Love for Food

For a few years during my pre-teens, my dad worked and lived in Dallas, Texas. I spent several summers in the lone star state. During the week, my dad had to work and I'd hang out in office. The weekends, were always a gem. Coming from a family of foodies the weekends were about special meals. Coming from New York, Texas had a lot of foods that were new to me. I explored meat jerkies, Amarillo droppings, and big steaks. I never saw so much and such big pieces meat in my life!

Every Sunday we'd wake up early and head over to the local Mexican hole in the wall. Only on Sunday's did they serve Menudo. Menudo No not Menudo, the Puerto Rican boy band, made by famous by Ricky Martin. Menudo the traditional Mexican breakfast soup. Menudo is a traditional Mexican dish, made with beef tripe in a clear soup. Menudo recipes are passed down through generations. It's even thought to be the best cure of a hangover! Since it takes so long to cook most families cook the dish together on the weekends. Menudo is part of a Mexican family's culture.

I didn't run to try Menudo when I first heard of it. Beef tripe did not sound all that appetizing. But week after week, I saw my dad eat it. My suspicions gave way and I tried it. The tripe has a chewy texture similar to calamari but a unique taste of it's own. I loved the clear broth, flavored by hot chilies. Topped off with fresh cilantro, can't beat it. Even though Texas summers are hot there is nothing like Menudo for breakfast. It gives you energy to keep you going strong for the rest of the day.

After a few summers, my dad went back to working in New York. I started high school and forgot all about Menudo. Recently, after I moved to Spanish Harlem in New York, I started thinking about Menudo. Living in a predominately Mexican area, I went on the search for a great Menudo. I tried several versions but nothing was like the one I had in Texas. When faced with the Project Food Blog challenge two, "How well can you tackle a classic dish from another culture?", Menudo was what I had to make. I missed it. And I wanted to introduce my fellow foodie friends to an old favorite. I did some Google research and based my version from a recipe I found on the Mexican and Barbecue website. My version came pretty close to the version I had in Texas. The tricks to this this dish are to make sure you clean the tripe well, and cook it for a long time. The second trick is to keep all of the components of the dish separate. Right before you serve combine all of the parts for a cleaner flavor. It may take a long time to cook but most of it is inactive cooking time. It's worth it!

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Ingredients: Serves Fifteen
3 pounds tripe
1 calf's foot
1 head garlic peeled and crushed (not pressed) and 2 cloves minced
4 small red hot chilies
3 bay leaves
2 medium onions, sliced
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
3 tbsp Oregano
2 lb can of white hominy, drained and rinsed
1/2 lb dried red chilies whole
1 tbsp vinegar
1 tsp sugar

Method:

• Wash the tripe thoroughly, trim off most of the fat, and cut it into one-inch squares. Drop tripe into a pot of boiling water, simmer for 2 - 3 minutes and drain. Place back into pot, and add one calf foot, or two pigs feet, cut up a bit.
• Cover well with water, and add 1/2 head garlic, 3 bay leaves, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp pepper, and 2 tbsp Mexican Oregano. Cook over very low heatfor several hours until very tender. Drain, reserving liquid. Wash tripe. Remove bones from feet, or can leave feet whole until served.
• Return feet and tripe to liquid, cool and reserve.
• Wash the corn thoroughly and drain. Place corn in a large pot and cover with water. Bring to simmer and add a half head of garlic, smashed slightly. Simmer gently until tender.
• Drain all liquid from the posole. Quickly cool and refrigerate it if you are not going to finish the Menudo immediately.
• First roast the red chiles. Put the whole dried chiles on a hot dry griddle or frying pan and toss around a bit until they just barely begin to change color. Do this carefully, the chiles will scorch easily.
• Remove chiles, place in a paper bag, and let cool. Remove stems and most of the seeds. Place in a pan, cover with boiling water and let steep 15-20 minutes. Run through a food mill or a food processor, discard skins.
• Return chile mixture to pan and add garlic, cumin seed, vinegar, oregano, salt, and sugar to the chile pulp.
• Simmer over low heat for a 3 -4 minutes. Cool and refrigerate.
• Place the menudo tripe, menudo juice, hominy, and chile sauce in a dutch oven or heavy saucepan, and add water until you have desired amount of juice. This can vary depending on your personal preference. Some people like their Menudo thicker than others.
• Bring to a simmer over low heat and add 1/2 head garlic, vinegar, 1 tbsp oregano, cumin, 1 tsp salt, and 1 tsp pepper. Simmer for about 5 minutes until the Menudo is warmed through.

Nutrition Facts: Amount Per Serving
Calories 357.7
Total Fat 4.7 g
Saturated Fat 1.6 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 0.5 gMonounsaturated Fat 2.2 g
Cholesterol 22.7 mg
Sodium 288.5 mg
Potassium 109.8 mg
Total Carbohydrate 2.8 g
Dietary Fiber 0.3 g
Sugars 0.4 g
Protein 4.3 g

Weight Watcher Points: 7 points per serving