I had a couple of bad experiences with callos (tripe) as a kid and avoided the dish for 30+ years. But since starting this blog, I have made it a personal quest to conquer a lot of my food biases, and callos is another one of those dishes that fall into the “I think I’ll eat something else, thanks.” The main reason? I think it is a texture issue. Or is it the fact that I can visualize and then gag at the thought of a cow’s “second” stomach lining??? Yes, a cow is said to have four stomachs, or one big stomach, with four distinct chambers. The stomach lining of the first three chambers is typically cooked as tripe as we know it (chambers 2 and 3 best for callos). One chamber has a larger “honeycomb” texture while another chamber has smoother looking tripe. Hence the local name which literally translates to “towel”…and which I find truly descriptive compared to just “tripe.” But now that I have dissected the dish and made it from scratch, not to mention ate a fabulous version we had in the Florence Central Market last year, I realize it is one of those dishes that has just been interpreted, misinterpreted or bastardized so much that if you had a couple of bad versions, it would ruin you for life. So if you are a callos lover read on for one of the best tasting versions I have sampled, and if you are not a callos lover, persevere and read on, and I just might convince you to give it another try…
Callos was almost certainly a poor man’s dish to begin with. Not one of the main dishes or party fare for the beso-beso crowd of yore. The very cheap stomach lining of a cow was boiled until tender and flavored with classic Spanish ingredients like onions, garlic and tomatoes. The richness of the dish came from the lengthy boil of gelatinous cow parts like the legs or snout (among the least salable or desirable parts of the cow). In preparation for my callos adventure, I read at least twenty recipes and recalled with amusement so many different types of callos advice from family friends and food experts over the years. My sister-in-law cooks callos but “doesn’t really put callos in it…” ?! and I know several folks who cook it with pork instead, using the same sauce… while others throw in potatoes, garbanzos (chickpeas), and other extenders. Some folks like it with a hint or a lot of chilli, while others want it mild and very tomato-ey. Some recipes are bizarrely wrong just from the first read, calling for a relatively brief 30-45 minute boil for the tripe to soften it (I’d like to see the author’s eat THAT callos), as I find the process needed to tenderize the tripe literally takes the better part of a day or at least 6 hours! I actually doubt that many published recipes were in fact cooked as written. At any rate, I tried to trace the recipe back to its roots… it is “Tripe in the Madrid Style”, after all. My search led back to recipes that were purely tripe and some cow patas or legs, or snouts and the other ingredients like tomatoes, etc. I didn’t find versions with all kinds of extenders in them from the Spanish sources. So I decided to try a recipe that was closer to what might be more original, figuring that additional ingredients and alterations would be easy to do later.
The main guiding recipe that I ended up using was from the Aboitiz Family Cookbook, and it is attributed to Maria Mendieta, the sister of Lulu Mendieta Aboitiz. I followed most of the recipe, but also added some changes, due to lack of ingredients or personal preference or infusing parts of other recipes that I read and liked. I also tried to use mostly Spanish ingredients for this first attempt to ensure it was close to the versions in Madrid. This recipe sounds like an incredible amount of work, but it is more in elapsed time than anything else. I also was attracted to the fact that the tripe was cooked separately and the broth was discarded, whereas many recipes logically include the broth for flavor. I will tell you now that it was a SUPERB dish of callos and I ate tons of it. It all started out with my spotting a package of Australian or New Zealand tripe at the chiller section of S&R last week. Call me colonial on this one, but one of the reasons I never cooked local tripe before is that local stomach lining simply looked horrific most of the time! Worse, it can smell so incredibly off-putting when unclean. Apparently tripe is sometimes greenish in color or worse semi-brownish, both due to the color of grass that the cows munch on, and or its various stages of decomposition of the grass… At any rate, I figured the whitish and relatively clean looking imported tripe might be the best way to go for a tripe neophyte like me. And at PHP200 for a kilo and a half, I didn’t think it was an extravagant splurge… Now it does seem stupid to think that somehow New Zealand cows would have cleaner tummies than Pinoy ones, but indulge me for a while longer.
