Mexican Menudo (or Pancita) (2024)

Published: Jun 16, 2019 · Updated: Nov 9, 2022 by Maggie Unzueta

You're going to love this authentic Menudo recipe. It is made of beef tripe that's been simmered for hours to develop a rich and satisfying broth.

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A big pot of Menudo is the start of many Sunday mornings in Mexico.

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There are different versions of this dish.

This is my family’s version. We are from the good State of Durango. iArriba Durango!

Table of Contents

1 What is Menudo?
2 How to Get Rid of the Smell
3 How to Cook Honeycomb Tripe:
4 How to Make the Red Chile Sauce
5 Other Names:
6 Tips for Easy Cooking:
7 How Long does it last?
8 Ideas for Toppings:
9 What does it taste like?
- 9.1 HUNGRY FOR MORE?
10 Menudo Recipe
- 10.1 Ingredients
  - 10.1.1 For the Tripe:
  - 10.1.2 For the Red Chile Sauce:
  - 10.1.3 You'll Also Need:
  - 10.1.4 Toppings:
- 10.2 Instructions
- 10.3 Video
- 10.4 Notes
- 10.5 Nutrition

What is Menudo?

Menudo is a Mexican stew made of beef tripe, or cow’s stomach. It is cooked in a red chile broth with hominy and served in large bowls. Topped with lime juice, onion, cilantro, and oregano.

It is one of Mexico’s most traditional recipes just like Pozole Rojo, Birria de Res, Chile Verde. Dishes with organ meats can be an acquired taste.

How to Get Rid of the Smell

Tripe (or pancita de res) has a distinct smell. Luckily, there are several ways to minimize the smell.

Tips to Reduce the Smell:

Put the tripe in a large stockpot.
Cover with water.
Add juice of 2 limes, or 4 tablespoons of white distilled vinegar.
Let sit in the fridge for at least 1 to 1 ½ hour. Discard water. Continue with recipe.

Put the tripe in a large pot.
Cover with water and bring to a boil.
Turn heat off.
Add 4 tablespoons white distilled vinegar and 2 garlic cloves.
Let sit for at least 30 minutes. Discard water. Continue with recipe.

How to Cook Honeycomb Tripe:

For Stovetop:

Cut tripe into small pieces. About 2 inch pieces.
Place the tripe inside the pot.
Add onion, garlic, and bay leaf. This is when to add the pigs feet, if using.
Cover with water (4 inches above the meat), and let simmer for 2 ½ hours.

For Instant Pot:

Cut tripe into small pieces.
Place the tripe inside the pot.
Add onion, garlic, bay leaves, and add water to max level. Also add pigs feet, if using.
Add lid, move valve to SEALING, press High Pressure 50 minutes, full natural release.
When done, change to a bigger pot. You also need to add 4 cups beef broth when adding the sauce and hominy.

For Slow Cooker:

Cut tripe into small pieces.
Place tripe inside the pot along with onion, garlic, and bay leaves. Add pig’s feet, if using.
Cover with water.
Set on low for 6 hours.
When done, change to the biggest pot you own. When adding the sauce and hominy, also add 4 cups beef broth.

How to Make the Red Chile Sauce

Remove stems and cover with water.
Bring to a boil and turn off heat.
Let sit in the hot water for 5 minutes to rehydrate the chiles.

Other Names:

Menudo is the most common name for this dish. Depending on where you come from in Mexico, some people call it “Pancita” or “Mondongo.”

Since this is an authentic Menudo recipe from Durango in Northern Mexico, we also add hominy and a red chile sauce.

If you do not add the red sauce, this dish is called menudo blanco, or white menudo.

Add all the sauce ingredients to a blender.
Blend until smooth.

To make the red chile sauce, we needs lots of guajillo chile and chile de árbol.

The sauce is NOT spicy because there is a lot of water in the pot.

The chiles will add a robust and deep flavor to the tripe soup.

Fun Fact: Because it’s such a hearty soup, some people also refer to it as a hangover cure.

Take out the whole onion, garlic, bay leaves from the pot.
Strain the red sauce and add the white hominy to the pot.
Cook for another ½ hour.

