Menudo, also known as pancita is a traditional Mexican soup, made with cow's stomach (tripe) in broth with a red chili pepper base. Menudo is typically served with chopped raw onions, oregano, diced chiles (usually serrano), and lemon or lime segments along with corn or flour tortillas.
Eating Menudo on New Year's Day has become a Mexican-American tradition, probably because it's considered by Latin Americans as a sure-fire cure for a hangover.
Menudo is traditionally a family food prepared by the entire family and often serves as an occasion for social interactions such as after weddings, baptisms, birthdays and holidays.
Serves 5
Ingredients:
1 lb. Beef Tripe, cleaned and cut into bite-size pieces
4 tsp garlic, minced
1 tbsp salt
1 tbsp black pepper
2 tsp Mexican oregano
1 tsp cumin, ground
1/2 cup onion, diced
1 28oz. can Mexican Hominy, drained
1 cup Red Chile Sauce
Directions:
Place beef tripe into a pot of boiling water, just
enough to cover the tripe. Scoop any foam from
boiling water
Add garlic and onions and salt. Cover and cook for
about 1 to 3 hours on low heat until the tripe is tender.
When tripe is tender add the remaining ingredients
including the hominy and cook about 15 or 20
minutes longer. Add more salt if needed. This is a
spicy dish and it goes well with cilantro and a
twist of lime.
For white Menudo, eliminate the red chile sauce.
