White Sonoran Menudo (Menudo Blanco Sonorense)

Put the calfs foot pieces, garlic, onion, and half the salt in a large pan. Put the trip on top with the remaining salt, cover the pan, and cook over very low heat so that it simmers for about 3 hours. Strain the meat, reserving the broth, and cut the tripe into small squares ....about 1 1/2 inches. Remove the bones from the calfs foot and chop the flesh roughly. Return the meats to the pan with the broth, the flowered hominy, and the hominy cooking water. Taste for salt and continue cooking over very low heat for 1 hour. Serve in deep bowls with flour tortillas, passing the topping for each to serve al gusto. **You can buy canned hominy, but it is already cooked and tends to become mushy. In almost all Latin American markes you can find prepared hominy, ready for the final cooking and flowering, in the refrigerator or freezer cases. Cooking and Flowering of Hominy 1/2 pound whole dried hominy, witih pedicel (con cabeza) 1 1/2 rounded teaspoons powdered lime Put the whole hominy into an enamel or stainless-steel pot and add enough cold water to come about 2 inches above the surface of the corn. Set over medium heat. Dilute the powdered lime with about 1/2 cup cold water and add to the pot through a fine strainer, pressing out the lumps with a wooden spoon. The water will become slightly milky. Cook the corn until it comes to a simmer (the skins of the kernels will now be bright yellow) and continue cooking, covered, until the skin can easily be slipped off the kernels ..... about 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool off. When the corn is cool enough to handle, drain, and put into cold water, rubbing the kernels through your hands until the skins have been cleaned off. Skim off the skins and discard; rinse the corn once more. With the tip of a paring knife or a strong thumbnail, remove the pedicels. When all the corn has been cleaned, add enough fresh water to come about 3 inches above the surface of the corn, cover, and bring to a fast simmer. Continue cooking until the corn is tender and has opened up like a cupped flower ... about 1 1/2 to 2 hours, depending on how old the corn is. When cooked, always reserve the cooking water and add it with the corn to the soup. Recipe By : plgold@ix.netcom.com (Pat Gold) Posted to EAT-L Digest 6 October 96 Date: Mon, 7 Oct 1996 13:59:16 -0500 From: LD Goss NOTES : Source: The Art of Mexican Cooking by Diana Kennedy