Beef Tripe Milanese Style, Trippa Alla Milanese

Beef Tripe Milanese Style, Trippa alla Milanese

(serves 4)

A note on beef tripe:

Beef tripe alla Milanese is one of my favorite dishes ever.  My grandmother made this dish on special occasions, and I never eat it outside of my house or a family member’s house.  This is because improperly cleaned or prepared tripe can turn you off of it forever.

How to select & buy tripe:

Where you buy the tripe is very important.  Even of your local butcher is fantastic, he or she may not be familiar with how to properly clean and cut tripe.  Even though I am all about the mom and pop store, especially with butchers, I hate to say it, but here in the US, your best bet is buying it from a large supermarket store.  I don’t know if it is that they have larger facilities with more “industrial” methods for cleaning the tripe, but it is always better from a large chain supermarket- don’t ask me why.

Here is what to look for:

• The tripe should be a milky white, and resemble a honey comb.  If it has dark yellow or black/ brown- don’t buy it
• If it has even one hair- don’t buy it
• If it smells acrid or like ammonia, even a little- don’t buy it

This is what the tripe should look like:

this is cut, usually it is sold whole, but this is the general color

A note on this recipe:

Even though I have made this dish myself for over ten years, I called all of the women in my family, including, of course, my grandmother.  They all had slightly different versions…of course…  So I’m going with what I remember my grandmother used to put in this dish and how I’ve been making it for a few years.

Ingredients:

1 lb. beef tripe

1 lemon

1 Tbs. butter

1 Tbs. Olive or any vegetable oil

5 carrots, medium or small dice

1 bunch celery, medium or small dice

1 large yellow or white onion

2 Tbs. tomato paste

1 tsp. nutmeg

6-8 cups chicken or beef stock

Bouquet garni**

Salt & pepper to taste

Parmesan cheese

**for the bouquet garni:

1 bay leaf

5-6 sprigs thyme

5-6 leaves sage

kitchen string

Preparation:

• Thoroughly rinse the tripe with cold water.  Rub with lemon and rinse again.
• Pat dry and cut into two-inch strips.  Reserve

cut tripe in strips

• Heat oil and butter in a large pot over medium-high heat
• Add onions and allow to caramelize slightly
• Add carrots and celery and cook for 5-10 minutes until slightly softened.
• Add tripe and cook until bright white, about 8 -12 minutes.

  tripe turning white

• Meanwhile prepare your bouquet garni by tying all the herbs together and leaving about 1 ft. of sting to tie to the handle of your pan- this will make it easier to fish out later.

                        

• When tripe is bright white, drain liquid from bottom of pan with a ladle and discard.
• At this point, the tripe should acquire a particular odor.  It should not be acrid or offensive.  The best way to describe it is it should have the slight odor of a sea sponge but should in no way be offensive.
• Add the tomato puree and make sure that it coats the tripe and vegetables.
• Add enough stock to cover and bring to a boil.
• Add bouquet garni, tying it to the handle of the pot. 
• Add nutmeg, and salt and pepper.  Reduce to a simmer and cover.
• The time tripe will take to cook depends on the age of the cow and the freshness.  It usually takes between 45 minutes to 1 ½ hours.  The tripe is ready when it is tender.
• Stir and simmer until tripe is tender, you may need to add more stock to prevent from drying.
• Remove bouquet garni and discard.
• Serve with Parmesan cheese.  I like it over rice.

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