It is not hard to make this dish. It just takes a long time. Look for ways to cut your cooking time.

Tips for Easy Cooking:

The Mexican tripe soup will be ready in no time if cooked in the instant pot.
Make the chile sauce ahead of time. You can make it days before, or use frozen sauce from months ago.
Cook the tripe a day, two days, even three days before.
Ask the butcher to chop the tripe for you.

Is Mexican menudo healthy?

Believe it or not, menudo is good for you. 1-cup of serving has 210 calories and 13 grams of lean protein.

How Long does it last?

In the fridge, Mexican Menudo will last 3-4 days. It actually tastes better when it’s reheated.

In the freezer, it lasts 3-4 months. It will have lost some of its freshness and texture, but the taste will still be there.

Ideas for Toppings:

Raw, diced white onion
Chopped cilantro
Lime wedges
Dried oregano
Crushed Chile de Arbol or New Mexico Chile. Crush it open slightly, and put it in their soup bowls for some extra heat.

What does it taste like?

Menudo tastes like a robust, red chile stew with rich flavors. The tripe itself is mild in taste but has a texture of clams or chewy calamari.

There are yummy bites of corn hominy and an earthiness from the broth.

This is truly the BEST Menudo recipe, if I say so myself. It is pure Mexican comfort food meant to feed a large crowd. It’s a delicious dish that’s perfect for special occasions and family gatherings.

HUNGRY FOR MORE?

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Did you make this recipe? Please rate the recipe below!

Menudo Recipe

You're going to love this authentic Menudo recipe. It is made of beef tripe that's been simmered for hours to develop a rich and satisfying broth.

4.99 from 176 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: Mexican

Prep Time: 45 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 3 hours hours 5 minutes minutes

Total Time: 3 hours hours 50 minutes minutes

Servings: 10

Calories: 210kcal

Author: Maggie Unzueta

Ingredients

For the Tripe:

▢ 6 lbs Beef Honeycomb Tripe chopped into 2-inch pieces
▢ Water (enough for 6 inches above meat)
▢ 1 onion cut in half
▢ 5 garlic cloves
▢ 2 bay leaves
▢ 1 cow's feet (optional)

For the Red Chile Sauce:

▢ 8 chile guajillo stem removed, deveined, and seeded
▢ 3 chile de árbol stem removed, deveined, and seeded
▢ Pinch whole cumin
▢ 2 garlic cloves
▢ ¼ onion
▢ Salt (to taste)
▢ 2 cups water

You'll Also Need:

▢ 6 cups Hominy rinsed

Toppings:

▢ Diced raw onion
▢ Chopped Cilantro
▢ Lime
▢ chile de árbol

Instructions

Rinse the beef honeycomb tripe well.
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Add honeycomb tripe, 1 whole onion, 5 garlic cloves, 2 bay leaves, and pigs feet (if using) to a large stockpot.
Add water. About 6 inches above the honeycomb.
Cover and bring to a boil for 2 ½ hours.
In the meantime, make the red chile sauce.
In a smaller stockpot add the chile guajillo and the chile de árbol.
Add water. Enough to cover all the chiles.
Bring to a boil.
Turn heat off and let sit for 5 minutes until soft.
Add all the chiles, ¼ onion, 2 garlic cloves, pinch of cumin, and salt to the blender.
Using the water from which the chiles cooked in, add it to the blender.
Blend until smooth.
Before adding the chile sauce, remove and discard the onion and bay leaves from the pot.
Add the red sauce and 2 tablespoons salt to the honeycomb tripe pot.
Add 1 cup of water to the blender to get any remaining red sauce and pour into the pot.
Rinse the hominy.
Add the hominy to the pot.
Stir to combine.
Cover and let simmer for an additional 30 minutes.
Serve with toppings and enjoy!

Video

Notes

OTHER WAYS TO COOK THE TRIPE:

For an instant pot: High Pressure 50 minutes with full natural release.
For a slow cooker: Set on low for 6 hours.

HOW LONG WILL MENUDO LAST?

In the fridge, menudo will last3-4 days. It actually tastes better when it’s reheated.

