Menudo (Tripe)

A pared-down version of Mexican menudo, the legendary tripe and hominy soup served reverentially on weekend mornings across Mexico and the American Southwest as the unofficial cure for everything (hangovers especially). This streamlined recipe boils tripe to tenderness, then sears it with garlic and hominy in fat before a quick simmer in a chili-powder broth.

A teaspoon of brown sugar in the broth is the kind of detail home cooks miss but it does not miss them, balancing the chili powder’s heat against the chewy, savory tripe. Real menudo cooks low and slow for hours with red chiles ground from scratch, dried oregano, lime, raw onion, and cilantro at the table. This shortcut version takes about 90 minutes and lands on flavor without the fuss.

For ceremony, serve in deep bowls with chopped white onion, fresh cilantro, a wedge of lime, and warm corn tortillas on the side.

Pro Tips

• Wash the tripe thoroughly under cold running water before cooking; both quality and cleanliness matter
• Simmer the tripe for the full hour; underdone tripe is rubbery and chewy in the worst way
• Fry tripe and hominy in fat until both develop golden edges; this is what builds depth in such a short cook
• Use a real chili powder blend (or pure ground guajillo) instead of generic Tex-Mex chili powder for more authentic flavor
• Serve immediately; tripe stiffens as it cools

Variations

• Add a pound of cubed pork shoulder for traditional menudo blanco style
• Use red chile sauce in place of chili powder for menudo rojo
• Garnish with chopped onion, cilantro, lime wedges, dried oregano, and pequin chiles for the full Sunday-morning treatment