The 5th Quarter : The Innard Limits: Meats You’ve Been Missing : Trials of a Tripe Lover

It’s not easy loving tripe. At restaurants, friends who profess to be adventurous eaters become suddenly cool, their eyes suspicious, once they realize what I am about to order. And there’s trouble when the tripe arrives--maybe hot from a dim sum cart, simmered with scallions and fiery chile peppers; or steaming in a bowl of menudo ; or stewed, Italian-style, with tomatoes and onions and herbs. The non-tripe eaters wrinkle their noses and they whine: “It smells like a barnyard.”

I do not think tripe smells like a barnyard. But I admit, I am prejudiced. In my family, menudo was served every Christmas--I thought it was one of the most wonderful things a person could eat. I loved the texture of the thickest honeycomb tripe best and would search those pieces out first. And I loved the ritual of piling on bits of onion, chile flakes, dried oregano and fresh cilantro.

I realize now that menudo is one of the harder tripe dishes to like. Where few friends will even try a spoonful of the stuff, more are inclined to taste tripe if it’s, say, hidden in pasta with cheese and tomato sauce. This gratin of tripe, penne and cabbage from the “Chez Panisse Cookbook” is the best version of the Italian tripe-pasta dishes I’ve found. It’s really three separate recipes: the braised tripe alone, which is often served in Italy; the braised tripe tossed with freshly cooked pasta; and the crunchy gratin. It’s a dish designed for nibbling at the stove at every stage.

GRATIN OF TRIPE, PENNE AND CABBAGE

2 quarts water

1 1/4 teaspoons salt

2 cups penne

1/2 yellow onion, finely diced

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 cups thinly sliced savoy cabbage

Freshly ground pepper

1 1/2 cups sourdough bread crumbs

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

2 cups Braised Tripe

1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Chicken broth, optional

Bring water to boil, add 1 teaspoon salt and penne. Cook 8 minutes or until pasta loses firmness but is still slightly chewy. Drain pasta and cool briefly under cold running water. (Do not soak pasta.)

Brown onion in olive oil in sauce pot. Add cabbage, remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and season to taste with freshly ground pepper. Cook over medium heat 8 minutes, stirring often, until cabbage is thoroughly tender.

Toss bread crumbs with melted butter. Spread crumbs on baking sheet and bake at 375 degrees 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Combine pasta, Braised Tripe (if refrigerated, rewarm), cabbage, onion and 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese. Mixture should be somewhat saucy and pasta coated thoroughly. If not, add small amount of chicken broth or water to loosen mixture and enough of juices from tripe to moisten whole dish while baking.

Turn mixture into 10x8-inch baking dish or oval gratin and dust top with remaining 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese. Cover top with bread crumbs and bake at 375 degrees 30 minutes. Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Braised Tripe

1 1/2 pounds honeycomb tripe

1/4 cup unsalted butter

1 1/2 large stalks celery, cut into 1/8-inch dice

2 small carrots, cut into 1/8-inch dice

1 small yellow onion, cut into 1/8-inch dice

3 ounces pancetta, thinly sliced and diced

2 bay leaves

2 cups tomatoes, peeled, seeded, diced, with juice strained and reserved

3 large cloves garlic, thinly sliced

1 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 quart chicken broth

3 tablespoons chopped Italian parsley

Freshly ground pepper

Freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Rinse tripe and cut as thinly as possible (sharp knife is crucial) into strips 2 to 3 inches long. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in 6-quart pot. Add celery, carrots, onion and pancetta and cook over low heat 5 minutes or until vegetables are tender.

Add bay leaves, tomatoes, garlic, salt, cayenne and tripe, stirring well to combine. Pour in strained tomato juice and chicken broth, raise heat and bring slowly to boil. Skim off white froth that comes to surface. Reduce to even, gentle simmer, cover and cook 2 hours.

Remove cover, raise heat so tripe boils gently and cook another 30 to 35 minutes, allowing liquid to reduce until there is less liquid than tripe and 2 are combined in thickened saucy blend.

Just before serving, stir in remaining 2 tablespoons butter and parsley. Grind pepper liberally over surface and serve in warmed bowls. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese over each portion and serve additional at table. Makes about 2 cups.

Note : Tripe can be overcooked. Cooking should be stopped when texture is still distinct but there is no longer resistance when tripe is bitten into. If tripe is cooked before amount of liquid in pan has reduced and thickened sufficiently, remove tripe with strainer and continue to reduce liquid, then return tripe to pot.