then after that time stir in the potatoes and keep cooking for 8 more minutes.
At this time, add the cooked meat, white wine, raisins, capers, olives, and herbs. Stir well to blend all the flavors. Season with salt and pepper.
To serve, garnish with the fresh parsley.

Beef Shank Stew Plated

Ingredients

For cooking the meat

Rumba Meats® Beef Cross-Cut Hind Shank (2 packages)
2 packages of RUMBA Beef Cross Cut Hind Shank*
½ medium size onion
4 garlic cloves
1 bay leaf
About 8 cups of water

For the stew

2 tablespoons olive oil or vegetable oil
1/3 medium white onion diced
2 large garlic cloves finely chopped
2 cans 28oz each of whole peeled tomatoes
½ cup dry white wine
3 large carrots peeled and diced
3 medium size potatoes peeled and diced
½ cup raisins
1/3 cup sliced, drained pimiento-stuffed green olives
1 tablespoon of capers drained
1 teaspoon Mexican oregano
1 bay leaf
2 teaspoons fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
¼ cup fresh parsley finely chopped (for garnish)
Salt and pepper to taste
Pickled jalapeño peppers to serve

Recipe Notes

At home, we like to eat this meal with warm crusty bread to dip into the sauce, but you can also serve it with white rice. This dish is ideal for a celebration or special occasion, and for me, this was a very special occasion! Each package of RUMBA MEATS Beef Hind Shank includes the bone, which adds lots of flavor to the whole dish. The fresh meat comes in a vacuum sealed package that can be stored for several days in the fridge while keeping the meat fresh and ready to use; it does not need to be frozen until the date indicated on the package.

Instructions

Place the beef hind shank in a large pot with onion, garlic, and bay leaf. Cover with water and cook until shanks are tender and internal temperature reaches 160ºF. For an electric pressure cooker: cook for 30 minutes. For a stove-top pressure cooker: cook for 50 minutes. For stovetop prep in a stock pot: cook for 1½ hours, adding water if needed while cooking. For a slow cooker: cook for 6 hours. Remove shanks and cut into pieces. Set aside.
For stew: While hind shanks are cooking, heat oil in a stockpot or Dutch oven. Add onion and cook for 2 minutes until transparent. Stir in garlic and cook 1 minute.
Add canned tomatoes with their juices and bring to a boil. Reduces heat and simmer for 15 minutes. The tomatoes will start to lose their shape. Use a potato masher to mash the tomatoes to form a chunky salsa texture.
Add diced carrots and cook for 5 minutes, then stir in potatoes and keep cooking for 8 more minutes.
Add reserved meat, white wine, raisins, capers, olives, and herbs. Stir well to blend all the flavors. Season with salt and pepper. Keep cooking for 8 to 10 minutes until the vegetables are cooked but still hold their shape. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
To serve, garnish beef stew with fresh parsley. Also, at the serving time offer some pickled jalapeño peppers to add a little bit of heat to the dish.