“Menudo is always good. “There is good menudo and there is better menudo.”
This statement comes from Arnold Jimenez, Coachella Police Chief and judge at the 1982 California State Championship Menudo Cookoff in Indio.
Menudo chefs are bearers of tradition, adding a pinch of this or that, just as their mothers and grandmothers did. Therefore, culinary skill, not innovation, was the key to winning the Cookoff.
The basics of menudo are tripe, a pork or beef dish, and hominy. Some chefs prepare red menudo and color the soup with chili powder and/or sauce. Others prefer to leave it white. Spices may include onion, garlic, and oregano. Garnishes include oregano, cilantro, lemon wedges, chopped onions, and occasionally crushed or fresh chili peppers or a spicy salsa.
This recipe comes from Bill Torrez in San Diego. He competed in the 1982 Cookoff in the championship class.
This recipe was featured in a pre-internet article by the late Times Food staffer Barbara Hansen, “Tradition Spices Contest in Indio: Mexican Americans Take Menudo Seriously,” published on December 11, 2018. 9, 1982.
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