When you tell someone you are making tripe, you kind of get a reaction that only liver and onions can understand. When Tripe is made incorrectly, it deserves the criticism. However, it is a delicacy that when made correctly, is quite good. The secret is the preparation. You want tripe to maintain a consistency of pasta. Rubbery tripe is the kiss of death. Avoid at all costs.
Tripe is usually a special request for the butcher. You will get a flat of lining that can come with portions you do not want to cook. Flat portions without lining are not edible. You always want to have the sponge portion of the lining in the pot. The only way to discriminate is a multiple boil process. You need that to properly clean the tripe. Follow this process below.
Place the tripe, a tsp of salt, and just enough water to cover the tripe in the pot. Bring to a boil and boil for 15 minutes. Everyone in the house will be thrilled by the smell....especially the first few rounds of boiling. However the smell is what we look for to determine how well the cleaning process is going.
After boiling, rinse in a strainer with cool water. Rinse thoroughly. Repeat the process again up to 3-4 times. This time only 10 minutes each boil. You will notice the milky color will disappear and the odor each time you do this process.
On your final boil, this is when you cut the tripe into smaller pieces. They will look like a form of pasta. Boil one last time for about ten minutes.
While boiling the tripe, you will also boil the cubed potatoes and carrot slices. This is tricky. Only boil the vegetables until firm. DO NOT OVER BOIL. You want them firm, not completely cooked.
The reason is you are going to put the Tripe, Carrots and Potatoes in a crock pot, or regular pot on the stove. (I like the crock pot 1.5 hours on low, checking for tenderness of the vegetables) Provide seasoning as prescribed along with the long hot pepper(s) at this point.
Here is the recipe for the sauce for the Tripe.
2 cans Crushed Tomatoes
1 small can of tomato sauce
(Feel free to use our sauce on our blog in place of the above tomato products)
2 Large Potatoes Cubed
1 - 2 large Carrots sliced (Thick but not too thick - you can also use baby carrots)
One to two long hots fried with olive oil and garlic
1 tsp of crushed red pepper flakes
1 tsp of Ground Black Pepper
1 tsp of salt
1/2 tsp of oregano or Italian Seasoning
1 - 2 cloves of crushed garlic or 1/2tsp of garlic powder
4-8 ozs of water
In a crock pot, mix all of the ingredients and cook on low for about 1.5hrs along with the Tripe. Add the water to give the sauce a soup like consistency. Be careful not to make the sauce too thin. Just enough so that it is thinner than normal sauce you serve over pasta.
(On the stove top, use a low/med heat on the stove for about 45 mins to an hour if you don't want to use a crock pot.)
Serve and you will fall in love with tripe
A fresh grated cheese with a hard crust bread for dipping is a great addition for this dish .
