# A very pleasant surprise



## Hoot (Aug 22, 2014)

A week or so ago, Mrs Hoot said she was in the mood for Mexican food.
So, I went to town to our one and only Mexican restaurant to fetch some goodies home.
While I was waiting for my order, I asked the wife of the owner if they ever served menudo.
She looked at me kinda sideways, smiled, and said simply "No."
Then she asked me if I liked menudo. I replied "Yes, very much."
She said that if I would come to the restaurant on Sunday, she was going to make a batch of menudo for her family and that she would gladly sell me some.
Let me tell y'all, I have had menudo from a can, which I thought was pretty good. The menudo that she prepared was absolutely the best! It was so far removed from the canned version...I was just amazed. She said that she makes it a couple of times a month, and that anytime I wanted some to come around and ask. 
You just never know what you can find, unless you ask.


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## GotGarlic (Aug 22, 2014)

Pretty cool, Hoot  Congrats on your great find.


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## Andy M. (Aug 22, 2014)

That's a great find.  I've never had menudo.  I've also never cooked tripe.


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## Hoot (Aug 22, 2014)

It takes a long cooking time for the tripe to get tender. The broth that she made was spicy, not too hot. It was very nicely balanced. I was somewhat surprised that she didn't use hominy, which the canned version is full of. I like it much better without the hominy.
She also included, on the side, some chopped onion, cilantro, and some lime wedges.
Holy smokes, it was good!


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## Aunt Bea (Aug 22, 2014)

Tripe is almost impossible to find in my area and it tends to be shunned by most of the younger folks.

I have seen several recipes for menudo adapted to use pieces of pork steak or pork stew meat instead of the tripe.

Sounds good to me!


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## menumaker (Aug 22, 2014)

Refreshing when something like that happens don't you think? The kindness of strangers I call it.


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## Addie (Aug 22, 2014)

Sounds like you found a new friend. Here in my section of this city, every Italian restaurant makes tripe in a marinara sauce. Big baskets of bread are on every table to sop up every last drop of the gravy. I can totally understand your excitement with your new find. Happy eating!


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## Kayelle (Aug 22, 2014)

So glad you found a new friend Hoot! 

I really like Menudo and there are several little places around here you can buy it every Sunday. Apparently it's the ultimate hangover cure. 

I've been known to make it myself but I boiled the tripe outside on a camp stove as the smell is unmistakably tripe, even when it's very carefully and properly cleaned. I've never heard of it without hominy however. Some chopped onion, cilantro, lime wedges, *and Mexican oregano *on the side is practically mandatory .  Ole' !!!


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## Cooking Goddess (Aug 22, 2014)

Very nice Hoot! Ask and you shall receive, right? I really enjoy dealing with any business that gives that extra personal touch.


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## LPBeier (Aug 23, 2014)

Way to go, Hoot!


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## Steve Kroll (Aug 23, 2014)

Back in the 80s I used to work on a cruise ship out of Galveston, TX. Whenever we were in dock a group of us would drive up to Houston to eat at this little hole in the wall joint run by a nice Mexican lady like you describe. My buddy, who grew up in Houston, told me the first time we were there "You gotta try her Menudo." And so I did. It was heavenly.

I tell ya, I've had Menudo several times since, but I've never enjoyed it as much as I did at that place. I was spoiled for life.


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## taxlady (Aug 23, 2014)

w00t!


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## Dawgluver (Aug 23, 2014)

Sweet story, Hoot, you've been adopted!


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## Addie (Aug 23, 2014)

Having spent five years living in South Texas, the one thing I learned was if you want really Mexican food, then find a hole in the wall with a real woman from Mexico doing the cooking. For those who lived in Aransas Pass, it was Mama Lupe's. There were other ones, but not as good as hers. Even I would eat her chili. I loved working for her.


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## buckytom (Aug 26, 2014)

just a few weeks ago i was lucky enough to go to a restaurant that was serving tripe italian style (trippo alla romana) as a special appy. the waitress laughed when i ordered it saying that i was 1 of the only 2 customers who were brave enough to eat it since they put it on the weekly menu. they were ready to give it away.

i've never had menudo but i'll have to keep an eye peeled for it. good find, senor hoot.


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## Addie (Aug 26, 2014)

buckytom said:


> just a few weeks ago i was lucky enough to go to a restaurant that was serving tripe italian style (trippo alla romana) as a special appy. the waitress laughed when i ordered it saying that i was 1 of the only 2 customers who were brave enough to eat it since they put it on the weekly menu. they were ready to give it away.
> 
> i've never had menudo but i'll have to keep an eye peeled for it. good find, senor hoot.



That is a big seller in this part of the country. Saturday is Tripe Day in this town. All the old geezers meet at their favorite restaurant and talk and eat, and talk and eat.


