Mexican Beef Stew
(And a recap from last week’s visit!)
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.
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This is a paid post, all comments and the recipe are 100% mine |

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!

How to make Beef Stew Recipe

- 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.


- 2 packages of RUMBA Beef Cross Cut Hind Shank*
- ½ medium size onion
- 4 garlic cloves
- 1 bay leaf
- About 8 cups of water
- 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 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
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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. Note: For a regular stove-top pressure cooker, it will take 50 minutes, and for a normal stock pot it will take about 1-1/2 hours to cook. If you don’t have a pressure cooker, your stock pot works fine, just make sure you cook the meat until tender and add water if needed while cooking. You can also cook the meat overnight by using a slow cooker and cooking it for 6 hours.
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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.
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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.
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Add the diced carrots and cook for 5 minutes, then after that time stir in the potatoes and keep cooking for 8 more minutes.
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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. Keep cooking for about 8-10 minutes until the vegetables are well cooked but still hold their shape.
• Each package of RUMBA MEATS Beef Shank weights about 1.80Lb. The cut includes the bone, which adds lots of flavor to the whole dish. I love all their products! 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.
I hope you make this dish and try the many meat products offered by RUMBA MEATS, they have a large selection of cuts used in our traditional recipes. Look for them at your local Walmart, Kroger, and other stores in your area (you can also check out the store locator on Rumba Meat’s website).

Buen provecho!
More recipes:
Easy Picadillo Recipe
Beef Tongue in Salsa Verde
DON’T FORGET TO SHARE ON YOUR SOCIAL CHANNELS!
I/we love you guys, thank you & God Bless for the delicious dishes & stories you share with us… I am trying to discover my Papi's side which come from El Paso, Chihuahua, Mexico, Cali. & New York. Where my father, had a total of 5 including a Taco stand. My Mom side is from Mexico City, Merida & Yucatan, can't believe that there was a Nun in the family. I love this share, thank you. It makes me more curious about that is a part of ME, Thank You…Keep sharing, please… Mauhhhhhh from Us Florida Coconuts…
Hello, Maria,
Thank you for your kind comment. I hope you discover more about your family, and have fun while doing it.
Saludos hasta Florida.
Muchas gracias Mely! You made me feel so welcomed in your home and I had such a wonderful time chatting with you. Making special memories thanks to Rumba Meats! The beef stew was delicious!
Huy, Sonia,
I wish we can do it all over again! I was a day full of happy emotions, and I will treasure that always. I love hanging out with you in the kitchen!
Hola Mely As a expat living in Panama, good Mexican food is difficult to find in our pueblo. We had guest over last night for a Mexican meal. Your red enchiladas, the messy version was a big hit. Now this recipe looks like it would work well with ox tail in a crock pot. Thanks for sharing your great recipes.
Hello Dennis,
Thank you for trying the recipe for the red enchiladas. And you are right, this stew will also taste wonderful with oxtail. Happy cooking!
I love all your recapies my husband loves them all i try one a week if i can im also merried my husband which
Is mexican i live in mexico one yr
But your recipes are very good
Mucho gracias por suy recipes y mucho suerte con todo. we liked this stew.
Hello Kathy,
Thank you for trying the recipes & for visiting Mexico in my Kitchen.
Happy cooking!
Hello. I've made your pozole recipe and use your method for grinding corn for masa. I made this last night and it was terrific! I could not find beef shank easily, so I used chuck and added some marrow bones. I had a question about cooking the meat. It seems like a lot of recipes call for cooking the meat in the same pot as everything else. In this recipe, it calls for cooking it in a separate pot. I was curious what the reason was for that. Is it a regional technique, or maybe to reduce the fat in the final stew?
Hello Isaac Cooper,
I'm so glad you had tried some of the recipes. And, especially this one, since it is one of my husband favorites. You know, I received the same question on my facebook fan page about the cooking technique, this is something we do in Mexico. The exact reason it unknown to me, but a lot of people cook these type of dishes, those that use cuts of meat that need a longer cooking time, the same way. And, pressure cookers are very popular in Mexico, many people use the pressure cooker to cook the meat, drain the broth for another uses, and remove the fat.
Again, I'm so glad you enjoyed the recipe.
Happy cooking!
Could you note the size of the tomato cans you used? Was it 14 or 28 oz?
Hello Amy,
They are 28 oz cans. Happy cooking!