This menudo recipe comes from the good State of Durango. iArriba Durango!
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Table of Contents
🍲 What is Menudo?
Menudo is a Mexican stew made of beef tripe, or cow’s stomachs. It is cooked in a red chile broth with hominy and served in large bowls. Topped with lime juice, onion, cilantro, and oregano.
It is one of Mexico’s most traditional recipes just like Pozole Rojo, Birria de Res, Chile Verde. Dishes with organ meats can be an acquired taste.
🌶️ How to Make the Red Chile Sauce
- Remove stems from the dried chile pepper and cover with water.
- Bring to a boil and turn off heat.
- Let sit in the hot water for 5 minutes to rehydrate the chiles.
If you do not add the red sauce, this dish is called menudo blanco, or white menudo.
Other Names
- Menudo is the most common name for this dish. Depending on where you come from in Mexico, some people call it “Pancita” or “Mondongo.”
- Since this is an authentic menudo recipe from Durango in Northern Mexico, we also add hominy and a red chile sauce.
- Add all the sauce ingredients to a blender.
- Blend until smooth.
To make the red chile sauce, we needs lots of guajillo peppers and chile de árbol.
The sauce is NOT spicy because there is a lot of water in the pot. The chiles will add a robust and deep flavor to the tripe soup.
Fun Fact: Because it’s such a hearty soup, some people also refer to it as a hangover cure.
How to Get Rid of the Smell
Tripe (or pancita de res) has a distinct smell. Luckily, there are several ways to minimize the smell.
Tips to Reduce the Smell:
- Put the tripe in a large stockpot.
- Cover with water.
- Add juice of 2 limes, or 4 tablespoons of white distilled vinegar.
- Let sit in the fridge for at least 1 to 1 ½ hour. Discard water. Continue with recipe.
OR
- Put the tripe in a large pot.
- Cover with water and bring to a boil.
- Turn heat off.
- Add 4 tablespoons white distilled vinegar and 2 garlic cloves.
- Let sit for at least 30 minutes. Discard water. Continue with recipe.
🥣 How to Cook Honeycomb Tripe
For Stovetop:
- Cut tripe into small pieces. About 2 inch pieces.
- Place the tripe inside the pot.
- Add onion, garlic, and bay leaf. This is when to add the pigs feet, if using.
- Cover with water (4 inches above the meat), and let simmer for 2 ½ hours.
For Instant Pot:
- Cut tripe into small pieces.
- Place the tripe inside the pot.
- Add onion, garlic, bay leaves, and add water to max level. Also add pigs feet, if using.
- Add lid, move valve to SEALING, press High Pressure 50 minutes, full natural release.
- When done, change to a bigger pot. You also need to add 4 cups beef broth when adding the sauce and hominy.
For Slow Cooker:
- Cut tripe into small pieces.
- Place tripe inside the pot along with onion, garlic, and bay leaves. Add pig’s feet, if using.
- Cover with water.
- Set on low for 6 hours.
- When done, change to the biggest pot you own. When adding the sauce and hominy, also add 4 cups beef broth.
- Take out the whole onion, garlic, bay leaves from the pot.
- Using a strainer, strain the red sauce and add the white hominy to the pot.
- Cook for another ½ hour.
It is not hard to make this menudo recipe. It just takes a long time. Look for ways to cut your cooking time.
👩🏼🍳 Pro Tips
- The Mexican tripe soup will be ready in no time if cooked in the instant pot.
- Make the chile sauce ahead of time. You can make it days before, or use frozen sauce from months ago.
- Cook the tripe a day, two days, even three days before.
- Ask the butcher to chop the tripe for you.
Is menudo healthy or unhealthy?
Believe it or not, menudo is good for you. 1-cup of serving has 210 calories and 13 grams of lean protein.
🫙 Storing Instructions
- Store in an airtight container and keep in the fridge until ready to consume. In the fridge, Mexican Menudo will last 3-4 days. It actually tastes better when it’s reheated.
- Place in a sealable plastic bag and remove as much air as possible. Thaw before reheating. In the freezer, it lasts 3-4 months. It will have lost some of its freshness and texture, but the taste will still be there.
- Do not leave the stew at room temperature for more than 2 hours, or bacteria will start to multiply and FAST.
💡 Ideas for Toppings
- Raw, diced white onion
- Chopped cilantro
- Lime wedges
- Dried Mexican oregano
- Crushed Chile de Arbol or New Mexico Chile. Crush it open slightly, and put it in your soup bowl for some extra heat.
🥄 What does it taste like?
Menudo tastes like a robust, red chile stew with rich flavors. The tripe itself is mild in taste but has a texture of clams or chewy calamari.
There are yummy bites of corn hominy and an earthiness from the broth.
This is truly the BEST menudo recipe, if I say so myself. It is pure Mexican comfort food meant to feed a large crowd. It’s a delicious dish that’s perfect for special occasions and family gatherings.
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Did you make this recipe? Please rate the recipe below!
Menudo Recipe
Ingredients
For the Tripe:
- 6 lbs Beef Honeycomb Tripe chopped into 2-inch pieces
- Water (enough for 6 inches above meat)
- 1 onion cut in half
- 5 garlic cloves
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 cow's feet (optional)
For the Red Chile Sauce:
- 8 chile guajillo stem removed, deveined, and seeded
- 3 chile de árbol stem removed, deveined, and seeded
- Pinch whole cumin
- 2 garlic cloves
- ¼ onion
- Salt (to taste)
- 2 cups water
You'll Also Need:
- 6 cups Hominy rinsed
Toppings:
- Diced raw onion
- Chopped Cilantro
- Lime
- chile de árbol
Instructions
- Rinse the beef honeycomb tripe well.
