The Weekend Recap, Menudo

This weekend I purchased a turkey fryer, and I got a great deal on it too.  Check it out:

Bass Pro Shops® 30-Quart Propane Turkey Fryer

This is one of the best fryers I've seen that isn't $200.  And it was only $40!!  However, I'm not all that impressed with the pot for it.  It's a little on the flimsy side.  I might go to a restaurant supply store in town and find one that's the same size a little more heavy duty.

Yesterday, my friend Noah and I made Menudo.  Menudo is a Mexican soup with beef tripe and pigs feet.  For those out there that don't know, tripe is stomach meat, and in this case it's beef tripe.  It's very absorbent and holds a lot of flavor.  I woke up and hit the international market near my house to find tripe and pigs feet.  Unfortunately, they were all out of pigs feet, so I had to get Noah to pick some up for me.  There are several types of tripe that's used for menudo.  A cow, as you probably know, has more than one stomach, so finding the right tripe to use can be tricky.  The best kind to use is honeycomb tripe, and it looks something like this:

Honeycomb tripe, whole

Surprisingly enough, it had very little order.  I've heard that the other kind of tripe is very smelly and you have to wash it, boil it, wash it, bleach it, brine it, and wash it again just to make it edible.  Honeycomb on the other hand, has none of these problems.  Apparently, it's the "clean" stomach.

Menudo

I pieced together this recipe from several different ones I found.  I decided to try to use as little ingredients as possible, as I've been told the simpler the menudo the better the result.

2-3 lbs honeycomb tripe
1 package pigs feet
1 lb. Ancho chilies, dried
3 medium onions
3 heads garlic
10 limes
32 oz white hominy 
cilantro
2-3 Tablespoons dried oregano
3 bay leaves
Kosher salt

To start off, I brined my tripe.  I took two ziplock bags (because it wouldn't all fit in one) and squeezed about 3 limes into each bag, dumped about 1/3 cup of Kosher salt in there, and enough hot water to dissolve the salt.  I dropped my tripe in the bags and filled it up with enough hot water to fill it to the top.  I let that brine for about 1 1/2 hours.

In the meantime, I worked on my ancho chili paste, the secret ingredient to menudo.  Take all your chilis and remove the stem and all the seeds.  Put the flesh in a large pot and fill with water until all the chilis are covered.  Looks something like this:

Anchos

Let them rehydrate for about 30 minutes and then put them in a blender and puree them.  You'll have to add some of the stock from the pot to get the consistency right though, so don't dump it down the drain until you're done!  I also added a ground up ghost chili to my paste just to give it a little kick, but you could just as easily use cayenne chilies.  When you're done, you'll end up with something like this:

Yum!

Now that your tripe has been brining for about 1 1/2 hours, take them out of the bag and rinse them off a little bit.  Now comes time to cut them.  Try to cut the tripe into bite sized pieces.  My resident Mexican friend says they should be about the size of your thumb from the knuckle to your thumbnail.  Maybe something like this:

Cut tripe

So now into the biggest pot you own (at least 3 gallons) add your tripe, your pigs feet, and your bay leaves.  Take 2 or your onions and peel and quarter them, and cut your garlic heads so the cloves are exposed.  Fill the pot up with enough water to cover all the ingredients and let it cook for 4 1/2 hours.

When your 4 1/2 hours are up, add your white hominy, your oregano, and about 3 heaping spoonfuls of your chili paste, I'd say measuring about a cup.  Really, this should be done by eye, and don't be afraid to add more.  Check for salt and cook for another 30 minutes.

When your finished, all the flavors should be all melded together.  Carefully remove the pigs feet, garlic cloves, and bay leaves.  To serve, spoon into shallow bowls and put diced onion and cilantro on top and serve with several lime wedges.  Should look something like this:

Menudo, final product

 
A Mexican delicacy!  YUM!

-CJ