Next, clean and scrub that tripe like it was your favorite carpet that your pet dog just weewee-ed on. :) Rub it with rock salt and rinse it in tap water. Brush it if you have a produce/kitchen brush (not your Denman, sily) and repeat until there is nary a trace of grassiness… Here is a photo of tripe in a Barcelona market, doesn’t it look like a relatively clean towel??? Once it is clean, stick it in a humongous stockpot, and for about 1.5 kilos of tripe, I then added 4 kilos of beef pata or shank or hind leg. Some folks prefer to use the snout or even the ox tail… all of it is for the gelatin in the bones and cartilage and the flavor of the meat, of course. Cover with water, bring to a boil and skim the scum from the surface or alternatively, remove the meat and throw out the water and start with cold water gain and return the meat to the water and bring to a boil. Add three large carrots, peeled and cut up into large pieces, three peeled onions, cut into large pieces, several leeks white and light green sections only, several sprigs of flat leaf parsley, some chilli flakes if desired, some chopped red capsicum and about 5 medium tomatoes, chopped. I then added an entire bottle of white wine, though half a bottle would have probably sufficed. Make sure everything is covered with water and bring to a boil and lower the heat to a gurgle or simmer. Simmer for 6-8 hours until the tripe looks cooked and is soft. It will shrink significantly. Add water if necessary. I cooked this starting at 5 in the afternoon, turned off the heat just after midnight and went to sleep, then let the brew cool down and continued with the process at 7 or 8 the next morning. Alternatively, after simmering for 7 hours, just turn off the heat, fish out the tripe and set the stock aside. At this point, I figured I was onto a good thing as everything smelled just fine… in previous experiences with tripe, sometimes the boiling part is already a turn-off from a smell perspective…
Slice the tripe into bite size pieces and do the same for some of the meat from the cow pata. Heat up a fresh large skillet, add some good spanish olive oil, and fry some bacon or ham and lots of chorizo. I used nearly as much chorizo and ham as the tripe, which was a bit of overkill, but it made for a VERY tasty callos. You may want to use roughly half the amount of chorizo and ham or bacon instead. If you like paprika, you may want to add a few dashes of paprika while the chorizo is sizzling away. Take the meats out of the pan and put it back on the flame. Add 3 onions, chopped and about two chopped roasted red peppers/capsicum and saute for a couple of minutes. Add a 16 oz can of chopped tomatoes and a tablespoon or so of good tomato paste and salt to taste. Add the chorizo and bacon to the sauce, then the callos and let this cook at least 10 minutes more to make the flavors all meld. Add cracked or ground black pepper and more salt if necessary. That’s it! Let it cool and store in the fridge, heat it up the next day and enjoy… it tastes better if eaten the day after you make it. This was delicious!!!! Texture was nice, not plainly reminiscent of the raw tripe. It was rich but not overly so. It had the classic tomato, onion and pepper sauce. It was intense yet sublime. Yup, I am a callos convert. But only if I make it this way. The addition of garbanzos, potatoes, etc. is a logical step, not only as an extender but to cut the richness of a pure callos dish… but if you try the way I describe it, you might just have a callos epiphany, as I did. I am so glad I spent the time to do this recipe well… the results have definitely changed my views on Callos ala Madrilena forever…
68 Responses
This post represents one that causes me to visit the blog time and time again. You cooked it, you made notes and observations in the process and now you pass on the REAL experience. Nothing imagined, nothing exaggerated, and embellished. Pure information based on your experience. The suggestion to eat it the next day is simply brilliant!
Like adobo, every cook seems to have a slightly different version and that’s the way it should be. A bit personalized makes it more your own.
I will cook this today exactly as you have directed except I like black olives in mine.
Thank you very much.
Callos, yum! That is my favorite food of all-time. :) Unfortunately I cannot eat it all the time as it is my mom who knows how to cook the dish; I meanwhile cannot cook to save my life. Hehehe.