- Add honeycomb tripe, 1 whole onion, 5 garlic cloves, 2 bay leaves, and pigs feet (if using) to a large stockpot.
- Add water. About 6 inches above the honeycomb.
- Cover and bring to a boil for 2 ½ hours.
- In the meantime, make the red chile sauce.
- In a smaller stockpot add the chile guajillo and the chile de árbol.
- Add water. Enough to cover all the chiles.
- Bring to a boil.
- Turn heat off and let sit for 5 minutes until soft.
- Add all the chiles, ¼ onion, 2 garlic cloves, pinch of cumin, and salt to the blender.
- Using the water from which the chiles cooked in, add it to the blender.
- Blend until smooth.
- Before adding the chile sauce, remove and discard the onion and bay leaves from the pot.
- Add the red sauce and 2 tablespoons salt to the honeycomb tripe pot.
- Add 1 cup of water to the blender to get any remaining red sauce and pour into the pot.
- Rinse the hominy.
- Add the hominy to the pot.
- Stir to combine.
- Cover and let simmer for an additional 30 minutes.
- Serve with toppings and enjoy!
Video
Notes
For a slow cooker: Set on low for 6 hours. HOW LONG WILL MENUDO LAST? In the fridge, menudo will last 3-4 days. It actually tastes better when it’s reheated. In the freezer, menudo will last 3-4 months. It will have lost some of its freshness and texture, but the taste will still be there. TIP TO REDUCE THE SMELL:
- Put the tripe in a large stockpot.
- Cover with water.
- Add juice of 2 limes, or 4 tablespoons of white distilled vinegar.
- Let sit in the fridge for at least 1 to 1 ½ hour. Discard water. Continue with recipe.
Also, helps to add a couple of beef and pork bones (even cjicken) to tripa boiling water for gelatin and flavor.
Yes, if you can find them, they make a great addition. Thanks for mentioning this.
At what point do I need to clean the pot to eliminate odor?
After you have cooked the tripe, clean the pot.
I have beef tripe but it’s not honeycomb tripe. Can I use it.
Yes, you can use it.
How many servings can you get with the ingredients noted above?
Hi. Everything is noted on the recipe card. This recipe calls for 10 servings.
Is cows feet or pigs feet as both are mentioned at different points in your post?
You can use either.
If I want to make it in the instant pot how many pounds of meat would you recommend?
Thanks
I’ve never made it in the instant pot, and it really depends on the size of your IP. Sorry, I wish I could be of more help.
Looks yummy! We Filipinos have a different version of Menudo, I’ll try this recipe soon !
Hope you try it. It’s really good!
Hi Maggie, love the menudo! Looking forward making some more of your recipes for my grandkids!
They’re going to love it! Provecho.
I’ve never heard of this kind of dish before. It looks amazing though. I’m always up to trying out new foods. I really would like to give this a try.
Hope you try it! It’s delicious
Hi Maggie, this recipe is how my mom makes her Menudo. She is from the city of Durango and reading your blog reminded me of my childhood days when we spent our Christmas break in Durango. Having menudo for Christmas Eve was the best with fresh bake “pan de agua” or bolillos.
My family is from Durango too. My dad currently lives in Durango, Durango. Love writing down our recipes.
I made this recipe last year and had great success. So simple and so yummy! Best stuff for you to cure the hangover feeling and always a plus is that Tripe has plenty of B12 vitamins😋😋. So eat up!
I LOVE it when people try my recipes. And definitely, tripe is a great source of B12 vitamins, so it’s a win-win situation!
Any type of hangover or cold coming on… Menudo does the trick
Great to hear that you find Menudo helpful for those situations! It’s a flavorful dish that many people enjoy.
I’m not very adventurous when it comes to organ meat, but this recipe makes tripe look delicious!
It’s delicious indeed. Hope you try it!
Looks so savory. I really love beef honeycomb at most of my soup or saucy dishes.
It is really savory! Hope you try it
This authentic menudo looks so hearty and full of delicious flavor.
Thanks! So glad you enjoyed this!
I’ve never had this before. I would love to make this for my family.
It’s so yummy!
I love Mexican food but have never had tripe. It sounds strange but looks like it tastes amazing.
It really does! Hope you try this recipe
I will have to try this. I’m in Texas and I hear it referred to as menudo, but I have yet to taste it!
It’s so good! Hope you try it!
Menudo is popular here in New Mexico. I dont eat meat so I have never tried it.
Hope you try it! It’s so good!
MY DAD loves tripe! I am sending him this recipe ASAP cause I know he would probably want to make it for himself – TONIGHT!
Your dad would love this recipe!
I once was married to a Mexican for years and this soup was a big deal every Sunday. I lost the recipe because my mother in law passed away. So I was excited to be able to make this for my son’s and their families
So glad you enjoyed this! Hope you try it
Love it so easy I truly recommend this recipe. And it is all some with flour tortillas and just as good with corn tortillas.
So glad you liked this recipe. It’s delicious, if I say so myself.
Yummy
Thank you!
I always love Mexican Food, this one looks delish and I wanna make this tonight.
Thank you. In my humble opinion (lol), Mexican food is the best!
This looks good. I’ve never made anything like this, so I’m excited to try it out. It sounds perfect for the winter when it’s cold out. It’ll warm you right up!
You’re right, it’s perfect when you’re craving something warming and comforting. The flavors and aromas of Menudo are sure to warm you right up on a chilly day. Enjoy!