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Tripas Tacos Recipe (Cow’s Intestines) Mexico

Tripas Tacos Recipe (Cow’s Intestines) Mexico

In Mexico and Portugal, tripas (cow’s stomach) is the key ingredient in the traditional dishes: Tripas Tacos (Mexico) and Tripas A moda Do Porto (Portugal).

This Tripas Tacos recipe is largely inspired by the amazing tripe dishes I tried on my travels around Mexico. One of the main highlights of Mexico is that it is a gastronomical powerhouse when it comes to amazing food! I loved sampling the real authentic Mexican food that has had such an impact on our diets in the West.

You might be surprised to hear about people around the world eating intestines, but it’s actually not even that uncommon. 

Even though you might consider cow’s stomach to be a bizarre food to eat, countries all around the world have been eating tripe for centuries!

Although various different animal intestines have been used for cooking in the past (tripe eaten across Europe, Asia and the US), there is no doubting that tripe has been a consistently popular food around the world.

Mexico and Portugal remain as two countries where cow’s intestines are still eaten fairly regularly. In Mexico, tripas is often served as tacos whereas in Portugal it is served as a stew with beans and rice.

The recipe below focuses on the Mexican tripas recipe: Tripas Tacos.

Mexican Tripas Tacos

Tripas Tacos Recipe (Tacos De Tripitas)

Yield: 6
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour 40 minutes
Total Time: 2 hours 10 minutes

Tripas tacos are popular in Mexico where it is still common to eat cow's intestines. In fact, this recipe is actually quite delicious and infuses different Mexican flavors that make this dish feel authentic.

Ingredients

  • 1lb Beef tripas
  • 2 Red onions
  • 6 Tomatillos
  • 6 Tortillas
  • 1 cup Cabbage
  • 1/2 Raddish
  • 1 cup Cilantro
  • 6 cloves Garlic
  • Salt to taste
  • 1/2 cup Oregano
  • 1 Jalapeño
  • 2 Limes
  • 2 tbsp Fish sauce

Instructions

  1. First poach the chopped tripe in a large pot of salted, boiling water on a low heat for an hour.
  2. After an hour, take it out of the water and leave to cool whilst preparing the rest of the dish.
  3. Heat some olive oil in a pan and add in tomatillos, garlic and onions. Cook for around 10 minutes.
  4. Next add in the fish sauce, jalapeño and lime juice, and cook for a further 10 minutes.
  5. Take your cooled tripe and add it to a separate pan of hot oil and cook until it starts to brown.
  6. When the tripe is cooked, add it to the mixture and cook to infuse the flavours for a further 5 minutes. Season with salt to taste.
  7. Warm the tortillas and distribute the tripe into each taco. Add radish, cabbage and cilantro to finish.
  8. Enjoy!
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 6 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 439Total Fat: 19gSaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 10gCholesterol: 66mgSodium: 857mgCarbohydrates: 41gFiber: 6gSugar: 5gProtein: 27g

Of course, the best way to really experience these tripas tacos is to actually try them in Mexico. But if you’re not able to go then hopefully this recipe should bring some of Mexico into your kitchen!

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