For me, it is the texture of callos that lures me so. I love the fatty, spongy feel of it on my tongue, I love that it absorbs flavor very well, such that as I bite the succulent, soft flesh, I taste the sweet/salty flavor of the dish bursting forth…
Mmm, now you’ve made me hungry. ;)
Easier than I thought! Thanks so much MM! After “conquering” my lifelong hate for kare-kare, trying to cook it and falling for it again, I will do the same thing with callos. Same here, callos is not a favorite ulam because my in laws’ cook would use pork & beans with tripe then call it callos! Ugh!
Since I have my own kitchen now in my own home, callos is the next challenge :)
MM, I agree with Silly Lolo! Thanks so much for sharing this, your detailed instructions guarantee it’ll turn out well. I’ve taken Monday off because I’ve long wanted to make this recipe and think that it would be a worthwhile use of vacation time! Mmmm, can’t wait!
Unlike you, I still am averse to eating tripe, hence can only eat my brother-in-law’s version of callos, sans tripe (weird), but full of all the other authentic ingredients as well. And since they are of pure Spanish descent, I trust that it tastes pretty much as close to the real thing, whatever that means. :p Thanks for sharing your recipe! I’ve been wanting to try this out but have always been turned off with the seemingly tedious preparation. One of these days…
Hej MM,
I too can only agree with Silly Lolo’s comments. Callos a la Madrilena is one of the few dishes I could long for. I fell in love with the dish when I visited Pampanga ages ago. The dish was lovingly prepared by a Pampangueno cook for a fiesta.
I tried once to make a version using lamb entrails, but didnt get past the softening-and-throwing-away-the-water stage. The apartment building where we live was stinking of the distinct innard smell and my husband refused to let me continue after five attempts of boiling, for fear of being ejected by our tenant.
Now, thanks to your post, am inspired to make another go, but this time, I’ll make sure I’ll use cow’s tripe.
have always loved callos. mom used to cook it much like your recipe i think. i love it tomatoey with bell peppers and carrots. did you know that callos is rich in protein but low calorie? i wouldn’t cook it though as it seems so time consuming. at my sister’s resto, my angels kitchen, callos as i enjoyed it at home, is on the menu and pretty popular.
My mother cooks callos almost the same way, her version is more saucy though because my siblings like to spoon the sauce. Other times, she makes it with very little sauce. But yes only tripe, pata and chorizo, definitely no extenders. I love callos but I only eat my mom’s version cause I find others malansa.
Totally agree with Silly Lolo. First hand experience is the best source of material. The white wine is the secret ingredient and holystone that cleansed the callos to its immaculate taste. I will definitely use half bottle of white wine and save the other half for libation. I read and heard if you cannot drink the wine then do not cook with it. Thank you much for writing the callos precise preparation and cooking in stone and will be part of my cooking encyclopedia. Side note: I love callos in porridge/lugaw too now I know how to prepare it properly. Unprepared callos is really obnoxious!
love callos! always have…it’s one of my comfort foods. i put a bit of saffron in mine. i will definitely try this recipe this weekend.
my mom uses baking soda to eliminate the odor of tripe (when she buys the local tripe). She soaks the tripe in 2-3 Tbsp baking soda for 2 to 3 hours until the smell is gone. She also removes the inner lining of the tripe.
I also remember when she’s cooking pig intestine she uses “tawas” and “apog” to eliminate the odor.
Okay, you’ve got pretty much right, the inital blanching rids the tripe of any foul smell. After you cook the tripe with sauce you can even bring it up one notch further, like a two star restaurant in Paris did: they put it into a baking dish, sprinkled it with a few fresh breadcrumbs and chopped parsley and broiled it briefly so it has a crunchy top.
I checked the ol’ fridge & pantry to make sure I had all the goodies around for this dish. The wifey yells, “the chorizos are in the garage (the fridge we use for outdoor bbq’s)”. Lo and behold, there were chorizos alright but they were Portuguese, Salvadorean, and Hawaiian! No Chorizo de Bilbao!
I could have ended up with Callos ala Waikiki. Chorizo de Bilbao is the best and should be the correct flavoring. There are many other chorizos and most are even larger, but no, I won’t go there!
