Menudo

🍲 Traditional Menudo (Red)

Ingredients

For the soup

• 3 lbs beef tripe (honeycomb if you can find it)

• 1–1½ lbs beef feet or beef shank (for body)

• 1 large onion, halved

• 1 whole head garlic

• 2 bay leaves

• Salt (to taste)

Chile sauce

• 6–8 dried guajillo chiles

• 2–3 dried ancho chiles

• 2 cloves garlic

• ½ tsp cumin

• ½ tsp Mexican oregano

• Salt

To finish

• 2 tsp dried Mexican oregano

• 1 tbsp white vinegar

Instructions

1. Clean the tripe (very important)

   • Rinse tripe under cold water.

   • Rub with salt and a little vinegar or lemon.

   • Rinse again. Cut into bite-sized pieces.

2. First boil

   • Place tripe in a large pot, cover with water.

   • Boil 10 minutes, then drain and rinse (removes strong odor).

3. Main simmer

   • Return tripe to pot with beef feet/shank, onion, garlic head, bay leaves.

   • Cover with fresh water.

   • Simmer 2–2½ hours, until tripe starts to get tender.

4. Make chile sauce

   • Remove stems & seeds from chiles.

   • Toast lightly in a dry pan (don’t burn).

   • Soak in hot water 15 minutes.

   • Blend chiles with garlic, cumin, oregano, salt, and soaking liquid until smooth.

   • Strain.

5. Combine

   • Add chile sauce to pot.

   • Add oregano, vinegar, and salt to taste.

6. Final simmer

   • Simmer uncovered 1–1½ hours until tripe is very tender and broth is rich.

Serve With (Non-Negotiable)

• Chopped onion

• Fresh cilantro

• Lime wedges

• Crushed dried chile or chile oil

• Warm corn tortillas or bolillos

Pro Tips

• Menudo is better the next day.

• Low, steady simmer = tender tripe.

• Broth should be deep red, not watery.

If you want, I can:

• Do Menudo Blanco

• Give you a pressure cooker / Instant Pot version

• Make it extra spicy like the street vendors

• Or help you scale it for a big family pot