Carne en su Jugo at Home

 --Tailgatin' and how to make mofos start playa hatin' (Recipes)

Hello readers. My favorite food is Mexican and my favorite dish (in winter anyway) is CESJ. This specialty from the Jalisco region of Mexico is one of the many, many things I learned about thru LTHforum. There are scattered mentions across the internet with a few different techniques and recipes and information on the soup. By far the best information you can find is this detailed report over on LTH which is what turned me onto this amazing soup. I even seeked some out while in Mexico last Spring.

Making a potent stock a day ahead is the key to good CESJ

Stock Ingredients (make day ahead)

- Beef Bones for Soup

- 1 Large Beef Shank

- Loosely Chopped Onions, Carrots, Celery and Jalapeno
- Dash of Cumin, Paprika and Cayenne

I started experimenting around with making my own and can now say it's as good or better than most places in Chicagoland. First thing up is the stock. Start off by sauteing a beef shank and 5/6 pieces of beef marrow in a large pan with onion and oil. Then add more onions, jalapenos, celery and carrots. For liquid I use half water and half canned beef stock and let it simmer for 4-5 hours. I then drain the stock and remove the veggies and took the marrow (ate that) and sliced up the beef into little pieces for adding later. Let stock sit in fridge overnight and skim off the fat the next morning.

Freshly Made Beef Stock

Ingredients for Soup

- Fresh Beef Stock
- 1/2 Slab of Bacon
- Chopped Beef from the Shank
- 2 lbs Skirt Steak
- Chopped Jalapenos, Onion, Green Peppers
- Grilled Knob Onions
- Can of Pinto Beans
- 4 to 6 TBSP of Juice from Canned Jalapenos

After the stock is completed a day ahead start off by adding the bacon in the pot and sautee the pieces til crispy and remove. Then add the chopped jalapeno, onions and green pepper and sauteed those up until done. Add your broth into the pot and let it simmer. Then grill the skirt steak and knob onions and take the cooked steak and chop it. Throw the can of pinto beans into the pot and get ready for some CESJ.

Serve Soup With...

- Grilled Knob Onions
- Sliced Limes
- Chopped Cilantro
- Sliced Avocado
- Crispy Pieces of Bacon
- Sliced Radish
- Whole Dried Chili Peppers

My most recent batch from a week or so ago

It's really not all that hard, but time consuming, yeah. Don't cheat with the broth. I had seen potatoes mentioned in a few recipes and thought those would work well too. Maybe even add a hard boiled egg and you got steak and eggs in broth. Sounds like a good morning after (too much tequila) breakfast. I'll be making another batch soon. Winter is here.

Up Close of the Goodness
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See ya next time @chibbqking