Caldo de Res

Method

1. simmer150 min
   shanks + water + onion + garlic + bay + salt, skimmed, lid ajar
   the shanks from cold water, foam skimmed diligently in the first half hour — no browning, by tradition and by design: the caldo wants a clear broth that tastes of marrow and patience, and two and a half hours is what the shank's collagen requires to melt; the marrow bones are the pot's whole treasury
2. simmer25 min
   hard vegetables: corn, carrots, potatoes
   the chunks in — the caldo cut doctrine unchanged from the pollo entry: pieces you navigate, corn you lift, potatoes you break with the spoon's edge
3. simmer15 min
   chayote, zucchini, cabbage last
   the quick vegetables to just-tender — the beef should now be falling from the bones, and the marrow loose in its rings for whoever knows to claim it, which in every caldo household is a contested honor
4. top5 min
   the service: rice, meat on the bone, broth, then the table
   rice in the bowl, a shank piece with its bone, vegetables and broth over — lime squeezed hard, cilantro, salsa for heat; and the tortillas that appear at every real caldo table without being on any ingredient list are hereby acknowledged