Menudo
- Total Time
- 3½ hours
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
Yield:8 to 12 servings
- 1cow’s foot (about 3 pounds), cut into pieces (see Tip)
- 1pound beef marrow bones, cut into pieces
- 4large garlic cloves
- 1medium white onion, cut into thick slices
- Salt
- 3pounds cleaned tripe, cut into bite-size pieces
- 2teaspoons dried Mexican oregano
- 6guajillo chiles (about 1 ounce), sliced open, stems, seeds and veins removed (see Tip)
- 3large garlic cloves
- 1teaspoon freshly ground cumin (optional)
- Finely chopped white onion, crushed dried piquín chiles, lime wedges, dried Mexican oregano and warm corn tortillas, for serving
For the Broth
For the Guajillo Sauce
Preparation
- Step 1
To prepare the broth: Combine 6 quarts water with the cow’s foot, marrow bones, garlic and onion in a very large stockpot (at least 12 quarts) and set over medium-high heat. Season with 1½ tablespoons salt. Cover and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to maintain a simmer and cook, uncovered, for 15 minutes. While it cooks, use a spoon to skim off any foam that forms on the surface.
- Step 2
Add the tripe and oregano and cook for 2 to 2 ½ hours, until the tripe is tender but firm. (Do not overcook it.)
- Step 3
Remove the cow’s foot and marrow bones from the pot and skim off the fat from the surface. Once the cow’s foot cools a little, pick off the meaty parts, chop them and return them to the pot, along with the marrow from the bones. Discard all the bones.
- Step 4
While the broth is cooking, make the guajillo sauce: Heat a comal or large skillet over medium-high, then place the guajillo peppers open wide in the pan and lightly roast them for 30 to 40 seconds, until they darken slightly and become fragrant. Remove promptly. Place the roasted peppers in a bowl and cover them with water. Let them soak for about 25 minutes, until soft. Drain the peppers and place them in a blender with the garlic, ½ cup of the cooking broth and cumin (if using). Blend until smooth. Strain the sauce through a strainer into the pot with the broth.
- Step 5
Simmer the broth for another 30 minutes, partially covered. Taste and season with more salt, if you like. Serve the soup in large bowls and place the chopped onion, crushed chiles, lime wedges, oregano and tortillas in serving dishes for everyone to add to their own bowls.
Tips
- Cow’s feet are usually sold already cut in pieces. Look for pieces without hooves that have been cut. If the foot is whole, ask the butcher to cut it for you.
- If you want your broth to have a darker color, add 2 ancho peppers (in addition to the guajillo peppers) to the sauce. Prepare them the same way as the guajillo peppers in step 4.
Private Notes
Leave a Private Note on this recipe and see it here.
Cooking Notes
J Michael Walker
Where's the hominy? In forty-plus years of eating menudo, in family kitchens, Mexican bus stations, church kitchens and basements, restaurants, and in styrofoam containers from vendors outside schools and sporting events, there's always been hominy (maíz cacahuacintle), scooped up from the bottom of the pot. The texture's a great counterpoint to the falling-off-the-bone meat.
Big Sister in Texas
In El Paso TX area, menudo always is made with hominy. It can have beef or pork feet. It is served with "francesitos", French rolls. It is quite good!
Salazar
Our Tejano family tradition always uses pigs feet and yellow hominy can’t beat adding Bolner’s menudo mix along with the chilies. Of course flour tortillas along with the corn. Never thought of it as a soup.
S. Rivera
Mexican Menudo, as this recipe is, doesn't have to have hominy. Tex-Mex menudo is not the same as what you would have further south of the border. This recipes lower rating due to the fact that they're comparing it to tex-mex menudo is wild. The woman who's recipe this is is a wonderful AUTHENTIC mexican chef. This recipe is great.
Philippe Garmy
Honeycomb tripe is the best choice for a proper Menudo. Without the hominy it honestly pales in comparison and doesn’t come close to satisfying. The Mexican oregano mentioned is far brighter and lively in flavour and also essential. Pig trotters can be substituted, if you can’t source cows feet…I actually add more than what this recipe calls for, as it enriches the broth substantially. Marrow bones are a big plus too. I like using both Guajillo and Ancho chiles for a richer and deeper flavour.
Laura parrino
My Italian grandmother made Tripe soup, I’m sure as much a matter of economy as her dandelion green salad, gathered from areas far from human or dog traffic. The cleaning process lasted days, and the broth was tomato based. We gathered around the pot in the middle of the table, with loaves of homemade Italian bread and bottles of homemade red wine. Mmmmmm. I grew up on this amazing food, with nary a spoonful of spaghettios passing my lips.
Bob Gregg
I am a sixth generation Texan born in San Antonio. I have eaten menudo all over Texas and Mexico and the pozole is a personal preference. Some serve it on the side. Everyone has their own twist, just like chili or gumbo. The only rule is of course tripe.
Babs
Somewhere between this recipe and Mark Bittman's Posole recipe, is true Menudo. https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1016476-pozole?smid=ck-recipe-android-share Hominy? Required!Don't forget the patitas.
