Like a lot of immigrant moms, mine runs fast and loose with ingredients, cooking times and servings. Questions were asked, Spanish transcribed and lots of shit-talking about “other people’s” Menudo omitted to produce the following recipe. Think of it as a general template from which to build and iterate.
Menudo isn’t too complicated, it just requires a long cooking process and, according to some, can be kind of stinky during the first few hours of cooking. Crack open some windows and have at it — menudo is worth it!
Main ingredients
- 4 lb beef honeycomb tripe (vacuum-sealed, never canned)
- 1 lb cut beef feet
- 50 oz canned hominy (cans can usually be found in 25 oz sizes. Get as many as you’d like)
- 2-3 Tbl dried oregano
- For the broth:
- 8-7 whole dried guajillo chiles
- 2-3 Tbl garlic powder
- Salt to taste
Garnish to taste:
- White onions, finely diced
- Jalapeño
- Limes, quartered
Special cooking utensils needed:
- Large fine mesh strainer
- As big a stock pot as you got
- Blender
First things first:
- Put the tripe and beef feet in your stock pot and fill with water.
- Cook on high for 20 minutes then either cook on medium for three to four hours or low for eight hours. Either way, cook until the beef feet are soft.
- While the pot is cooking. You can prepare the puree for the broth.
- Put the guajillo chiles, garlic powder and salt in a blender, cover with water and blend.
After the allotted cooking time:
- Pour the puree through a large, fine mesh strainer into the pot.
- To add the dried oregano, rub it between your hands and drop into the pot.
- Add the hominy about 10 minutes before serving.
To serve:
Menudo is a choose-your-own adventure when it comes to individual servings. When ready, ladle out the tripe, broth and hominy in a combination that makes sense. Some like a tripe-heavy bowl, others prefer lots of hominy. Find out what you like. Garnish with onion, jalapeño and/or lime juice to taste. Enjoy!
This article was originally published in Little Village’s August 2026 issue.
