Menudo De Sonora
From elgourmand2 8 years ago
- 2 hrs to make
- Serves 4-6
Now days you can find Menudo everywhere in Mexico. It has become a Mexican signature dish. Back in the day, Menudo was a particular specialty of the central and coastal areas of Sonora, Mexico. We found that the best menudo was cooked by the little old ladies who set up tables in the streets or in front of their houses in dusty little towns or fishing villages. Read more They fed the local workmen or fishermen (and my friend and I) a great bowl of Menudo and a pile of tortillas for a few pesos. The ladies weren’t shy about how it was done; they didn’t expect a gringo to open a stand next to them. After 50 years, my notes and memory are both a bit vague about that trip, but I’ve grabbed bits and pieces from here and there to fill in the gaps. The secret to menudo is that the three parts, the tripe, the corn and the chili are cooked separately, and only mixed and cooked together just before serving. This keeps the flavors clean and separate, and the textures distinct. Don’t get tense about the length of the recipe. It’s not as bad as it looks. I always think of it as three recipes and it is. There is a lot of explanation here so it’s not all work and no play. Now let’s see if I can make it fit into this format. See less
Ingredients
- El Menudo: shopping list
- • 3 lbs tripe (menudo). If you get this cleaned and prepped from the butcher fine, if not get it ready for some work. I recommend letting the butcher do it. shopping list
- • 4 or 5 cloves garlic, crushed & chopped fine. shopping list
- • Several small hot red chilies, your choice, Bird’s eye or jalapenos work here. shopping list
- • 2 onions, quartered. shopping list
- • 3-4 bay leaves. shopping list
- • 1 tsp. salt. shopping list
- • 1 tsp black peppercorns, cracked. shopping list
- • 2 Tbs. dry leaf oregano shopping list
- • 2 tsp. cumin seed, crushed shopping list
- • 2 large or 3 small pig’s feet, cleaned and cut in half if possible. shopping list
- • 1 Tbs. vinegar shopping list
- • 1 Tbs. leaf oregano shopping list
- • 1 tsp. cumin seed shopping list
- • grind of black pepper shopping list
- El Posole: (the hominy corn part) shopping list
- • A 2 lb. package of frozen or a one gallon can of hominy corn. shopping list
- • 3 cloves of garlic, crushed. shopping list
- El Chili: shopping list
- • ½ lb of whole dried red chilies. My notes don’t say a word about these so pick large ones that have good flavor and as much fire as you want but not more. Anaheim or poblano should work. Menudo is not a super spicy dish. shopping list
- • 2 clove garlic, minced shopping list
- • A pinch cumin seed shopping list
- • Tbs. wine or vinegar shopping list
- • 1 tsp. oregano shopping list
- • A pinch of salt shopping list
- • 1 tsp. raw sugar shopping list
How to make it
- El Menudo.
- 1. Cut the menudo into one inch squares; drop into a pot of boiling water, simmer a few minutes and drain See Photo. Put into a fresh pot of water and add the two pig’s feet, and add the first 7 of the menudo spices. See Photo
- 2. Put this on a very slow fire, or in a crock pot for several hours until very tender.
- 3. Drain, saving liquid. Wash tripe. Remove bones from feet.
- 4. Return feet and tripe to liquid, cool and reserve. Refrigerated, this keeps well, and freezes fairly well.
- El Posole:
- 5. In good size pot, cover the Posole (hominy corn)with water add the garlic and cook until tender.
- 6. Drain and let cool. If you’re not going to finish the menudo straight away put this in the fridge as soon as it cools a bit. Posole wants to ferment.
- El Chili:
- 7. Put the whole dry chilies in a hot frying pan and move about with a wooden spoon or spatula until just beginning to color. Be careful, they scorch easily.
- 8. Remove, let cool, remove skins, stems and most of the seeds, discard.
- 9. Cover with boiling water and let steep 15-20 minutes.
- 10. Run through a food mill or a food processor. Return to the frying pan.
- 11. Add the rest of the chili ingredients and simmer for a few minutes to blend everything together. Cool and refrigerate if not using soon. This is a basic Mexican chili sauce and can be used in a lot of other dishes.
- El Finish:
- To finish the Menudo, take a nice heavy Dutch oven or saucepan, and add:
- 12. 4 Cups Menudo tripe and liquid, divide it out evenly.
- 13. 3 Cups drained Posole Corn
- 14. 1 1/2 to 2 Cups Red Chile Sauce
- 15. Enough water, stock or beer if needed to make a fair bit of juice. Proportions are by taste so please yourself.
- Then add
- 16. 2 cloves garlic, fine chop.
- 17. 1 Tbs. wine or vinegar.
- 18. 1 Tbs. leaf oregano.
- 19. 1 tsp. cumin seed.
- 20. A dash of salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste.
- 21. Simmer for a few minutes, not too long.
- Serve with hot tortillas, and a small plate with a pile of dry oregano, some lime slices, piles of chopped cilantro, chopped onion, salt and some hot chilies. See Photo
- A fellow GR foodie told me he had Menudo once but when he dug a “big, harry pig’s knuckle” out of the bowl, he gave it up. The pig’s feet are hoof and all but they are cleaned, scrapped and cut into chunks, as the joints allow.
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