Silly Lolo you are absolutely right again. Chorizo de Bilbao is the right one for this callos dish! Yes, there are so many varieties of chorizos – Mexican, El Salvador, the list goes on and on. Chorizo de Bilbao made by Marca El Rey is the right one for this callos fever!
love love callos. will try this recipe but first have to get chorizo de bilbao, silly lolo, you are funny
Sister, as usual your customary and detailed tips and leads are greatly appreciated. Much love the idea of crunchy topping – really goes well with the soft gelatinous texture of the meat. Sister you are the best of the best!
What a coincidence!! I was going to cook this for a weekend potluck, but my recipe has me using pepperoni I/O chorizo de bilbao and also chickpeas/potatoes. I will use your recipe coz it comes from someone who has actually cooked it himself and more often, I want to try recipes that have been told rather than just read in a cookbook I bought. Hmm, I do like the addition of bell peppers as well as sister’s crunchy top version. There were two kinds of tripe, the finer one and the honeycomb one which was more expensive. I bought half pound of each. I can’t wait to make this!!! Thanks!
Hi MM! You have referred to the Aboitiz cookbook a few times now. Is that something that’s available to the general public? Or is it privately published only for Aboitiz friends and family?
fried neurons, the Aboitiz cookbook was published by the family corporation/foundation and it was given out as christmas gifts a few years ago. It was never put up for sale… it contains family favorites from all over the world… really a family compilation. I like it a lot as many similar dishes were also cooked in our family when I was growing up… but with different twists along the way…
Ha! another dish that I haven’t eaten for ages, I really love and missed callos. Call me weird, but I used to enjoy cleaning those tripes, I loved to watch how it turns into a white carpet like thing when cleaned.As someone mentioned above “apog” or lime powder is the best alternative to use when cleaning it.My nanay’s version includes lots of fresh tomatoes and onions,chick peas and hotdogs (yeah a bit strange but it goes well with tripe)and tomato sauce.Nagutom tuloy ako…
Hi Marketman,
I have had many many delicious tripe dishes. Your version sounds utterly delicious. My mother has always claimed though that the real Callos Madrilena does not have any tomato sauce. That the Callos dishes in Manila are really Filipino. I am not really a fan of spanish food so I don’t really care. In fact I have churned out several batches of Florentine style tripe which I actually prefer. i just feel that for Callos (whether Spanish or Filipino) its imperative to stew the offal with the pata until it develops a sticky consistency (something that turns gelatinous when cooled).
I have not really seen any green or brown colored tripe here in the Bay Area, I guess they were already clean before they go on the butcher’s shelves. But here’s how i prepare the tripe before cooking them for callos or goto(lugaw). In a pressure cooker put the tripe or libro, cover with water and about 1 cup of white vinegar, a few cloves of smashed garlic, 10-15 whole peppercorns and about 2tbspn of sea salt. Set on high heat until the cooker starts to whistle, then set it to medium and time it for 1hr.
I assure you the tripe comes out very very tender and without the horrific smell. It’s ready for whatever you want to make out of it.
btw, dont use the water that you pressure cooked the tripe from ;-)
I love leftover callos.
i don’t cook tripe at home since the rest of the family have issues with it. i’m lucky to have a neighborhood osteria that serves tripe and they cook it the same way minus the chorizo. their version has the same cooking techniques and the ingredients are almost the same. i suspect they also use celery to complete the mirepoix (carrots, celery, onion). the server tops it with slices of parmeggiano reggiano.