In the freezer, menudo will last3-4 months. It will have lost some of its freshness and texture, but the taste will still be there.

TIP TO REDUCE THE SMELL:

Put the tripe in a large stockpot.
Cover with water.
Add juice of 2 limes, or 4 tablespoons of white distilled vinegar.
Let sit in the fridge for at least 1 to 1 ½ hour. Discard water. Continue with recipe.

Nutrition

Tried this recipe?Mention @MamaMaggiesKitchen or tag #MamaMaggiesKitchen!

More Mexican Beef Recipes

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Carne Asada Street Tacos 🌮 (VIDEO)

About Maggie Unzueta

Maggie Unzueta is the writer/blogger, photographer, recipe developer, videographer, and creator of In Mama Maggie's Kitchen. She has been developing easy and authentic Mexican food, Mexican-inspired recipes, and traveling tips since 2010. From family recipes to her extensive travels throughout Mexico, she brings traditional Mexican flavors from South of the Border and into your kitchen. Maggie has been featured in notable culinary websites and other media outlets. For more details, check out her About page.

Reader Interactions

Comments

Arthur Gerard Avalos
January 15, 2024 at 5:18 pm

This is a very good recipe. My Menudo never tasted better than making it with this recipe!!
Reply
- Maggie Unzueta
  January 17, 2024 at 9:01 am
  Fantastic! So glad to hear your Menudo turned out amazing with this recipe!
  Reply
Arthur Avalos
December 29, 2023 at 12:45 pm

I like!!@
Reply
- Maggie Unzueta
  January 17, 2024 at 9:45 am
  Glad you liked this recipe! Thank you.
  Reply
Anonymous
December 24, 2023 at 10:46 am

This is the to go to Menudo recipe. Each Christmas eve day (and as I write this our Menudo is cooking) we make Menudo. For the past 5 year we have been using Mama Maggie’s recipe. My kids and my nine grandkids spend Christmas day at our house and everyone looks forward to having Menudo. It does taste better the next day 🙂 Thank you for posting this wonderful recipe!
Reply
- Maggie Unzueta
  December 28, 2023 at 11:41 am
  Glad to hear that your family loved it. Made my day!!
  Reply
Laura Miranda
December 03, 2023 at 6:11 am
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Hola Maggie I have a tradition in my house where I make red menudo every New Year’s Eve and my family looks forward to this every year. I seen your recipe and always try new recipes to make it better. I’m grateful to you for this recipe and will definitely be using your recipe this year. Can’t wait!!!
Reply
- Maggie Unzueta
  December 13, 2023 at 5:51 pm
  Your New Year’s Eve tradition sounds amazing! So honored you’re adding my Menudo recipe to the mix. Wishing you a fantastic New Year’s feast—can’t wait for you to try it out!
  Reply
  - Rebecca
    January 13, 2024 at 6:56 pm
    
    TRADITIONALLY IT’S BEEF`S FEET FOR MENUDO. PIG’S FEET FOR POZOLE.
  - Maggie Unzueta
    January 17, 2024 at 9:14 am
    Yes! Traditions vary across Mexico, and you’ll find unique twists in each region. That’s the beauty of our diverse cuisine; it’s a flavorful journey from state to state. So, wherever you are, hope you enjoy this recipe!
Jamie
November 26, 2023 at 11:52 am

Oh my, this Menudo recipe looks amazingly delicious! An authentic Mexican Beef Stew that everyone will love and enjoy! Perfect soup for this cold weather too!
Reply
- Maggie Unzueta
  November 27, 2023 at 8:40 am
  Thank you so much for your words. For me, this is the best Menudo recipe, but then again, I am slightly biased. lol. Hope you give it a try!
  Reply
Gwynn
November 24, 2023 at 4:32 pm

My family really enjoyed this recipe! I will be making it again very soon!
Reply
- Maggie Unzueta
  November 27, 2023 at 8:43 am
  That’s so great to hear! This is the only Menudo recipe I make for my family, and they love it.
  Reply
Jeb
November 20, 2023 at 10:16 am

