Chef Lupita
Caldo de Shuti Zoque de Chiapas
Chiapas' Zoque river broth of shuti, chile de Simojovel, chile amashito, momo, chipilin, and masa, a spring pot that tastes of mountain streams and the women who clean every shell by hand.
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Tapachula Beef Cocido (Cocido Chiapaneco)
Created by
Chiapas's Soconusco beef cocido, a generous Tapachula pot of beef shank, elote, chayote, yuca, calabaza, plátano macho, cilantro, and chile amashito at the table.
Soups & Stews
Mexican
Comfort Food
Make Ahead
Weeknight
30 min
Active Time
2 hr 45 min cook•3 hr 15 min total
Yield6 to 8 servings
Chiapas, the Soconusco coast, Tapachula. This cocido belongs to the hot southern edge of Mexico, where the markets carry yuca, plátano macho, chayote, calabaza criolla, elote, and bunches of cilantro tied tight enough to bruise the stems. This is not a northern caldo de res wearing a different name. Cada estado, su propia cocina.
The broth is beef shank and bones, cooked until the meat gives in and the marrow fattens the caldo. The vegetables go in by order of stubbornness: yuca first, then elote, chayote, carrot, calabaza, cabbage, and ripe enough plátano macho to sweeten the pot without falling apart. The chile amashito does not turn this into a chile soup. It sits on the table, crushed with lime and salt, so each person wakes up the bowl as they like. Not all Mexican soups are chile-forward. The Maya south knows herbs, roots, masa, river foods, and slow pots. Learn that before you start correcting someone else's kitchen.
I learned a version of this in Tapachula from a woman who cooked it every Sunday in an enamel pot blackened underneath from years on the flame. She told me the secret was not the chile. It was patience, salt at the right moment, and not abusing the vegetables. My mother wrote something similar in her notebook for cocido jalisciense: "the pot teaches order." She was right. Saber cocinar es saber vivir.
Cocido entered Mexico through Spanish colonial puchero traditions, but in Chiapas it changed under the weight of local geography: yuca, chayote, calabaza, plantain, and tropical herbs made the pot belong to the south. Tapachula's version reflects the Soconusco corridor, a region tied to cacao, coffee, and Central American trade routes since the colonial period. Unlike central Mexican red caldos, Cocido Chiapaneco is usually a clear beef broth, with chile amashito served at the table rather than built into the soup.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
bone-in beef shank
Quantity
3 pounds
cut into thick rounds
beef soup bones or marrow bones
Quantity
1 pound
cold water
Quantity
12 cups, plus more as needed
white onion
Quantity
1 medium
halved
head of garlic
Quantity
1
halved crosswise
bay leaves
Quantity
2
kosher salt
Quantity
1 tablespoon, plus more to taste
fresh corn
Quantity
2 ears
cut into 3-inch rounds
yuca
Quantity
1 pound
peeled, woody core removed, cut into large chunks
chayotes
Quantity
2 medium
peeled if tough, cut into wedges
carrots
Quantity
3 medium
peeled and cut into thick rounds
potatoes
Quantity
2 medium
peeled and quartered
calabacitas or calabaza criolla
Quantity
2 small or 1 pound
cut into large chunks
green cabbage
Quantity
1 small wedge
cut into 4 large pieces
ripe but firm plátano macho
Quantity
1
peeled and cut into 2-inch chunks
fresh cilantro
Quantity
1 large bunch
stems and leaves separated
fresh epazote (optional)
Quantity
1 small bunch
optional but correct if your market has it
fresh chile amashito
Quantity
8 to 12
for serving
limes
Quantity
4
halved, for serving
warm hand-pressed corn tortillas (optional)
Quantity
for serving
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| bone-in beef shankcut into thick rounds | 3 pounds |
| beef soup bones or marrow bones | 1 pound |
| cold water | 12 cups, plus more as needed |
| white onionhalved | 1 medium |
| head of garlichalved crosswise | 1 |
| bay leaves | 2 |
| kosher salt | 1 tablespoon, plus more to taste |
| fresh corncut into 3-inch rounds | 2 ears |
| yucapeeled, woody core removed, cut into large chunks | 1 pound |
| chayotespeeled if tough, cut into wedges | 2 medium |
| carrotspeeled and cut into thick rounds | 3 medium |
| potatoespeeled and quartered | 2 medium |
| calabacitas or calabaza criollacut into large chunks | 2 small or 1 pound |
| green cabbagecut into 4 large pieces | 1 small wedge |
| ripe but firm plátano machopeeled and cut into 2-inch chunks | 1 |
| fresh cilantrostems and leaves separated | 1 large bunch |
| fresh epazote (optional)optional but correct if your market has it | 1 small bunch |
| fresh chile amashitofor serving | 8 to 12 |
| limeshalved, for serving | 4 |
| warm hand-pressed corn tortillas (optional) | for serving |
Equipment Needed
- •Heavy 8-quart stockpot or barro de Amatenango clay cazuela made for stovetop use
- •Molcajete or small stone mortar for crushing chile amashito
- •Sharp chef's knife for cutting yuca, chayote, and plátano macho
- •Large ladle for serving family-style
Instructions
- 1
Start the broth
Put the beef shank and bones in a heavy 8-quart pot. Cover with the cold water by about two inches. Add the onion, garlic, bay leaves, cilantro stems, and salt. Bring it slowly to a simmer over medium heat. Skim the gray foam during the first 20 minutes. Do not boil it hard. A violent boil makes a cloudy broth and tight meat.
