Inside: This Authentic Mexican Menudo Recipe is as Mexican as it gets and you will be surprised how good it is when made right!
This is part of a sponsored collaboration with Rumba Meats. However, all opinions expressed are my own.
While Mexico is well-known for certain things, such as tacos, tostadas, and more, it is also known for things that some people might not be as eager to try like menudo.
What Is Menudo?
Menudo is a popular “caldo”, or soup, in Mexico that includes as a main component beef tripe. If you don’t know what that is, it is the meat from a cow’s stomach.
Now it might come as a shock to you, but it can actually be very delicious if you prepare it the right way, and that is my goal with this recipe today!
Whenever you purchase any of the less common cuts of meat, like beef tripe, beef tongue, oxtails, and cheekmeat, you want to make sure that you cook it the right way, and that you purchase high-quality meat. In Mexico, you can find these types of meat all over the place, but in the United States, it can be a little bit more difficult.
Fortunately, I recently came across a brand that sells all of these cuts of meat and more and that you can have delivered directly to your door.
The company is Rumba Meats, and you can purchase the meat for this menudo and many others on Amazon.
I ordered this variety box and I was pleasantly surprised when it arrived. It came in a very secure box, with dry ice and well packed. The meat was all still frozen solid and ready to either thaw or put in the freezer.
For this menudo recipe, I used the Rumba Meats Honeycomb Beef Tripe. It came clean and trimmed, which was great.
This isn’t a recipe that I make very often, because my husband isn’t quite brave enough yet to try it, but I have to say – it turned out very good and flavorful.
My mom used to make this version of menudo when I was growing up, and I used to help her. I remember the recipe now that I am older and it definitely brought back some good memories from growing up in Mexico.
I hope that you enjoy this recipe, and that you will give it a try – even if it is a little bit outside of your comfort zone!
Let me know in the comments below how it turned out for you.
Try These Other Great Mexican Classics
- Mexican Pozole Recipe
- Authentic Mexican Chicken Tortilla Soup
- Charro Beans Authentic Mexican Recipe
- Shrimp Ceviche Mexican Style Ceviche Recipe
- Authentic Mexican Birria Recipe (3 Methods)
- Barbacoa Tacos
- How To Make Authentic Beef Tongue Tacos (Tacos de Lengua Recipe)
Products Used In this Recipe
- Sharp knives – important for trimming the tripe.
- Large Stock Pot
- Honeycomb Beef Tripe
- Dried Guajillo Chiles
Authentic Mexican Menudo Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 Pounds of Rumba Meats Honeycomb Tripe
- 1 Liter of Water
- ½ White Onion
- 1 head of garlic about 4-5 cloves
- 1 Branch of Fresh Oregano
- 1 Branch of Fresh Rosemary
- Salt
- Guajillo Sauce 2 pasilla peppers, 2 guajillo peppers, salt, pepper, cumin, clove of garlic
- 1 Can of Beef Stock
- 1 Can of Hominy
- 2 Potatoes cut into medium sized cubes
Instructions
- Clean the Tripe with water and vinegar, and then rinse.
- Trim the fat around the edges of the tripe.
- Cut the Tripe into small chunks and add it to a pot with boiling water and cook for about 25 minutes.
- Drain the water and rinse the Tripe again. Set aside.
- In a large, clean pot add a liter of water, the garlic, onion, salt, fresh herbs, beef stock, potatoes, and tripe.
- Bring to a boil and let cook for 20 minutes.
- Make the guajillo sauce by removing the seeds and stem from the pasilla and guajillo peppers, and boiling them for 15 minutes in water. Drain the water and blend the softened peppers with one clove of garlic, salt, pepper, onion, and cumin. Strain the mixture with a strainer.
- Add the guajillo sauce and the hominy to the pot with the rest of the ingredients and let cook for an additional 10 minutes.
- Serve with lime, onion, and cilantro.
Kathy Luna
Friday 26th of April 2024
I have never added potatoes to my menudo. And yes I use cumin. I also blend in a few tomatillos and a tomato to the chili blend. And I do use fresh oregano for the chili blend as well. The oregano that is talked about for serving as a garnish is dried oregano. Everyone has their own preferences. Nothing is set in stone with Mexican cuisine. All add their own flair. I personally like to add a few chayote squash for flavor. It doesn’t break down and reduce making the soup cloudy later like I assume potatoes would. Enjoy everyone.
Jai
Saturday 10th of February 2024
My mother taught me using fresh honey comb tripe, fresh pigs feet, fresh hominy. No potatoes, that's for caldo. No rosemary, we used menudo mix spices. Tap water, no broth. One large whole onion which I remove after menudo is done. We begin cooking the pigs feet first until half cooked then we add the tripe. The entire cooking time is nearly 4-6 hours on low flame after the point of boiling. My grandparents are from Sinaloa. They crossed the border illegally, yes, and worked hard in the fields of Southern Arizona and eventually got their legal papers. They made their home from mud and straw and cooked on a wood stove. We bathed in the canal during spring and summer and when the cold fall and winter came we hauled water in steel buckets from the canal to warm on the wood stove. They dug the earth and installed a hand water pump outside the small kitchen house they built. It was the freshest and coolest water. I loved it! We had an outhouse because we had no indoor plumbing. They raised farm animals and had great outdoor family parties of celebrations and hired a Mariachi band to play for us. It was the greatest times of my life as a child and teen. Finally, our homemade menudo was the best ever and we still carry on the very simple recipe handed down from generations. We were poor but happy. Nothing fancy...just family and lots of love. I just wanted to share in the simplicity of our authentic family homemade menudo recipe. Thank you for reading and allowing me to share. Much love...
Carolyn Perales
Monday 4th of December 2023
I love Menudo I remember my aunt's making it every year around Christmas time so I make it now I am 77 years old and I make it in winter months it is so delicious
Tuesday 28th of November 2023
This is so good I showed my mom this recipe and she made it and she loved it thank you for this delicious food, please make more great food.
Valerie
Thursday 22nd of June 2023
Where I live, Guajillo peppers are usually sold dried, and Pasilla peppers sold fresh. I have heard that Guajillos are sometimes called Mirabel when fresh but I haven't seen them. Do the instructions assume fresh or dried peppers?