Name: Consome Tomato Sauce
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 22 min
Total time: 27 min
Ingredients: 1 lb tomatoes (stem scar removed); 4 cups meat stock; 2 garlic cloves (peeled); ¼ tsp cumin seeds; ½ tsp black peppercorns; 1 ½ Tbsp Mexican oregano; 1 Tbsp lard or vegetable oil; salt (to taste)

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This consome recipe is a staple at Mexican cenadurías. It consists of a non-spicy and flavored tomato sauce used to drizzle over tacos, flautas, sopes, and tostadas.

Consome tomato sauce for tacos in a glass bowl.

What is consome?

Mexican consomé is made from broth where some type of meat and bones are cooked, sometimes it will contain other ingredients such as chilies, spices, and even vegetables.

The most popular recipes in Mexico are:

Tomato Consommé: This is a light and flavorful tomato sauce made from boiling meat (beef, pork, or chicken) and tomatoes, and then blending them with other spices. The sauce is then used to drizzle over crispy tacos, sopes, and tostadas.

Birria consommé: Made from beef, goat, lamb, or mutton. Guajillo and ancho chilies and spices are added to the broth and then used to dip birria tacos into this flavourful soup.

Chicken consommé: Made with chicken meat and bones, some vegetables are added too. Is used mainly as an entree for main meals.

About the recipe

I am sharing with you today the popular recipe used by many Mexican diners. As I mentioned before, my grandma and my mother owned a cenaduría many years ago, and one of the things I remember most is the delicious tomato sauce they used for drizzling over sopes, tostadas, and tacos.

This is my family recipe and I hope you enjoy it!

The spices

There are some spices that can’t be missed to make this delicious and light tomato sauce. Of course, feel free to add more or less from the ones you like more, but I strongly recommend going easy on them, as I always say: balance is the key.

Garlic.
Cumin seeds.
Mexican oregano.
Black peppercorns.

Consome spices on a small plate and overlay text with names.

What type of stock to use

As mentioned before, this type of consome is made with any type of meat, depending on the one you using in your final dish. So, if you want to make it for chicken sopes, you will use the broth that comes out from boiling the chicken.

On the other hand, if you want to make beef crispy tacos, you can first cook the meat and use the broth to make this recipe.

Last, you can also use vegetable stock if you want a vegetarian/vegan version of this recipe.

The step by step recipe

Start by preparing the tomatoes. Wash them well under running cold water and then, using the tip of a knife, remove the stem scar of each piece.

Place tomatoes in a large pot and fill with water. Tip: If you cooking meat for your tacos or tostadas, boil tomatoes in the same pot where you cook the meat!

Place the pot over medium heat and bring to a boil. Cook tomatoes for about 15 minutes or until the skin is falling off.

Leave tomatoes to cool down completely then remove the skin. From here you have two options, you can remove the seeds or leave them and blend them in the next step.

Place tomatoes into a blender, add 1 small onion cut into chunks, and then the garlic without the skin, cumin seeds, and peppercorns.

Cooked tomatoes and spices in a blender.

Pour in 1 cup of stock and blend until you will have a smooth sauce.

Blended tomatoes and spices for consome.

Next, in a medium stockpot heat the lard or oil over medium-high heat. Slowly, pour in the sauce.

Set heat to medium-low and allow to cook for 2 minutes.

Now, pour in the remaining stock, mix, and season with salt to taste. Bring to a simmer and cook for 5 more minutes or until the sauce thickens a bit (please read the notes).

Turn off the heat, add oregano rubbing it between the palm of your hands, mix, and there you go! You have now a delicious, aromatic, and perfect consome tomato sauce.

Tips and Notes

Make it spicy. Cook one of two chile de árbol, jalapeño, or serrano peppers. Then blend with the other ingredients for a spicy touch.
Make it smoother. If you’d like a smoother sauce, strain through a fine sieve before adding the blended tomatoes to the pot.
Double the recipe. And store in the freeze in two or three containers, this way you’ll always have it ready and save time in the kitchen.
Make it thicker. If you want a thicker sauce, just add less stock or allow to boil longer.

How To Use

This recipe is perfect to use for drizzling over tacos (the crispy ones, not the ones made with soft tortillas), tostadas, fried quesadillas, flautas, and sopes (like the ones in the photo below).

How To Store and Reheat

Boil the leftovers in a saucepan, allow them to cool down, and place them in an airtight container. Store in the fridge for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months.

To reheat, place the consomé in a saucepan and warm up for a couple of minutes before using it with your favorite antojitos. You will need to thaw it before reheating.