Shellfish Free Classic Menudo

Total time4 hr 45 min

Prep time45 min

Cook time4 hr

4.5

(29)

Few dishes carry as much soul as a slow-simmered pot of menudo — the kind that fills the kitchen with the deep, earthy perfume of toasted guajillo and ancho chiles for hours before anyone even sits down to eat. Honeycomb tripe is the star here, braised low and slow until it turns tender with just enough chew, while plump hominy soaks up every bit of that richly colored, cumin-kissed broth. The chile sauce is built from scratch — dried chiles toasted in a dry skillet, soaked, blended smooth, and strained right into the pot — which is what gives the broth that complex, brick-red depth you simply cannot get from a shortcut. Because the entire recipe is built around tripe, hominy, dried chiles, and aromatics, there's no seafood or shellfish anywhere near the pot, making it a genuinely safe and satisfying choice for anyone navigating that restriction. Optional pig's feet add extra body and richness to the broth, but the soup is completely worthwhile without them. Serve it loaded with diced white onion, a squeeze of lime, a pinch of dried oregano, and warm corn tortillas on the side, and you have a bowl that tastes like it took all day — because it did, and every minute was worth it.

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Ingredients

8 servings

4 lb honeycomb tripe, cut into 1 ½-inch pieces
1 lb pig's feet (about 2 pieces), optional (optional)
1 white onion, halved
8 garlic cloves, peeled
2 tsp salt, plus more to taste
2 cans (29 oz each) hominy, drained and rinsed

For the chile sauce

6 dried guajillo chiles, stems and seeds removed
3 dried ancho chiles, stems and seeds removed
1 dried chile de árbol, stem removed
4 garlic cloves, peeled
1 tsp dried mexican oregano
1 tsp ground cumin

For serving

½ white onion, finely diced (optional)
4 limes, cut into wedges (optional)
¼ cup dried mexican oregano, for serving (optional)
½ cup fresh cilantro, roughly chopped (optional)
crushed red pepper flakes or dried chile de árbol, for serving (optional)
warm corn tortillas, for serving (optional)

Instructions

1
Place the tripe pieces (and pig's feet, if using) in a large stockpot and cover with cold water by at least 2 inches. Bring to a boil over high heat and cook for 10 minutes, then drain and rinse the tripe thoroughly under cold running water. Wipe out the pot.
2
Return the tripe (and pig's feet, if using) to the pot. Add the halved onion, 8 garlic cloves, and 2 tsp salt. Pour in enough cold water to cover by 3 inches — about 12 cups. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to a steady low simmer. Skim any foam that rises to the surface during the first 20 minutes.

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