Success/Failures

I chose to make Menudo because it was something that I thought would be challenging and rewarding to make. I consider myself a good a cook and can make many different dishes from scratch, but one dish I always had issues with is soup always making the broth too watery or with not enough flavor. Menudo would give me the opportunity to, not only try and make my grandmothers signature dish, but also give me another shot at making a decent soup.

My first attempt at Menudo, I had not yet had the chance to get my grandmothers recipe from my aunt, so I found a recipe online. I gathered the necessary ingredients: tripe, white hominy, two different kinds of chili peppers, onions, and garlic, then followed the directions and began my quest. I cooked the soup for four hours as the recipe called for and the aroma was amazing; it smelled just like grandma’s house. I was super excited and called my family to dinner. We all served ourselves excited to try it, I mean, the smell said that I had done a good job. Looking at the soup, our mouths began to water, and we dug in. The broth definitely had flavor, but boy was it hot! My mom, sister, brother-in-law, and I all had trouble eating it because it was just too spicy. My dad, on the other hand, ate it with no problems and enjoyed it, for him the hotter the better.  After we all had eaten, most of us decided that it was just too hot, and that would have to be modified on the next try.  Dad, being the only one who could actually eat it, was able to give the most valuable feed-back, while he said it was good he said it was missing some flavors, and was not quite up to par with Grandma’s. He also made a comment about the onion (which I left whole, so he could eat around it), “Grandma never used onions” he said.  So, I decided the next time I made this, I would have to use Grandma’s recipe.

 

Once I finally got a hold of my grandma’s recipe I went to work. The recipe was almost the same as the first one I used except it called for broiling of the chili’s first, instead of just deseeding and boiling, and cumin. I gathered the different ingredients, following this recipe to a T, praying that this time I would be able to make a decent bowl we could eat. Again, the appetizing aroma of Menudo began to fill the room, I was excited but remembered the smell can be deceiving.  After the 8 hour wait for the soup, we all sat at the table ready to give my second attempt at Menudo another try.  We filled our bowls, and I watched everyone begin to eat, nervous that this would be another fail. Once I saw the smile on everyone’s face, I took a bite of mine, and it was a success! It wasn’t too spicy, had the right amount of flavor to it and the meat was the perfect texture. I was really proud of myself, and although I still don’t think it was as good as grandma’s, it came pretty close. My family enjoyed it and are asking me to make it for them on New Year’s Day, which I am happy to do.

 

Grandma’s Menudo

Ingredients:

1 head of Garlic

2lbs Tripe

1 Onion

1 teaspoon cumin

4 Guajillo Chili’s

1 tablespoon Oregano

6 cups hominy

1 teaspoon chili powder

Directions: 

In large pot, boil tripe, whole onion, and garlic for 3 hours or until tripe is tender, clean off surface as needed.

Deseed chili’s, and put on broiler. Toast until slightly darkened, do not burn. Once chili’s are toasted put them in a blender and blend. Strain mixture, put in bowl and set aside.

Once tripe has boiled for 3 hours, add chili mixture to pot along with oregano, cumin, and chili powder (to taste.). Let boil for 2 more hours. Then add hominy and let boil for another 3 hours.

Serve with limes or tortillas. 

Why I’m making Menudo

Photo from Tasty Eats at Home

One of my fondest memories as a child is being at my Grandma’s house and smelling the delicious aroma of homemade tortillas, enchilada’s, rice, beans, and of course Menudo. Grandma served Menudo on different occasions, like for the holidays and a home remedy for when my cousins and I were sick. I remember one day my cousins and I were all sick with colds and Grandma made Menudo to help us get better. I was a very picky eater as a child and refused to eat anything that looked or even sounded “gross”, and Menudo was one of those foods. Of course I refused to eat it; Grandma, not taking no for an answer, gave me an ultimatum either eat the Menudo or eat a spoon full of her salsa, which was crazy hot and would not only clear your sinuses, but would also leave you without taste buds for a few hours. Being the smart kid I was, I chose to eat the soup. I took one bite, made a face to prove my point, and secretly enjoyed it. After that, I was hooked, and never again gave her any more problems when she would serve me a big bowl of menudo.

