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This recipe and photos are courtesy of Cynthia Detterick-Pineda of Andrews, TX. More of Cynthia's
Southwest Recipes.
I am not
sure what to say as to who I adapted this recipe from as it was a lot of
different people. Granny (Robert’s grandmother Felipa) is the one who I
probably watched make it the most, but Robert walked me through it the first
time I made it. I really can’t remember. I just know that when Granny makes it
she uses nixtamel (the dried hominy corn that has to be bloomed and the ends
taken off and soaked in a lime bath). Nixtamel just is too much trouble for me
to do most of the time. I don’t think there are too many people who do use it
anymore, except the older generation who still make it.
Almost any weekend morning, you can be
assured that a large number of homes in the Southwest will have a pot of
menudo cooking. For my husband, it is habit to eat a bowl of menudo every
Sunday morning. I am not sure why so many people eat it on the weekends,
especially in the morning. I would never think of tripe being a breakfast
food. However, I have been told there is an old wives tale about how menudo
can cure a hangover.
Whatever the reason for eating it, habit or hangover, menudo is definitely one traditional southwestern food that has not made its
way onto the menu of many Mexican food restaurants. I have adapted the
original recipe for this menudo, since the original recipe can actually take
days to prepare. Even as simple as the recipe is, it requires a great deal
of cooking time even in the adapted recipe.
Mexican Tripe Soup - Menudo Soup Recipe
Recipe Type:
Beef,
Soup,
Tripe,
Calves Feet
Cuisine:
Southwest,
Mexican
Yields: 12 servings
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 8 hr
Ingredients: 2 calves feet*
5 pounds tripe*
3 medium-size
onions , minced
4 cloves finely-minced
garlic
1 tablespoon dried oregano
2 teaspoons coriander seeds
3 tablespoons red chile powder
3 cups frozen whole hominy
1/8 cup chopped fresh cilantro for garnish
2 large
lemons, cut into wedges
1 medium onion, diced for a garnish
Diced green onions
Salt and Pepper
* Tripe comes from the market already cleaned and the calves feet simply have to be washed well.
Preparation:
Wash the calves’ feet well and place in a large pot. Cover with water and cook over
medium-low heat for 1 hour.
Wash tripe thoroughly
and cut into 1 to 2-inch square pieces. Add these to the calves feet after the
hour has passed; add onions and garlic.
Place the oregano and coriander seeds in a cheesecloth bag and tie loosely; add the bag to
the pot. Add the red chile powder. Simmer the
mixture over a low to medium heat for approximately 6 to 7 hours, or until the
tripe is tender. Add the hominy and cook for another hour; remove from heat.
Ladle hot menudo into bowls.
Garnish
with diced onion, cilantro, lemon wedges, and/or green onions as
garnish.
NOTE:
This will keep several days in the refrigerator and freezes fairly well.
Makes about 12 servings
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