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## buckytom (Aug 26, 2014)

lol @ geezers. 

yeah, they talk too much.


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## Addie (Aug 26, 2014)

buckytom said:


> lol @ geezers.
> 
> yeah, they talk too much.



Yeah. They tell the same old stories about the old country and how hard they had to work as kids. Or their war stories, same old, same old. But the restaurants don't care. Because while they are sitting there, they all are ordering a second and sometimes a third helping of tripe.


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## chiklitmanfan (Aug 27, 2014)

Sounds like a great place to be a patron of, Hoot.  If you're from "the great dismal swamp" you have probably heard of chiterlings, which in the south is pronounced "chitlins."  Well, I have never tried Menudo or Chitlins and probably never will.  It just doesn't sound appetizing.  Probably won't every try haggus either for the same reasons.


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## Hoot (Aug 27, 2014)

There is a service station/convenience store down the road a bit from the community college that serves chitlins every day. They are prepared very much like I remember from my youth. Just the right balance of vinegar and hot sauce.
I know they ain't everyone's idea of good eats, but I sure do like 'em!
Hope to have the opportunity someday to try haggis, 'course there is a very long list of foods I would like to try afore I shuffle off this mortal coil, as they say.


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## Addie (Aug 27, 2014)

Hoot said:


> There is a service station/convenience store down the road a bit from the community college that serves chitlins every day. They are prepared very much like I remember from my youth. Just the right balance of vinegar and hot sauce.
> I know they ain't everyone's idea of good eats, but I sure do like 'em!
> Hope to have the opportunity someday to try haggis, 'course there is a very long list of foods I would like to try afore I shuffle off this mortal coil, as they say.



For some strange reason, it is illegal to make and serve Haggis in the United States. Guess you will have to go to Scotland. What a hardship that would be.  To travel and eat new foods.


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## taxlady (Aug 27, 2014)

Addie said:


> For some strange reason, it is illegal to make and serve Haggis in the United States. Guess you will have to go to Scotland. What a hardship that would be.  To travel and eat new foods.


That sounded so odd I had to look it up. It has been illegal to import haggis since 1971. It's illegal to use lungs for human consumption, so any haggis made in the US isn't quite authentic, if it's legal. Whodathunk it?


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## Addie (Aug 27, 2014)

taxlady said:


> That sounded so odd I had to look it up. It has been illegal to import haggis since 1971. It's illegal to use lungs for human consumption, so any haggis made in the US isn't quite authentic, if it's legal. Whodathunk it?



Oddly enough, I only read that yesterday. Surprised me also. The article I read had a picture of it. Sure didn't look appetizing.


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## Hoot (Aug 28, 2014)

I recently read that about haggis. I reckon I ain't sophisticated enough to understand the reasoning. But who knows, one of these days I might be able to travel to Scotland for an authentic taste of haggis. On the other hand, I 'spose I could make it here at Casa de Hoot. 'Course, I would be the only one to eat it.


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## roadfix (Aug 28, 2014)

If they're doing menudo for their family they should make a batch for their customers as well, and have them only that day of the week.
Many places that serve menudo don't serve them daily, but usually on weekends only.
They great for hangovers.


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## Hoot (Aug 28, 2014)

Great idea! I will suggest that to them.


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## Addie (Aug 29, 2014)

Hoot said:


> Great idea! I will suggest that to them.



You mentioned that she makes it on a Sunday for her family. Are they open to the public on Sunday? If not would she be willing to make it Saturday for the public? That for some strange reason is the day it seems to be most popular day for the public to hanker for it.


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## Kayelle (Aug 30, 2014)

Steve was also surprised about Haggis being outlawed in this country, as he ate it in Scotland many years ago and wasn't really impressed one way or another. 

I wonder why lungs is such a "no no" as it seems to me Americans ingest every other part of an animal, if we know it or not.


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## buckytom (Aug 31, 2014)

lungs were made illegal because testing revealed unacceptable levels of possibly dangerous stomach contents and brain matter in the lungs after slaughter, and that because of the surface area involved, lungs were more likely to harbour bad icky stuff.
i've also read somewhere that uncooked lungs can pass on tuberculosis.


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## taxlady (Aug 31, 2014)

Sounds like some very odd slaughtering that gets brain and stomach contents into the lungs.


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## Dawgluver (Aug 31, 2014)

taxlady said:


> Sounds like some very odd slaughtering that gets brain and stomach contents into the lungs.




Or one HUGE  snort.  DH would probably not make for good haggis.


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## Mad Cook (Aug 31, 2014)

Andy M. said:


> That's a great find. I've never had menudo. I've also never cooked tripe.


You really haven't missed anything by never cooking tripe. Having been brought up a few miles from the Lancashire I will probably be lynched for saying this but tripe is disgusting.

Texture, smell, taste - all vile. It doesn't matter how much wine and brandy or calvados you put with it, it's still dog food (if she'll eat it).