Not only was Menudo a big part of my Grandmother’s home remedies, but it was a big part of our family reunions. During these gatherings, which mainly took place during the summer, my family would party until almost three in the morning. It played a huge role in getting everyone up and ready for the activities of the day. I remember my aunts and uncles, looking like zombies, slowly making their way over to the table, and having themselves a big bowl of Menudo. Once they ate they seemed to come alive and then would join us kids at the volleyball net or the lake for some fun. Those trips will always bring a smile to face because this was the one time of year the whole family would come together, without any drama, and just have fun.

Having had my own experiences with the dreaded hangover, I know now that without that soup, the family reunions probably would not have been as much fun. I could only imagine how many times us kids would have been yelled at for being too loud, or how much trouble we would have gotten into with the adults trying to sleep off their hangovers.

There are so many great stories and memories that I have, with Menudo playing a big role in those memories, which is one reason I chose this dish to make. Another reason is my dad, the world’s pickiest eater, will actually eat it. Even though he loves food he won’t eat anything with onions, ketchup, cilantro, cheese, sour cream, guacamole, peas, and the list can go on and on. He once ordered a cheeseburger “with no cheese” and will refuse to eat anything ketchup has touched. I once got us some burgers that had cheese and ketchup on them, not wanting to drive back to the burger place, I stood in-front of the sink trying to remove any trace of cheese or ketchup from his burger before he got home. He somehow managed to find the one tiny piece of cheese that I had missed, and I had to make a trip back to the restaurant anyway.

I knew that for this my dish I would have to make something he will actually eat. Already knowing how to make many of the foods he will eat, I figured I would give Menudo a try, since I know for a fact he loves it, and its one dish I know he misses. He has not had a good bowl of Menudo since my Grandmother passed away a few years ago, so it is my mission to make him a bowl just like she used to.

History of Menudo

Menudo is a dish which came from Mexico, although it unclear exactly which part of the country it was created. Different regions claim to have invented it with the northern region, known for its chicken and beef production, claiming it came about from farmers who made the soup from spare parts of a slaughtered cow. Others say this dish was created in central Mexico. Although we do not know for sure where in the country this dish originated, we do know that different areas have different versions. The red Menudo, or “Menudo Rojo” is mainly found in Guadalajara and the northern regions of Mexico, and the white version is common in the Sinaloa area, the central part of Mexico.

Made from garlic, onion, chili, hominy, and tripe, Menudo is a very simple soup containing traditional Mexican ingredients.  The Aztec’s who first inhabited Mexico had very simple diets consisting of corn based food, chilies, beans, squash, and different herbs. When the Spanish arrived in Mexico, they brought with them their diets of meat (poultry, pork, beef), rice, fruits, and vegetables, combining them together to create today’s “Mexican food”. Mexican dishes are known for being colorful and full of spices, and this soup embodies that, it has a nice spicy red broth, with white hominy (corn). It is no wonder this dish is so popular in the Mexican culture.

Unlike American’s who view soup as an appetizer, Mexican’s consider caldo (soup) a main dish and Menudo is a common meal. Known for being a hangover cure, it “raises the dead” according to Juan Miret’s article Flavors of the Season: Soup after the Holidays, and is eaten mainly during the Holiday Season.

Being a cure for such an ailment is one of the reasons my family eats it, and there is no better meal on New Year’s morning than a warm, spicy bowl of Menudo to get rid of the pains caused from partying the night before. My aunts would make a pot the day before so that in the morning all they would have to do was warm up a bowl and recover. One would think that a meal made from tripe, or cow stomach, would make someone with an already unsettled stomach feel so much worse, but it actually helps. Once you start eating, and the flavorful, “chiloso,” broth hits your tongue, you start to feel human again with just that one bite. All the ingredients work together to make a delicious and healing soup.