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Tripe Soup
If you were to ask most Americans about Menudo, they would probably assume that you were talking about the Mexican boy band rather than the recipe which follows. It is not a common item on the American table, at least not yet, but it is one which certainly deserves to be.
As it happens, Menudo is actually a spicy soup made with beef tripe, garlic, onions, hot peppers, spices, and hominy. It is intensely flavorful and is a very popular lunch dish as well as often being available at breakfast time due to its reputation as a hangover cure.
You may not have ever tried tripe before; you may have never even thought that you would try it, but do yourself a favor by going ahead and making this amazing soup. You will be glad you did - and so will everyone else sharing a meal with you.
Menudo Colorado
Ingredients -
3 gallons water
2 ½ pounds beef tripe, cut into 1" pieces
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 large white onion, minced
1 ½ tbsp oregano
2 tbsp ground red pepper
5 de arbol chili peppers
6 japones chili peppers, seeded
6 cups canned white hominy, drained
Salt and black pepper, to taste
Chopped cilantro, minced onion and lime wedges, for serving
Preparation:
Begin by simmering the tripe in 1 gallon of water for 2 hours, skimming off fat occasionally. Remove from heat, drain off and replace the water and simmer for another 2 hours. Add another gallon of water and bring to a boil; add the onion, garlic, oregano, and red pepper to the pot and reduce to a simmer for 1 hour.
In the meantime, broil the arbol chilies until slightly scorched. Slit open and remove the seeds, then blend along with the japones peppers in a food processor or blender until chopped into small pieces. Stir the peppers into the pot and continue simmering for another 2 hours. Add the hominy and simmer for one more hour before serving with chopped onion and cilantro and plenty of lime wedges.
(Serves 8)
This menudo colorado recipe (so named for its red hue) is a popular variation of basic menudo which is commonly served in northern Mexico's Chihuahua state as well as in Texas and other parts of the American southwest. However, you do not have to live in Mexico or Texas to enjoy this incredible menudo recipe.
Packed with flavor and heat, this is a soup which demands that you stand up and take notice. It may not really cure hangovers, but it's a soup which is good enough that it's easy to understand why so many people like it enough to eat it even as part of their morning meal.
