Quick & Easy Menudo

The food of my people!  Seriously, I am the whitest Latino you will ever meet.  Yes, Grandma (Abuelita) was from Guadalajara, Jalisco MX.

As we are at New Year's Eve and New Year's Day (pictures probably in the morning, as the light is quickly fading) this dish is fabled to be...well, a type of antidote...a curative...a palliative...oh, hell, it's a hangover remedy!

This is a traditional stew of beef, patas (pig's or beef feet) in a rich, hearty beef stock with onion, herbs, chiles, hominy (dried, limed and reconstituted corn kernels) and yes, tripe.  If this scares you OR you don't know what this is, back away now and you will have no regrets.  The process is a day-long project at least and results in a spicy stock with stewed tripe and hominy.  The consumer typically garnishes to taste with crushed red chiles, oregano, diced onion, cilantro and lime - even avocado, try what you like as it is a blank canvas wrapped up in warm tortillas (I like corn{maize}).

As I think about the coming hangover holiday and look into my freezer, I realize I have TONS of clarified beef stock which has been parked for a while and needs to be used up.  This gives me an advantage in terms of prep time, but as I have removed all the cool fat and thickening gelatin from the cartilage I will need to add in these ingredients to be successful.  I repurpose the stock with some roasted bones, amp up the seasoning, and pop in tripe and hominy.  As you may have seen the phrases, "quick and easy" do not often appear in my recipes, and even in the real world these are objective terms.  Instead of a full day recipe this ends up being a half-day recipe.  Allow three to four hours for prep.

IF you do not have half a freezer full of prepared beef stock, here is a quick menudo stock recipe to get you started.  This takes you back to a full day of prep.

THE RECIPE - SCRATCH STOCK
3-4 # Beef soup (marrow) bones
3-4# Beef soup (meaty) bones
3 patas (pig's feet)
3 - 4 Qts, filtered water
3 lg. onions, quartered
6-8 bay leaves
4 stalks celery, sliced on the bias
3 T dried oregano
Stalks from one bunch of fresh cilantro
5-6 chiles japonesas, dried (more if that's your thing)
Salt and pepper, to taste

ROAST the bones and feet at 450°F for an hour, turning at the half-hour mark.  Add the onions at the half hour mark and torch these guys,  place all ingredients into the water and add all spices.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer three hours.  Remove from heat, cool and strain with a china cap.  Then proceed to the rest of the recipe. 

THE RECIPE - Quick & Easy Menudo

3 - 4 Qts. beef stock
2# beef marrow bones, roasted for 1 hour at 450°F, turned at 30 min.
1 lg. onion, quartered and roasted 450°F  for 30 min.
6 bay leaves
2 T dried oregano leaves
2 T smoked paprika
2 T ground New Mexico chile pepper
2 T freshly ground black pepper
3 chiles japonesas, dried
Salt & pepper, to taste

2# honeycomb tripe
(rinsed and soaked three times for 30 min. each run, with water changes and salt added at each 30 min.  Remember we are working with beef stomach, so you want a good, thorough rinse.  The market did not have honeycomb tripe today, but they did have book tripe in stock.  This is a flatter, more delicate and feathery tripe, often used in Chinese dim sum.  Unlike honeycomb tripe which is one flat strip to slice into squares, this is more three dimensional - it needs to be sliced both horizontally and diagonally.  The tripe will absorb the flavors in which it simmers, and break down with the simmering.)

GARNISH:
Cilantro
Diced onion
Crushed red pepper
Dried oregano
Minced cilantro leaves
Diced avocado
Jalapeno pepper slices
Lime wedges
Smoked or black finishing sea salt
Warm corn / flour tortillas

 OK - for those of you who have enough frozen beef stock to survive the Zombie Apocalypse, we are going to add a bit of gelatin for a thickener, and seasonings to "Latinize" the stock, then simmer the tripe and finish with the hominy and garnishes.

Rinse the tripe and soak for 30 minutes in cool water.   Add 2 - 3 T sea salt and soak and change water, rinse and salt for three more thirty minute water changes.

Warm the stock and add misc. seasonings.  Bring to a boil and simmer as beef bones and onions roast.  Add these as well as rendered fat, and simmer for an additional hour.  Remove from heat, cool and strain.

When the tripe finishes its rinse / soak cycle, drain and slice into bite - sized strips.  Set into stock and simmer until tender, 1 to 2 hours.  Add hominy, taste stock and adjust seasoning as needed.  Serve into 12 - 16 oz. bowls, with garnishes and warm tortillas.

ENJOY and leave feedback if you try this recipe!