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## Addie (Aug 31, 2014)

Mad Cook said:


> You really haven't missed anything by never cooking tripe. Having been brought up a few miles from the Lancashire I will probably be lynched for saying this but tripe is disgusting.
> 
> Texture, smell, taste - all vile. It doesn't matter how much wine and brandy or calvados you put with it, it's still dog food (if she'll eat it).



When I worked in the Italian restaurant, every Saturday was tripe day. Coco would boil it for a long time. Then the both of us would cut it into little pieces. Then she would put it the big pot of marinara sauce and finish cooking it. Always sold out.


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## Hoot (Sep 1, 2014)

As an addendum, we went to Norfolk this weekend to visit Mrs Hoot's sister and family.
Her nephew married a lovely woman who is of Mexican descent. We met her parents shortly after the wedding. I related the tale of menudo to her and she was also surprised that the menudo from our new friends at the restaurant did not have hominy. During the course of the conversation, I asked Sarah if her mother would part with her recipe. I am very hopeful to be able to make a batch on my own one of these days using a traditional recipe.


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## Kayelle (Sep 1, 2014)

Hoot said:


> As an addendum, we went to Norfolk this weekend to visit Mrs Hoot's sister and family.
> Her nephew married a lovely woman who is of Mexican descent. We met her parents shortly after the wedding. I related the tale of menudo to her and she was also surprised that the menudo from our new friends at the restaurant did not have hominy. During the course of the conversation, I asked Sarah if her mother would part with her recipe. I am very hopeful to be able to make a batch on my own one of these days using a traditional recipe.



Hoot, I'm still on the hunt for *dried* hominy here as I hear that it's better than the canned. They have it at Amazon but it gripes me to get it there when I live where there are lots of Mexican markets and not one of them has it. I like it in Menudo but I also use it in my Posole, a pork Mexican stew, that's much easier to deal with and also has a wonderful flavor.


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## Steve Kroll (Sep 1, 2014)

taxlady said:


> Sounds like some very odd slaughtering that gets brain and stomach contents into the lungs.


The tuberculosis threat is the primary reason, from what I understand.

My German-born grandmother used to cook something called "calf lights" when we were kids. Basically, it was strips of meat swimming in a beige colored gravy. It had a decent flavor but the texture was kind of off-putting. I remember my brother and I also thought the name was pretty cool, until we found out it was made from lungs. Neither of us ate it again. It was just too weird and the flavor, while good, wasn't fantastic enough to draw us back to eating it again. Now it's just one of those "remember the time grandma made that" stories. Besides, I don't think you can even find it anywhere these days.

Strangely enough, other than that, there aren't many parts of an animal I won't eat. While I will eat tripe, I draw the line at sphincters, and I won't eat eyeballs, either (both just give me the heebie-jeebies ). But I've had brains, heart, liver, kidneys, tongue, and most other things, and it doesn't bother me. 

On a trip to Paris a few years back, one of the most delicious things I ate was crépinette de veau, which is veal endocrine gland wrapped in caul fat and fried. Sounds offal (pun intended) but is very tasty, as long as you don't spend a lot of time thinking about it. 

In Istanbul they have these interesting rest stops. You can fill up the tank, get something to eat, and do your praying in a mosque. The food in these places isn't your standard convenience store fare. It's more like a deli/buffet. Anyway, none of the people in our group spoke Turkish, so we would just kind of point at things we wanted. I had a wonderful dish that looked a lot like Louisiana dirty rice with tomatoes and yogurt plopped on the top. After I finished eating, I asked our Turkish bus driver what it was that I had. He didn't speak much English and had to look up the name in a Turkish-English dictionary. The best description he could come up with was "brain of small sheep with rice". Again, weird but good.


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## taxlady (Sep 1, 2014)

I'm surprised that tuberculosis is a threat nowadays. I thought all animals with TB had to be culled.


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## Steve Kroll (Sep 1, 2014)

taxlady said:


> I'm surprised that tuberculosis is a threat nowadays. I thought all animals with TB had to be culled.


I don't know. Bovine TB is a fairly insignificant threat in the US but, from what I understand, part of the reason it's insignificant is because of all the regulations they have, including what meat can't be imported. We can't control how people raise their herds in other parts of the world, but we can control the import of the meat. It's also one of the reasons you can't import raw milk products here.


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## Hoot (Sep 1, 2014)

Kayelle said:


> Hoot, I'm still on the hunt for *dried* hominy here as I hear that it's better than the canned. They have it at Amazon but it gripes me to get it there when I live where there are lots of Mexican markets and not one of them has it. I like it in Menudo but I also use it in my Posole, a pork Mexican stew, that's much easier to deal with and also has a wonderful flavor.


