Costilla en Salsa
Regiomontano comfort food — beef short ribs seared and braised in a charred tomato-serrano salsa until the meat slumps off the bone into its own gravy. Spoon the salsa back over every taco; the tortilla is there to catch it.
- Time
- 3 hr
- Heat
- Yield
- 10 tacos
- Region
- Nuevo León
Ingredients
Costillas
Salsa braise
To build
Per-100g nutrition (12 ingredients verified)
| Ingredient | kcal | Protein | Fat | Carbs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kosher salt | 0 | 0 g | 0 g | 0 g |
| Black pepper | 0 | 0 g | 0 g | 167 g |
| Neutral oil or lard | 900 | 0 g | 100 g | 0 g |
| Roma tomatoes | 24 | 0.7 g | 0.3 g | 4.7 g |
| Serrano chiles | 0 | 0 g | 0 g | 6.7 g |
| Garlic cloves | 100 | 0 g | 0 g | 20 g |
| Ground cumin | 500 | 0 g | 0 g | 50 g |
| Beef stock or water | 35 | 1.3 g | 1.7 g | 3.8 g |
| Salt | 0 | 0 g | 0 g | 1330 g |
| White onion, finely diced | 29 | 1.2 g | 0 g | 7.1 g |
| Cilantro, chopped | 23 | 2.1 g | 0.5 g | 3.7 g |
| Corn tortillas | 188 | 3.1 g | 1.6 g | 40.6 g |
Values are per 100 g of the listed ingredient. Nutrition data: USDA FoodData Central (snapshot 2026-09-11). Ingredients without a verified match are omitted.
Method
Season the short ribs with salt and pepper and sear them in oil in a heavy pot until deeply browned on all sides.
Char the tomatoes, serranos, árbol chiles, onion, and garlic on a comal until blistered and blackened in spots.
Blend the charred vegetables with the cumin and stock into a coarse salsa and pour it over the ribs, scraping up the browned bits.
- Advertisementslot: recipe-midsteps
Cover and braise at a gentle simmer until the meat pulls cleanly off the bone and the salsa has thickened into a gravy.
Pull the meat from the bones, shred it back into the salsa, skim the excess fat, and season to taste.
Warm the tortillas, spoon on the costilla with plenty of its salsa, and finish with onion, cilantro, and lime.
Build the plate
Round it out
Recommended Cookware & Gear
Cast Iron Round Comal (10.5")
Essential for blistering tortillas and charring chiles evenly.
Heavy Duty Cast Iron Tortilla Press (8")
Engineered leverage for uniform, paper-thin corn masa discs.
Volcanic Stone Molcajete (8.5")
Basalt texture shears cell walls for superior salsa emulsions.
* FTC Disclosure: TAQUIZA may earn a small commission from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.