Dtectr
Like Big Sister in Texas, the hominy is a must, especially for a family meal (you have to fill them up!) and you don't lose that beautiful broth. I was exposed to this in NM, where tripe is always used. Pig's feet with Hatch green Chile and hominy is known as "posole" there. And, risking anathema, I prefer toasted rolls called "bolillos" to tortillas to "sop the broth". I know, I'm a hillbilly.
Rudy Posolero
My Dad would make menudo for the Christmas holidays every year. Too many people are turned off by the greasiness of an ill-tended pot of menudo. His trick for a delicious bowl, was to keep skimming the fat as it's rendered from the tripe. He'd also stick a whole peeled onion in the pot to help "absorb grease", but it just gave it a great taste instead. Also, he never used cow feet in the soup. No one ever missed it.
Juan Jose
Followed recipe almost exactly & came out perfect. I added hominy at last 30 minutes. I let cool & put in fridge and next morning to skim off the fat. The result was a flavorful & collagen rich soup. It’s only my hubby and me so froze the rest to enjoy again.
Jessica
Hominy in menudo is very regional and not required. While it may be common in Tex-Mex style menudo, it is actually not traditional to add hominy to menudo in West Central Mexico where my family is from. Mely's recipe is much like what I grew up eating. We have another soup, called simply posole in which hominy and tender cooked meat are the stars.
LaBolilla
To make taditional menudo, skip the cumin and add drained pozole ( canned hominy) for the last five minutes of cooking. Perfect hangover cure
S. Rivera
Mexican Menudo, as this recipe is, doesn't have to have hominy. Tex-Mex menudo is not the same as what you would have further south of the border. This recipes lower rating due to the fact that they're comparing it to tex-mex menudo is wild. The woman who's recipe this is is a wonderful AUTHENTIC mexican chef. This recipe is great.
Rudy Posolero
My Dad would make menudo for the Christmas holidays every year. Too many people are turned off by the greasiness of an ill-tended pot of menudo. His trick for a delicious bowl, was to keep skimming the fat as it's rendered from the tripe. He'd also stick a whole peeled onion in the pot to help "absorb grease", but it just gave it a great taste instead. Also, he never used cow feet in the soup. No one ever missed it.
Bob Gregg
I am a sixth generation Texan born in San Antonio. I have eaten menudo all over Texas and Mexico and the pozole is a personal preference. Some serve it on the side. Everyone has their own twist, just like chili or gumbo. The only rule is of course tripe.
EdE
A few comments are in order here. Other writers are right, it's not menudo without hominy. Adding dried anchos doesn't just add color, it deepens flavor. For another layer of flavor, I add a some roasted green poblanos. If you're using canned hominy, add it for the last hour of cooking or better yet, use Rancho Gordo dried hominy at the beginning . You should be able to find everything you need if you're lucky enough to live close to a Mexican immigrant community.
Dtectr
Like Big Sister in Texas, the hominy is a must, especially for a family meal (you have to fill them up!) and you don't lose that beautiful broth. I was exposed to this in NM, where tripe is always used. Pig's feet with Hatch green Chile and hominy is known as "posole" there. And, risking anathema, I prefer toasted rolls called "bolillos" to tortillas to "sop the broth". I know, I'm a hillbilly.
Philippe Garmy
Honeycomb tripe is the best choice for a proper Menudo. Without the hominy it honestly pales in comparison and doesn’t come close to satisfying. The Mexican oregano mentioned is far brighter and lively in flavour and also essential. Pig trotters can be substituted, if you can’t source cows feet…I actually add more than what this recipe calls for, as it enriches the broth substantially. Marrow bones are a big plus too. I like using both Guajillo and Ancho chiles for a richer and deeper flavour.
Peter
I see notes regarding hominy, at what point/how does one add it to the stew?
Laura parrino
My Italian grandmother made Tripe soup, I’m sure as much a matter of economy as her dandelion green salad, gathered from areas far from human or dog traffic. The cleaning process lasted days, and the broth was tomato based. We gathered around the pot in the middle of the table, with loaves of homemade Italian bread and bottles of homemade red wine. Mmmmmm. I grew up on this amazing food, with nary a spoonful of spaghettios passing my lips.
Babs
Somewhere between this recipe and Mark Bittman's Posole recipe, is true Menudo. https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1016476-pozole?smid=ck-recipe-android-share Hominy? Required!Don't forget the patitas.
Big Sister in Texas
In El Paso TX area, menudo always is made with hominy. It can have beef or pork feet. It is served with "francesitos", French rolls. It is quite good!
elizard
where do you get a cow's foot?
EdE
At just about any Mexican carneceria or grocery store. It's not menudo without it.
J Michael Walker
Where's the hominy? In forty-plus years of eating menudo, in family kitchens, Mexican bus stations, church kitchens and basements, restaurants, and in styrofoam containers from vendors outside schools and sporting events, there's always been hominy (maíz cacahuacintle), scooped up from the bottom of the pot. The texture's a great counterpoint to the falling-off-the-bone meat.
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