Menudo (soup)

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For the Puerto Rican boy band, see Menudo.

Menudo, the soup

The soup menudo is a traditional Mexican dish; a spicy soup made with hominy and tripe. It is often thought of a cure for a hangover, and is traditionally served on special occasions or with family.

Menudo is an ethnic dish that has its roots firmly planted in peasant food heritage. Menudo is also a byproduct of conflict. Long ago in northern Mexico, the select cuts of a town's cattle would go to battle-weary and hungry Mexican soldiers while the leftovers went to the peasants. These leftovers consisted organ meats, tails, hooves, etc. Inventive and/or desperate peasant cooks created a soup that made good use of several of these ingredients -- the stomach (tripe) and calf's foot (hoof). Classic menudo is basically a slowly cooked stew of honeycomb tripe and calf's foot later infused with several varieties of chilli peppers, spices and balanced in flavor and texture with white hominy. It is presented as a soup and served with corn tortillas and white bread. Menudo is often a special menu item on Saturdays and Sundays in Mexican restaurants.

In the last season of the 1970s television series Sanford and Son, Fred Sanford made a reference to menudo in almost every episode. It was thought to be his favorite dish.

Menudo also refers to an entirely different dish made in the Philippines. This dish, in contrast, is made of garlic, onions, diced pork chops, pork liver, diced potato and tomato sauce, and seasoned with salt and pepper while it is cooked.

Menudo (soup)

See also