*  Exported from  MasterCook  *
 
                          Menudo Blanco Sonorense
 
 Recipe By     : Diana Kennedy
 Serving Size  : 10   Preparation Time :0:00
 Categories    : Soup
 
   Amount  Measure       Ingredient -- Preparation Method
 --------  ------------  --------------------------------
    2      pounds        beef or calves' foot -- split horizontally
                         and cut into 6 pieces
    1      head          garlic -- unpeeled, cut in 1/2
                         horizontally
    1      medium        white onions -- roughly sliced
    1      tablespoon    sea salt -- scant
    2      pounds        tripe
    4 1/2  cups          hominy, yellow -- cooked and flowered*
                         cooking water
                         -----TOPPING-----
                         chile piquin -- crumbled
                         white onions -- finely chopped
                         cilantro -- roughly chopped
                         lime quarters
 
 Put the calf’s foot pieces, garlic, onion, and half the salt in a large
 pan. Put the tripe 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 calf’s 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 around the topping for each to serve al gusto.
 
 PREPARING HOMINY
 
 The cooking and “flowering” of the corn is not complicated, but it’s a
 little time-consuming until you are practiced in it. You can prepare a
 large batch up until the final cooking and freeze what you don't use.
 
 While the corn is usually cooked with nothing but water, there are some
 exceptions, where salt, onion, and garlic are added.
 
 Eight ounces of dried whole hominy, or large white corn kernels,
 measures about 1 1/2 cups and when cooked will yield between 3 1/2 and 4
 cups, depending on quality.
 
 1/2 pound whole dried hominy, with pedicel (con cabeza) 1 1/2 rounded
 teaspoons powdered lime (see below)
 
 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.
 
 You may use a pressure cooker for this last step. Bring up to pressure,
 lower the heat, and cook slowly for about 30 minutes.
 
 LIME
 (Cal)
 
 This chemically pure lime, calcium oxide, is used in the preparation of
 dried corn for making tortilla and tamale dough. It is generally sold in
 rocklike lumps of varying sizes. To use it in this state, break off a
 piece about as large as a golf ball (once you have some experience you
 can estimate more accurately) and crush it down as much as possible.
 Sprinkle well with cold water. It will then start to slake, or burn as
 the Mexicans say, and it does just that. It starts to crumble with a
 slight sizzling noise, sending off a vapor. If you put your hand over
 the bowl you are using, you can feel the heat emanating from it. When
 the action has subsided, it is now slaked; stir again and pour the milky
 liquid through a strainer into the pot with the corn and water. Take a
 taste of the water; it should have a slightly acrid taste or, as the
 Mexican expression goes, “grab your tongue.” If the water is very strong
 and bitter, add more cold water to dilute the corn water. If it is too
 weak, pour more water through the strainer containing the lime residue
 and try again.
 
 Since one usually buys lime by the pound at the very least, it can be
 broken up into smaller pieces and stored in closed jars, but with time
 it will naturally slake on its own with the natural moisture in the air.
 It is still usable, although it will have broken down to a powder
 containing some small lumps. When you add water to it for the nixtamal,
 it will not burn.
 
 Note: When handling lime, be careful not to get any near your eyes and
 always use a non-corrodible container for diluting it.
 
 
 
 
 
 
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