Menudo is a popular soup in Mexico and may take on a different name depending on the region you’re in. Pancita, Mondongo or Mole de Panza are a few of the names that you may hear, but it all has the same main ingredient – beef tripe – well, most of the time.
There are many different recipes, some with hominy, some with ancho peppers, the recipes can vary depending on preferences of the chef.
And today, you’re the chef so what will you add to your menudo? Check out some of these recipes and see what sounds good.
“Classic” Mexican Menudo
If you want to stick to the basics try out with a classic menudo recipe that is exploding with flavor.
Ingredients
- 1 ½ gallons water
- 3lbs lean beef tripe, cut into pieces
- 1 onion, quartered
- 4 garlic cloves
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 can cooked hominy
- 15 New Mexico dried red chili peppers
- 6 garlic cloves
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon oregano
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
- PREP: Remove stems from the chilies and soak in hot water for 12-24 hours, until soft. You will need these for the sauce
- If you didn’t plan for 12-24 hours you can speed up the process – just bring the chiles to a quick boil for 10 minutes, remove from the heat, cover, and let rest for an hour or until they are no longer too hot to blend.
- Add the water to a large pot over medium-low heat. Add the beef tripe, onion, 4 garlic cloves and bay leaf and cook for about 2 hours.
- Blend the chilies and 1 cup of the water from soaking with the garlic cloves, cumin, and oregano. Strain and season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Add the hominy and chili sauce and let it boil for 10 minutes.
- Serve in a soup dish with onions, oregano and fresh lemon juice to taste.
Abuela’s Menudo
This recipe is also a classic using honeycomb tripe which absorbs all the flavors and spices thanks to its texture. The perfect meat for a robust menudo.
Ingredients
- Rumba® Beef Honeycomb Tripe or 4 pounds Rumba Beef Regular Tripe
- 6 Garlic Cloves
- 1 Medium Size Onion
- 12 California chilies or 5 chilies Anchos
- 7 Cups Hominy (Optional)
- Salt and Pepper
- Garnishes: Onion, Cilantro, Radish, Lemon, Oregano
Instructions
- Cut the tripe into 1-inch squares.
- Combine the tripe with an onion, 4 garlic cloves and salt in a large stockpot with 6 quarts of water. Bring to a boil and lower to a simmer.
- Simmer the tripe until tender, about 2 hours.
- Devein the California chilies and boil until soft, then blend with 2 garlic cloves and add the mixture to the pot.
- Add Hominy at this time. (Optional)
- Add up to 2qts of water, or whatever amount is needed.
- Boil with the chilies sauce for about 40 min.
- Serve and garnish with onion, cilantro, radish, lemon and oregano.
Menudo Rojo
They always say the more color you have on your plate the better it is for you. How about the redder the menudo the better it is for you? Not sure there, but give this recipe a try.
Ingredients
- 3 gallons water
- 2 ½ pounds beef tripe, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 large white onion, finely chopped
- 6 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- Salt and pepper
- 1 ½ tablespoons dried oregano
- 6 japones chile peppers, seeds removed
- 2 tablespoons ground red pepper
- 5 de arbol chile peppers
- 6 cups canned white or yellow hominy, drained
- ½ white onion, chopped
- ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
- 2 limes, juiced
Instructions
- Bring 1 gallon of water to a boil in a large pot.
- Place the tripe in the pot, and simmer for 2 hours. Periodically skim off fat with a spoon.
- After two hours, drain the water and replace with a fresh gallon. Continue to simmer for about 2 more hours.
- After that two hours, pour the remaining 1 gallon water into the pot with tripe, and bring to a boil.
- Stir in garlic and 1 white onion. Season with salt, pepper, oregano, and red pepper and simmer for another hour.
- Preheat the broiler.
- Broil the arbol chile peppers on a baking sheet for about 2 minutes, just until they begin to scorch.
- Remove from heat and cut lengthwise to remove the seeds. Add them to a blender or food processor, along with the japones chile peppers and blend until very finely chopped. Mix into the pot, and continue cooking 2 hours over low heat.
- Mix the hominy into the pot. Continue cooking for 1 hour.
- Serve with remaining onion, cilantro, and lime juice.
Pork Menudo
If tripe isn’t your thing, try this menudo recipe that utilizes pork in place of tripe. Not the most traditional but still has a ton of flavor.
Ingredients
- 2 lbs. pork shoulder sliced into cubes
- 1 piece pork cubed
- 4 ounces pork liver cubed
- 1 piece russet potato cubed
- 3 pieces hotdogs sliced crosswise into thin pieces
- 1 can tomato sauce.
- 1 large carrot cubed
- 1/2 cup raisins
- 2 pieces dried bay leaves
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 piece yellow onion chopped
- 4 cloves garlic crushed
- 3 tablespoons cooking oil
- 2 to 4 cups water
- Salt and ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Heat oil in a pan and fry the potato and carrots until golden and set aside.
- Add a little more oil and reheat.. Add the pork liver and fry for 30 seconds. Add ground ginger. Continue to stir-fry for about 2 minutes. Set aside.
- Add new oil to a pot and saute the garlic and onion. Once the onion becomes soft and translucent, add the pork. Saute until light brown.
- Put the hotdogs into the pot. Cook for 1 minute.
- Add the soy sauce, tomato sauce, water, pork cube, raisins and bay leaves into the pot and stir.
- Cover and continue to boil on low-medium heat for about an hour or until the pork is tender.
- Add the pan fried potato and carrots, liver, and salt and pepper to taste. Stir and cook for 3 minutes.
- Transfer to bowl and serve.
Mouthwatering Menudo
If you’ve never made menudo or never worked with tripe, don’t be scared to give it a try! There are tons of resources out there to help you and you’ll love the flavorful punch of this mighty Mexican dish.