I am Silly Lolo’s apo.
when i cook callos, i change the water 4 to 5 times to remove the “lansa”
There seem to be an endless amount of tricks to remove the off-taste… Mario Batali boils with vinegar and vanilla. Others scrub with baking soda. Still others scrub with salt and boil several times… it’s amazing what people will do to remove the langsa in order to enjoy the texture of the final product… gemma, if you check back to my post on a market lunch in Florence, the tripe was served the way you describe, with lots of parmiggiano, it was superb. lee, a day or two old callos is better than newly cooked, definitely. It freezes well too in case you make a big batch and can’t finish it all in one or two meals. Ted, pressure cooking sounds convenient and fast, but do you loose more of the gelatine with the water that’s chucked? Just curious. APM, I can completely buy your mom’s view with no tomatoes, as the addition of chorizo with lots of paprika can turn the dish orangey and appear to have a lot of tomatoes. However, in the over 20 recipes I reviewed, including spanish ones dating back 50+ years, there are chopped tomatoes in the almost all of them. Not the swimming in tomato sauce that I like, but with substantial tomato content… And yes, the whole potato, carrot, garbanzo thing must be pinoy…. though I saw a recipe for a Catalan tripe with potatoes, and another one with almonds…
i often had this when i was younger, i don’t eat as much anymore…i guess i grew tired of it. i am not so fond of eating tripe anymore, i really don’t know why, but callos is one for the books. a genuine comfort food that brings back so many memories.
Hi MM,
Thank you so much for sharing your recipe! I wanted to include callos in my Spanish-themed noche buena last year but got stuck in finding saffron for the paella that I never got the time to search for an authentic callos recipe(I’ve searched the WalMart and SM stores in our area for saffron but to no avail. I only found Carmencita Spanish seasoning which already includes saffron from a supermarket in Festival Mall).
I really appreciate the fact that you went through really old recipe books in order to get the common factors found in the published recipes and arrive at the most sensible combination of ingredients and procedure. The old-fashioned way is always the best way to prepare slow-cooking dishes.
Personally, I haven’t gotten my hands on old recipe books (what a treasure they would be!) but I research in almost similar manner – I cross-reference recipes with food magazines, web sites as well as notes I’ve kept from watching cooking shows before actually cooking it instead of relying on only one recipe.
My husband will definitely be surprised when I cook this for his birthday. Thanks again for sharing your experience!
You are right Market Man chopped tomatoes yes tomato sauce no. The other difference between the pinoy and the spanish callos is that the spanish callos has a hint of cloves.
Silly Lolo, I disagree with you, I think MM is exagerrated. My mom makes do with just washing it and boiling for an hour or so in a pressure cooker, discarding the first boil and it’s ready to use. and I find it much better if she’s cooking on firewood (I think the off-taste becomes more bland if cooked this way.) I’ve tasted worse versions.. but never really hated it, because I was fortunate to have good Ilonggo cooks around who did justice to all things weird and unusual. Well MM, I think the appetite for such strange meat is also an accumulated taste, and the longing for such is because of that “unique” taste that only animal insides can bring, think of something similar to “papaitan” or “kare-kare.” A lot of people like satay, right? Chicken, pork intestines, bladders, tripe, ears, etc. So I feel that removing all hints of that unique flavor isn’t really doing the job, you dressed it too much with too much fancy wine, chorizo and bacon. Because you avoided this for 30 something years, you missed the good stuff. So I am kinda disappointed with your callos but I’d eat it anyway.
Belle, I suppose to each their own. In many cases, food memories are driven by specific family preparations, not really a broader view of a dish and its history and original context in which it was enjoyed. I suppose a much more tripe intensive dish is something that would be attractive for those that really like the tripe in its basic and purest form, nothing wrong with that at all. In the same manner I don’t think there is anything wrong with folks who have modified the recipe to include garbanzos, potatoes, etc. But I don’t see anyone saying above they like the tripe with a hint or more of langsa flavor left in. In none of the 20+ recipes that I read does it suggest you leave the tripe a little dirty, in fact most make a big deal of how to clean the tripe. I would agree with you that this dish CAN be made without the other ingredients, purely as a tripe thing… but it IS called Callos a la Madrilena, which has some history, not CALLOS a la Belle’s Mom or a la Marketman, for that matter. Further, we all make our changes for convenience, preference, whatever – hence the pressure cooker move (no pressure cookers until say 40-50 years ago at most?) but then in a nice twist, finished off on an open fire/firewood which would provide a smokey flavor. Offal and other innards are definitely an acquired taste… and as with many food biases, everyone has different ways of overcoming them… Oh and please, no need to force yourself to eat something you don’t approve of… life is too short to compromise your standards… :)
I love tripe, however it’s cooked! My mother’s friend scrubs her tripe with soap(the way one hand washes her clothes…) and wash it with several gallons worth of h2o…we just make do with several washings. To soften my mother often uses the pressure cooker but I do mine in the slow cooker overnight, on slow mode and add the rest of the ingredients first thing in the morning. We always have it with with beans, chorizo and tomato sauce on some days, most weekends we would do the madrileno, with good white wine and the usual chorizo and bacon meats. I love this post as callos, any version, is truly a favorite..oh yeah, sister’s tip is quite interesting and will just try it…
wow, thanks, MM! I’m on the lookout for new recipes for the new year. I never used pata nor ox tail so I believe your recipe would be extremely good as always. Hope you feature Chinese one of these days.
