MENUDO ROJO RECIPES

Steps:

• In a large pot, bring 1 gallon water to a boil.
• Place tripe in the pot, reduce heat, and simmer 2 hours.
• Periodically skim off fat with a spoon. Drain water, reduce heat, and pour in a fresh gallon of water.
• Continue to simmer tripe for 2 hours; drain.
• Pour remaining 1 gallon water into the pot with tripe, and bring to a boil.
• Stir in garlic and 1 chopped white onion. Season with salt, pepper, oregano, and red pepper.
• Reduce heat, and simmer 1 hour.
• Preheat the broiler.
• Arrange the de arbol chile peppers on a baking sheet, and broil about 2 minutes, just until they begin to scorch.
• Remove from heat, slit lengthwise, and remove seeds.
• In a blender or food processor, blend the de arbol chile peppers and japones chile peppers until very finely chopped. Mix into the pot, and continue cooking 2 hours over low heat.
• Mix the hominy into the pot and continue cooking 1 hour.
• Serve with condiments as listed under ingredients.
• Menudo is at it's best made a day ahead of time to allow the ingredients to "marry.".

Steps:

• In large pot (2 gallons), place the water over medium-low heat. Add the beef tripe, onion, 4 garlic cloves and bay leaf and cook for 2 hours. Make sure the beef tripe is tender and not overcooked.
• To make the sauce: Remove stems from the chilies and soak in hot water for 12-24 hours, until soft.*
• Blend the chilies, 6 garlic cloves, cumin, and oregano with a cup of the liquid in which the chilies were soaked. Strain. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
• Add the hominy or corn and the chili sauce and let it boil for 10 minutes to incorporate the chili sauce with the rest of the ingredients.
• Serve in a soup dish with onions, oregano and fresh lemon juice to taste.
• *To speed up the process, bring the chiles to a quick boil for 10 minutes, remove from the stove, cover, and let rest for an hour or until they are no longer too hot to blend.