After reading your post, I got to thinking.....Rancho Gordo, Inc. which is headquartered in Napa has many outlets where their products are sold. 

Here is the page for prepared hominy (white corn posole)

You can see the list of markets here: Rancho Gordo Market Schedule
There are a lot of stores listed, maybe one of these in your area either has dried hominy or can get it in.

I have an uncle that lives in Fairfield, and while he is more of an asian aficianado, I will ask him if he has ever seen dried hominy in his neck of the woods, next time I give him a call.


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## Kayelle (Sep 1, 2014)

TSM for your help Hoot, but it seems they too are out of it. I signed up for the waiting list however. Their nearest store is about 45 min. north in Santa Barbara. It's a spectacular drive up there along the ocean, so when they get it in, we can make a day of it. What a beautiful area to call home.


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## GotGarlic (Sep 1, 2014)

A recent issue of Cooks Illustrated had an article about canned vs. dried cannellini beans. They concluded that canned were better because the manufacturers selected better quality beans for canning, since they're more popular. Also, dried beans tended to be older which contributed to a lesser quality product. I think the same is probably true for other types of canned beans.


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## Addie (Sep 1, 2014)

GotGarlic said:


> A recent issue of Cooks Illustrated had an article about canned vs. dried cannellini beans. They concluded that canned were better because the manufacturers selected better quality beans for canning, since they're more popular. Also, dried beans tended to be older which contributed to a lesser quality product. I think the same is probably true for other types of canned beans.



Most canning companies receive their product within an hour or two from picking. So they are much fresher. The quality product goes into the can and the less quality ones are packaged to be sold from sitting on a shelf in the store. After they have been sitting in a warehouse for a while.


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## GotGarlic (Sep 2, 2014)

Addie said:


> Most canning companies receive their product within an hour or two from picking. So they are much fresher. The quality product goes into the can and the less quality ones are packaged to be sold from sitting on a shelf in the store. After they have been sitting in a warehouse for a while.



Exactly right - lesser quality and old. For those reasons and the convenience factor, I buy canned beans.


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## Steve Kroll (Sep 2, 2014)

Addie said:


> Most canning companies receive their product within an hour or two from picking. So they are much fresher. The quality product goes into the can and the less quality ones are packaged to be sold from sitting on a shelf in the store. After they have been sitting in a warehouse for a while.


Once again, Addie, where are you getting this information? Can you cite a source, or are you just pulling "facts" out of the air?

Beans are dried on the plant before they are harvested, and then cooked in the can. Why would it matter if they arrived at a factory "an hour or two within picking," or for that matter, if they were canned a month later? That makes no sense whatsoever.

According to the *US Dry Bean Council*, "Dry beans keep up to a year in an airtight container in a cool, dry environment, away from direct sunlight." I make up beans once a week from the dried product, so they don't sit around in the cupboard for any more than a couple weeks. In 15 years, I don't think I've ever had more than a batch or two that failed to soften. My wife and I love them and if you make them up ahead of time, they are easy to pull out of the fridge for lunches or a quick meal. Sometimes I even have them for breakfast!

I never buy canned beans. I can't stand the flavor or mushy texture. In addition, they are so easy and inexpensive to make from the dried form.


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## Kayelle (Sep 4, 2014)

I also like cooking my own dried beans as I can control and eliminate the issue of mushy texture, and a funky canned taste. 

 In the case of canned hominy however, I cook it a long time in the meat sauce as I prefer it to be cooked more than they do. I'm looking forward to getting my hands on the dried kind to do some experimenting with it, such as pressure cooking it. 

By the way, my Steve is like a dog hunting for a bone. He's gone to four more Mexican markets looking for it. There's no point calling around for it because we don't speak Spanish, and they don't speak English. He carries around a picture from the internet of a bag of Goya yellow hominy. It's amazing the things he can find to do after retirement. 
Gotta love that man.


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## Hoot (Sep 22, 2014)

Just an update. I found out why the good folks at the Mexican restaurant don't use hominy in their menudo (which, if y'all will recall, is prepared for their own family use). It is simply because the little ones don't like it. Sounded reasonable enough to me. Actually, I like it without the hominy - Doesn't fill me up as quick and I can eat more of it.


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## Addie (Sep 22, 2014)

Hoot said:


> Just an update. I found out why the good folks at the Mexican restaurant don't use hominy in their menudo (which, if y'all will recall, is prepared for their own family use). It is simply because the little ones don't like it. Sounded reasonable enough to me. Actually, I like it without the hominy - Doesn't fill me up as quick and I can eat more of it.



Hoot, did you suggest that they make it part of their menu so everyone can enjoy it?


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## Hoot (Sep 22, 2014)

No. I reckon I could, but none of my family and friends like menudo and among those there are a few that simply refuse to try it. I suspect a significant portion of the local population might have similar opinions.
I will mention it next time we are in there.


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