Menudo (Mexican Tripe and Hominy Soup)

Menudo is a traditional Mexican dish; a spicy soup made with hominy and tripe. Menudo preparation in the northern state of Chihuahua as well as northern New Mexico requires the preparation of three separate items, all combined at the time of final preparation for the table: Stew, Posole, and Chili. This recipe is similar and is very simple, using minimal ingredients. Cooking the menudo and chili the night before…
Ingredients
Chili
- 4 dried Ancho chiles
Posole
- 2 pork country ribs
- 3 lb pigs feet (patas)
- 2 cans (16 oz) white hominy, drained
- 3–4 chiles de Arbol
Menudo stew
- 2½ lb honeycomb tripe
- 2 tbsp Mexican oregano
- 1 clove garlic
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tbsp salt
Menudo mix
- 2 tbsp red pepper flakes (with the seeds)
- 2 tbsp dried Mexican oregano
Serving
- Lime
- Corn tortillas
- Diced white or green onion
- Minced cilantro
Steps
Chili
- Wipe dried Anchos with wet paper towel.
- If desired, toast chilies 15 seconds per side on hot griddle.
- Boil chilies in small pot of water 10 minutes, turning frequently.
- Remove pot from stove. Drain boiling water. Fill with cold water. Cool a few minutes.
- Remove stems. Cut chilies lengthwise stem to tip on one side. Open. Flush seeds out with cold running water.
- Purée stemless, seedless chilies in blender.
- Remove purée from blender. Refrigerate overnight.
Posole
- Rinse and drain white hominy.
- Place patas (feet) and ribs in pot.
- Add hominy to pot.
- Add 1 tbsp salt.
- Discard seeds and stems of 3–4 dried Chilis de Arbol. Snip into ringlets. Add to pot.
- Cover with water to no more than 1 cm above ingredients. Bring to boil.
- Cook uncovered until ribs are done. Remove from heat.
- Remove meat from ribs. Dice into small cubes. Return to pot with posole. Discard bones.
- Place cooked patas (feet) in pressure pot used for menudo.
Menudo stew
- Boil small pot of water on stove for chilies.
- Cut fat off tripe. Remove fat clinging to non-honeycombed side with stiff brush.
- Cut tripe into ¾–1 inch pieces.
- If tripe smells overly rank, soak in clean water 1 hour or boil in water 5 minutes. Discard that water.
- Place cut tripe in pressure cooker on top of patas (feet).
- Add garlic, bay leaves and Mexican oregano.
- Fill pressure cooker with water to about 1 cm above stew ingredients.
- Cook at pressure 35–40 minutes.
- Remove from heat. Cool completely until pressure returns to ambient.
- Remove patas. Debone. Return meat to pot with tripe. Discard bones.
- Transfer stew to large bowl. Add posole, keeping all pieces below waterline. Refrigerate overnight.
- Skim hardened fat from surface.
- Reheat serving portion in microwave or on stovetop. Place in serving bowl.
- Add 1 tablespoon chili. Blend thoroughly.
- Serve with hot corn tortillas. Add oregano and chili flakes at table, with lime wedge, diced onion or cilantro.
Notes from the original
- Almost all (but not all) store-bought honeycomb tripe will smell strongly from the bleaching lime as possible. Let your nose be the judge as to whether or not it will require a soaking or boil as described in the steps below.
- You may use cow feet instead of pig feet.
Source. Adapted from “Cookbook:Menudo (Mexican Tripe and Hominy Soup)” by Wikibooks contributors, revision of 2025-06-21, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Changes. Steps rewritten into short commands. Introduction shortened. Wiki formatting removed. This adapted recipe is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Photo. Menudo soup Ortegas La Jolla 20050220.jpg by Kaihsu Tai, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia. Resized; otherwise unchanged.






