Jalisco Red Menudo (Menudo Tapatío)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •10-quart heavy stockpot or food-safe olla de barro
• •Large basin for washing tripe
• •Cast iron comal for toasting chiles
• •High-powered blender
• •Fine-mesh strainer
• •Deep pozolero bowls or Tonalá-style clay bowls

Instructions

1. 1

   Wash the tripe

   Place the tripe and beef feet in a large basin. Rub them with the vinegar and 2 tablespoons kosher salt, working the salt into the folds of the tripe. Rinse under cold water until the water runs clear. This is not perfume work. This is cleaning. If the tripe smells like ammonia or heavy chlorine, take it back to the carnicería.

2. 2

   Blanch the meat

   Put the tripe and beef feet in a large pot and cover with cold water by 2 inches. Bring to a strong simmer and cook for 10 minutes. Drain and rinse the pot. This first water carries the rough smell away. Do it once and do it properly.

3. 3

   Start the broth

   Return the tripe and beef feet to the clean pot. Add 16 cups cold water, the halved onion, the halved head of garlic, bay leaves, and 1 tablespoon kosher salt. Bring to a gentle simmer, then lower the heat until the surface moves slowly. Skim the foam during the first 20 minutes. A hard boil makes a dirty broth and tightens the tripe.

4. 4

   Simmer until tender

   Cook partially covered for 3 to 3 1/2 hours, adding hot water if the liquid drops below the meat. The tripe should bend easily when pinched, and the pata should release gelatin into the broth. Do not rush it. The women who perfected this in Guadalajara's market kitchens knew that menudo is ready when the pot says so, not when your clock gets impatient.

   If the beef feet become tender before the tripe, lift them out, cool them, pull off the edible gelatin and meat, and return those pieces at the end. Let the tripe finish on its own.
5. 5

   Toast the chiles

   While the broth simmers, heat a dry comal over medium. Toast the chile guajillo one at a time, about 20 to 30 seconds per side, just until the skins darken slightly and smell fruity. Toast the chile ancho the same way. If using chile de árbol, give it only a few seconds. Burned chile turns bitter, and bitterness in menudo is laziness you can taste.

6. 6

   Soak and blend

   Place the toasted chiles in a bowl and cover with hot water for 20 minutes. Hot water, not boiling. Drain them, then blend with the peeled garlic cloves, cumin seeds, black peppercorns, dried Mexican oregano, and 1 1/2 cups of the simmering broth. Blend longer than you think. You want a smooth brick-red puree, not bits of chile skin floating through the bowl.

7. 7

   Strain the chile

   Push the chile puree through a fine-mesh strainer into a bowl, pressing hard with a spoon. Discard the skins and seeds left behind. This is the difference between a broth that drinks clean and a broth that scratches the throat. Pregúntale a las señoras del mercado. They strain it.

8. 8

   Fry the sauce

   Melt the manteca de cerdo in a skillet over medium heat. Add the strained chile puree carefully because it will sputter. Cook for 7 to 8 minutes, stirring often, until the sauce darkens and the fat begins to shine at the edges. La manteca es el sabor. Frying wakes up the guajillo and gives the broth its Jalisco red color.

9. 9

   Finish the menudo

   Remove the onion, garlic head, and bay leaves from the broth. Stir in the fried chile sauce. If you removed the pata earlier, return the chopped gelatin and meat now. Simmer uncovered for 30 to 40 minutes more, until the broth tastes like beef, guajillo, garlic, and time. Taste for salt at the end. Salt too early and the broth can turn harsh as it reduces.

10. 10

    Serve tapatío

    Ladle the menudo into deep bowls. Set out diced raw white onion, cilantro, dried Mexican oregano, lime halves, and crushed chile piquín or chile de árbol powder. Serve with torn birote salado for dipping. No hominy in this Jalisco bowl. If you want maíz pozolero, make another region's menudo. Cada estado, su propia cocina.

Chef Tips

• •Buy the tripe from a carnicería that moves product every day. It should smell like clean beef, not bleach and not ammonia. White as paper usually means it has been treated hard. You want clean, not dead-tasting.
• •The chile guajillo should be flexible and deep red, not dusty, cracked, or brown. Bad chiles make bad broth. You can have perfect technique and dead chiles and still lose. Start at the market, not the stove.
• •Do not add hominy to this tapatío version. Other states and families do. Fine. This recipe is Jalisco red menudo without maíz. Esto no es comida de un solo México.
• •Birote salado is hard to replace outside Guadalajara. A crusty bolillo or sourdough roll is a compromise, not an upgrade. It will not hold the broth the same way, but it is better than pretending a flour tortilla belongs here.
• •A pressure cooker is allowed when time is tight. Cook the blanched tripe and pata with the onion, garlic, bay leaves, salt, and water for 60 to 75 minutes at high pressure, then finish uncovered with the fried chile sauce. No me vengas con atajos that change the dish, but this one respects it.

Advance Preparation

• •Menudo is better the next day. Make the broth and finish the chile base one day ahead, cool it uncovered, then refrigerate. Reheat gently and taste for salt before serving.
• •After chilling, skim off only the heavy solid fat. Leave some chile-stained fat in the pot. That sheen belongs there.
• •The toasted and strained chile sauce can be made up to 3 days ahead and refrigerated. Fry it in manteca before adding it to the broth.
• •Leftover menudo keeps refrigerated for 4 days. Reheat over low heat so the tripe stays tender and the broth stays clear.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 700g)