Historical recipe and comic commentary by Gregory B. Freeman, November 1983. Original ingredients, measurements and introduction retained.
Editor’s note: Our third contributor to this column lives in DeBaliviere Place and reports in city government and writes a column for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
He is the president of the Greater St. Louis Association of Black Journalists, and recently served as the honorary chairman for a fundraiser sponsored by the North Side Preservation Commission. Freeman, who enjoys speaking Spanish and studying Latin American culture, has visited Mexico several times, and lived there for several months as a participant in the Experiment in International Living program.
A lot of myths are being challenged these days — especially the one that maintains that men just can’t cook. It’s hard to say where these misnomers begin, but it’s my personal belief that some of the world’s best chefs are men.
And more and more, men are discovering the rewarding pleasures of creative cuisine. (Cleaning up behind yourself is another matter though.) Before you embark on any new culinary challenge, a good glass of wine or your favorite beverage is in order.
A good glass of wine enhances the flavor of any food, and inevitably improves the disposition of any cook. Next, get ready to prepare an uncommon, but delicious dish from south of the border, Menudo. No, I’m not talking about the Puerto Rican rock group by the same name that’s just discovered acne. Instead, I’m referring to a soup that’s widely popular in a lot of Mexican households.
For years North Americans have been imitating the Mexicans.(Fortunately, this imitation did not extend to the economy.) And one of the areas of imitation has been in our cuisine. Unfortunately, the imitation has largely limited itself to foods like tacos, tostadas and the like.
These foods have been given a little American modification and turned into things like super tacos, tostadas grandes, light tacos and all sorts of other Spanish-sounding names that aren’t Spanish. Menudo, however, is an authentic Mexican dish — la cosa real.
The recipe is fairly simple. Here’s what you’ll need: 1 football game where the Cardinals are winning.
This is necessary to provide the proper atmosphere.
A losing game could ruin the meal (not to mention your appetite). 1 glass of wine or whatever.
The time you spend in the kitchen will pass even quicker. 2 pounds of honeycomb tripe 1 1½-pound veal knuckle 6 cups water 3 medium onions, chopped 2 cloves garlic, minced 2 teaspoons salt 1/2 teaspoon coriander seed 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano, crushed ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper 1/4 teaspoon pepper 1 15-ounce can hominy Pequin chiles or crushed red pepper Lime wedges Cut tripe into one-inch pieces. Place in a Dutch oven or other large pot with veal knuckle, water, onions, garlic, salt, coriander, oregano, the 1/4 teaspoon of crushed red pepper, and pepper. Simmer, covered, for three hours until tripe has a clear, jellylike appearance and veal is very tender. Remove veal knuckle from pot.
When cool enough to handle, discard bones; • chop meat and return to soup. Add the undrained hominy, cover and simmer 20 minutes longer. Serve with pequin chiles or crushed red pepper to taste. Garnish with lime wedges. Que tienen una buena comida!
Original photograph caption
Gregory B. Freeman, contributor of “Macho Menus: Menudo.” Photo by King Schoenfeld. The Paper, November 1983, page 4.
Originally published in The Paper, November 1983.
Read this article in the original newspaper issue.
Original source: SD_Times1983_11.pdf, printed page(s) 4; PDF page(s) 4.
