Ecuadorian Beef Short Rib Stew (Seco de Costilla de Res)
This comforting Ecuadorian Beef Short Rib Stew or Seco de Costilla de Res, is made by slowly cooking short ribs in a sauce of onions, peppers, tomatoes, herbs, fruit juice, and beer.
Servings 6
Ingredients
- 4 lbs of beef short ribs 4 lbs = ~2 kg
- 2 tsp ground achiote or annatto
- 2 tsp of garlic powder
- 1 tbs ground cumin
- 2 tsp of sweet paprika can also use chili pepper/cayenne for a spicy version
- 2 tbs oil
For the stew cooking sauce:
- 1 medium red onion cut in large chunks
- 3 bell peppers use a mix of red & green, cut in large chunks – you could also add a spicy pepper if you want to make this a spicy stew
- 4 roma tomatoes cut into chunks
- 6 garlic cloves
- 1 bunch of cilantro use most of it for the cooking sauce, but save a bit to add freshly chopped at the end to serve
- 1.5 cups of unsweetened naranjilla juice – can also use passion fruit juice, tamarind, or even orange juice 1.5 cups = 360 ml
- 1 cup light beer (can also use chicha de jora or apple cider) 1 cup =240 ml
- 2 tbs grated panela piloncillo or brown sugar
- Salt and pepper to taste
Side dishes:
- Ecuadorian style rice achiote rice
- Fried ripe plantains
- Avocado slices
- Small side salad
Instructions
- Season the short ribs with the cumin, garlic powder, achiote, paprika, salt, pepper.
- In a regular cooking pot or in the slow cooker, heat the oil and cook the short ribs until browned on each side. Turn off the heat and prepare the liquid cooking sauce.
- Place the chunks of onions, bell peppers, tomatoes, garlic and most of the cilantro with the fruit juice in a blender
- Blend until you have a smooth mix.
- Pour the blended mix over the seared short ribs and turn the heat back on. Add the grated panela or piloncillo (or brown sugar), the beer, salt and pepper to taste. Mix well and bring to a boil.
- Reduce the heat, cover, and simmer until the meat is very tender and the sauce has thickened, about 2-2.5 hours on the stovetop. If using a slow cooker, set the heat to low and cook for 7-8 hours.
- If the sauce is still very liquid (this is common if using a slow cooker), remove the cooked short ribs from the slow cooker, leaving only the liquid in the pan.
- Increase the heat, bring the liquid to a boil and let it reduce and thicken for 5-10 minutes. Taste the sauce and adjust the salt/pepper and any other spices if needed.
- Add the short ribs back into the pan with the thickened sauce and sprinkle freshly chopped cilantro on top.
- Serve the seco de costilla short ribs with rice, fried ripe plantains, avocado slices, and a small side salad.
