This is Filipino menudo. Pork, liver, peas, potatoes, carrots… There is a Mexican menudo which is similar to what we call callos. Although menudo is not exactly something I’d serve at a party (my mother-in-law is right when she described it as too much everyday fare), I’d crave for menudo now and then, and especially on rainy days. It’s something from my childhood. Menudo was something that my father would cook on a Sunday and it was a dish that I often found in my school lunch box. It is comfort food.
This is an updated recipe. The old one, published in May 2003, had what I now feel as confusing instructions so I didn’t bother retaining it. Besides, this recipe is much, much better. Back then, I was still using tomato paste whenever I couldn’t get my hands on enough plump and juicy fresh tomatoes. Today, I know that canned stewed tomatoes is a better substitute.
Eight years ago, I cooked the potato and carrot cubes separately and added them to the stew at the last minute. I don’t do that anymore because I know now that it is better to add raw potatoes and carrots to the stew so that while they slowly cook, they absorb the flavors of the meats and the sauce.
Eight years ago, I added raisins to my menudo very sparingly. My, bad. It is the raisins that impart a wonderful sweetness to the stew that balances the acidity of the tomatoes and the spiciness of the chorizo. These days, I use half a cup of raisins rather than two tablespoonfuls.
Ingredients
- 600 g. of pork belly or shoulder, skin on
- 250 g. of pork liver
- 60 to 70 g. of smoky Spanish sausage (see notes below)
- 1/2 tsp. of minced garlic
- 2 onions
- 3 potatoes, peeled
- 1 carrot, peeled
- 2 bell peppers
- 4 tbsps. of olive oil
- 1 15-oz. can of whole unpeeled tomatoes
- 1/2 tsp. of dried oregano
- 1/2 c. of raisins
- 1/3 c. of sweet peas
- 1 bay leaf
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Cut the pork meat, liver, carrot and potatoes into 1″ x 1″ cubes. Refrigerate the liver until needed.
- Cut the sausage into thin rings.
- Roughly chop the onions.
- Remove the seeds of the bell peppers (see how). Cut the peppers into thin slices.
- In a heavy thick-bottomed pot or casserole, heat the olive oil.
- Over medium-high heat, lightly brown the pork pieces.
- Add the chorizo, garlic and chopped onions. Cook until the vegetables start to soften.
- Add the oregano, raisins, bell peppers, bay leaf and the canned tomatoes with all the liquid. Season with salt and pepper.
- Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer for 40 minutes.
- When the pork is almost done, add the carrot and potato cubes. Simmer for another 10 minutes. There should be very little liquid left by this time. That’s the way it should be as menudo is not a soup.
- Add the liver cubes. Simmer for another seven to 10 minutes. Adjust the seasonings, if needed.
- Fish out the bay leaf before serving.
- Serve hot with rice or bread.
Quick notes
There are many kinds of Spanish chorizos sold in the market today. The most familiar is chorizo de Bilbao. You can use any variety. Just please don’t substitute hotdogs.
Unlike pork meat, pork liver becomes tougher with longer cooking. It is always advisable to add the liver towards the end of the cooking time. When liver is cut in small pieces, as with pork menudo, they are fully cooked within minutes. To test for doneness, take a piece of liver from the casserole after about 3 minutes of cooking. Pierce the liver through the center with a fork. If blood runs out, cook for another 30 seconds.
Menudo can also be cooked using boneless chicken thighs.
Preparation time: 15 minute(s)
Cooking time: 1 hour(s)
Number of servings (yield): 4
Hi Connie,
Happy new year!
I’ll be hosting dinner again this weekend and was wondering what would go with menudo. Are you able to suggest a chicken dish and a vegetable entree?
Your recipes are truly very tasty.
Thanks!
Omar
can i use chicken livers? can i boil the carrots and potatoes with the pork towards the end instead of boiling them separately? thanks connie. i think i did good with the bistek and beef with broccoli.
chicken livers are much much better, felixberto. instead of boiling the carrots and potatoes, try pan-frying them. they acquire better texture that way.
bakit wala po yung recipe tyaka procedure
nasa page 2.
What is the yield of this recipe? How many servings?
Unless otherwise stated, recipes are for 4 persons.
For a person who is working alone or as OFW this particular information is very helpful to all of us. And since i left my country without any knowledge in cooking your information is very very important to me.
God Bless and have a Healhty Life now and Forever
Very Truly Yours;
Robert Llantero Loquillano
Microbiology Specialist
I’ve done the recipe twice already and it was phenomenal. Though I skipped the pork liver the second time around. I preferred without it after having the first attempt. But the recipe is definitely delicious. My hubby who’s “Puti” did really liked it too.
Thanks for the recipe!
hi just want to ask if we can buy this pork menudo photo?.. reply asap
No. You can’t use it anywhere else either. Free to look at it on this page, however.
Hi there,
My friend has some great pork menudo and I thought if this recipe would be easy or not. I will try it one day. I love eating the pork fat but do I have to add the pork liver? Can I had tripe?
Thanks for the recipe.
Karen
“I love eating the pork fat but do I have to add the pork liver?”
That’s really up to you.
“Can I had tripe?”
The Mexican menudo uses tripe.
What a delicious pork recipe. Thanks for sharig it. Frankly, I haven’t touch pork for a long time. Must try to cook some later. Have a great day.
Kristy
Might as well make menudo tonite. I have pork liver and pork loin sitting in the freezer since last week. Thanks for the idea.
It’s a rainy day: stay warm and snug, panyera.
Thanks! And may the floods stay away.
We love MENUDO. Although considered everyday fare by most, My dad always insists on having a pot of menudo during the Chrismas season or family gatherings. To make it more festive, aside from all of the above ingredients, I would add muchrooms, garbanzos, vienna sausages (aside from the chorizos) and when available, chunky cut up slab bacon and at times even pugo eggs.
It is so delicious with rice, pandesal and sliced bread.
Thinning the sauce a bit will also make you a great gravy/sauce for roasted chicken!
And Ms. Connie, I totally agree with you that chicken liver makes this dish even better!
Menudo reminds me of my dad. He always eats menudo with hot pandesal for breakfast.he wants the meat sliced smaller and the sauce a little thicker and lots of potatoes.
when do you put the chorizo, ms.connie? i did not see it in the instruction.
I edited the post.