- 2
Simmer the beef
Lower the heat until the broth moves with slow, steady bubbles. Cover partly and cook for 1 hour 45 minutes to 2 hours, until the beef shank is tender but not falling into shreds. The marrow should look soft inside the bone and the broth should taste like beef, garlic, and cilantro stem. Remove the onion, garlic, bay leaves, and spent stems.
- 3
Add the hard vegetables
Add the yuca, corn rounds, potatoes, carrots, and chayote. Keep the pot at a steady simmer for 25 to 30 minutes. The yuca should turn creamy at the edges but still hold its shape. If the broth drops below the vegetables, add hot water, not cold. Cold water shocks the pot and slows everything down.
- 4
Finish the tender vegetables
Add the calabacita or calabaza criolla, cabbage, and plátano macho. If you have epazote, add two or three sprigs now, not the whole bunch. Simmer 15 to 20 minutes more. The plantain should be tender and sweet, not dissolved. The squash should give under a spoon but not collapse. This is where careless cooks ruin cocido. No me vengas con atajos.
- 5
Season the caldo
Taste the broth and correct the salt. It should be clear, beefy, lightly sweet from the plantain and roots, and green at the edges from the herbs. Chop the cilantro leaves and stir in a small handful just before serving. Save the rest for the table. Fresh cilantro at the end tastes alive. Boiled cilantro tastes tired.
- 6
Make the amashito
Crush the chile amashito in a molcajete or small bowl with a pinch of salt and the juice of one lime. Leave it coarse. This is a table chile, not a blender salsa. Each person spoons a little into the bowl. Chile amashito is sharp and quick, so respect it.
- 7
Serve from the pot
Serve the cocido family-style, making sure each bowl gets beef, marrow bone if there is one, yuca, elote, chayote, squash, cabbage, and a piece of plátano macho. Put lime halves, chopped cilantro, crushed chile amashito, and warm corn tortillas on the table. The bowl should look generous because this is a family pot, not decoration. Así se hace y punto.
Chef Tips
- •Buy beef shank with the bone through the center. The marrow gives the broth body. Boneless stew meat makes a thinner pot and you will taste the difference.
- •Chile amashito is the Chiapas and Tabasco chile you want here. If you cannot find it, look in a Mexican or Central American market before replacing it. A fresh chile piquín or chile de monte is a compromise, not the same thing.
- •Use ripe but firm plátano macho, yellow skin with some black marks. Green plantain is too starchy for this cocido. Very black plantain will fall apart and sweeten the broth too much.
- •Do not turn this broth red with guajillo because you think Mexican soup needs dried chile. It does not. This Soconusco pot is about beef, roots, tropical vegetables, herbs, and chile at the table.
- •If the market has good calabaza criolla, use it instead of zucchini. Mexican grandmothers cook what the market is selling today. If the squash is tired, leave it out rather than put bad squash in a good broth.
Advance Preparation
- •The beef broth can be made one day ahead through the end of step 2. Refrigerate the broth and meat together, then skim only the hardened excess fat before reheating. Leave some fat. Flavor lives there.
- •Cut the yuca the day you cook, not the day before. Peeled yuca oxidizes and dries out. Chayote, carrots, potatoes, and squash can be cut a few hours ahead and held covered in the refrigerator.
- •Cocido keeps for three days, but the vegetables soften each time you reheat it. For the cleanest texture, store extra broth and beef separately from any vegetables you have not served.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 760g)
Calories
555 calories
Total Fat
13 g
Saturated Fat
4 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
8 g
Cholesterol
75 mg
Sodium
1150 mg
Total Carbohydrates
78 g
Dietary Fiber
10 g
Sugars
12 g
Protein
32 g
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