This is the best Menudo recipe ever. We came across it several years ago and we have been really happy we’ve found it. You can’t go wrong, I promise.
Reply
- Maggie Unzueta
  November 21, 2023 at 9:14 am
  Thank you so much for your message!!
  Reply
Linda
November 17, 2023 at 10:30 am

Make this for my daughter and husband when weather is cold warms them up
Reply
- Maggie Unzueta
  November 18, 2023 at 9:15 am
  Great! Hope they enjoy this Menudo recipe! 🙂
  Reply
Zhen
October 22, 2023 at 5:05 am
This sounds so interesting! If I can’t get beef tripe can I use other types of meat?
Reply
- Maggie Unzueta
  October 23, 2023 at 10:42 am
  It’s hard to substitute tripe. The texture is very unique. I’ve seen vegan version of menudo that include oyster mushrooms, but it’s just not the same. I’d add just use regular beef.
  Reply
- Rafael Lara Jr
  December 03, 2023 at 9:46 pm
  You could chop up a pork shoulder into stew sized squares but then you’d be making pozole and not menudo but it tastes just as delicious. I’m not entirely sure how well it’d taste beef though because I’ve never had it that way. Also, the toppings change too, you top it with sliced cabbage, radishes and diced up jalapeños.
  Reply
Angelique
June 30, 2023 at 7:57 am
My 7 year old grandson is visiting for summer and has asked if I can make him some, perfect time for me to find this recipe I’ll be trying it this weekend.
Reply
- Maggie Unzueta
  July 05, 2023 at 11:07 am
  Sounds great. I hope you and your grandson liked it!
  Reply
Gloria Serda
June 25, 2023 at 7:44 am
Love your recipe so similar to our family recipe. Differences is the tripe, I use a mixture of regular tripe and honeycomb tripe. I rinse mine with Lemons then rinse, rinse, rinse with water. Another Difference is I use a mix of chili powders instead of the pods you use. But I am going to try using the pods to see if there’s a big enough taste difference to warrant the extra work! :))
Reply
- Maggie Unzueta
  June 27, 2023 at 7:54 am
  Glad to hear that you loved this Menudo recipe! It’s always interesting to see the variations in family recipes, and your use of a mixture of regular tripe and honeycomb tripe sounds delicious. Thanks for sharing!
  Reply
  - Kate
    October 19, 2023 at 8:32 am
    
    This recipe looks delicious! I’ve never cooked with tripe before though, can you explain what is the difference between regular and honeycomb tripe? When I look for it in the store, do you think it will be labeled as either honeycomb or regular tripe? Thanks in advance!
  - Maggie Unzueta
    October 23, 2023 at 10:37 am
    Hi. There are 4 different types of tripe – blank (or flat) tripe, honeycomb tripe, book tripe, and reed tripe – depending on what part of the stomach it comes from. It’s called honeycomb tripe because of the way it looks. This is the kind of tripe that is used to make menudo. It comes from the second stomach chamber and is easily found at Mexican markets or online.
Linda
December 13, 2022 at 4:24 am
Need recipe with pigs feet menudo mu husband loves it
Reply
- Maggie Unzueta
  December 16, 2022 at 11:08 am
  Use this recipe for menudo. Rinse the pigs feet and add to the pot with the tripe. Provecho!
  Reply
Anonymous
October 10, 2022 at 5:13 pm

Love this dish
Reply
- Maggie Unzueta
  October 14, 2022 at 2:11 pm
  Me too. Thank you for commenting!
  Reply
Amy Liu Dong
July 12, 2022 at 3:11 pm

This dish looks so good and tasty!
A new recipe for me to try!
Reply
- Maggie Unzueta
  July 14, 2022 at 9:43 am
  You’re going to love it. Enjoy!
  Reply
- Jacqueline Debono
  October 22, 2023 at 1:53 pm
  A new recipe for me too! We eat a lot of tripe here in Italy but prepared differently. I’d like to try this but finding hominy would be difficult. Do you have any suggestions to substitute it? I read it’s similar to chickpeas.
  Reply
  - Maggie Unzueta
    October 23, 2023 at 10:44 am
    Instead of hominy, you can use chickpeas or regular corn. Even though hominy is technically corn, the texture of it resembles chickpeas more.