Yey, finally!!!
Thanks Marketman!!
MM, by pressure cooking the tripe with vinegar, garlic and peppercorns, it takes out maybe 99% of the langsa as well as making it tender, but it still has most of the gelatins retained, i would then add it sans its water to the oxtail’s last 30minutes or so of boiling to blend all the juices for use as stock for the callos.
to prep my tripe, first step i do is scald the tripe in boiling water, discard the water, put the tripe in a shallow basin and pour white vinegar and lots of salt, rub and scrub it until it’s clean to my satisfaction then rinse. i then boil it with water, little white vinegar about 3 tbsps, salt for about 5 mins then fish out and rinse the tripe, at this point the tripe is white, clean and smelling good, then start the cooking proper for the callos.
i like saffron, white kidney beans for the fiber, red peppers and olives in my callos.
mm, your callos looks very appetizing.
I also add bay leaves to the dish.
Around the Bikol area (Albay), the Bikolanos have a tripe dish prepared with coconut milk, plenty of onions, garlic, ginger, and of course, sili (hot chili pepper) of different varieties. The name of this rather spicy yet delicious dish slips my mind, but I’ve done a few copycat trials of this in my kitchen, served with grilled veggies to balance the saucy richness of the dish.
I have noticed that the use of ginger, garlic, onions and chili removed the ‘lansa’ (greasy taste and feel) of the tripe. In fact, the trippa alla fiorentina uses plenty of garlic and onions, and a touch of dried chili pepper to give it a subtle zing, making it somewhat devoid of what we Filipinos call the ‘lansa’ taste.
Perhaps MM could try out a Filipino recipe with tripe next time? ;-)
No saffron at Walmart? Order on line from Spice Caravan or Kalustyan’s.
Hi Marketman,
I know this is off topic but I would like to greet you, your family, and readers Viva Pit Señor! It’s the Sinulog Festival in Cebu today.
Gia, and a Viva Pit Senor!! to you too. If you follow the route of the dancers today, you may even spot a banner or two (small ones) with greetings from Marketmanila.com!!! :) Care to guess at which fairly major intersection they are at? :) Happy Sinulog to all Cebu-based readers!
to remove the ‘lansa’ away from the tripe, i add some ginger slices to the boiling water
Dinronnin,
you sound like you are coming from Alabang area. Santi’s should carry saffron next time you need some. otherwise, try landmark’s supermarket. the new branch here in QC has a couple of brands of saffron.
I second Edel. Ginger slices on the pre-boil. along with onions, garlic, crushed black peppercorns and a touch of cooking wine/rice wine, if white wine is not available. over charcoal is the best way to tenderize meats… especially for soups… YUMM! i think it only takes 3-4 hours for us to tenderize tripe… we already have it sliced to bite-size pieces before simmering.
Callos is one of our family’s favorite special occasion dishes. It is labor intensive to clean and cook tripe and ox feet but that’s what makes serving it so special: The celebrant knows that it was painstakingly cooked with love!
Our version has lots of garlic and onions, chorizos, olive oil, pimientos, tomatoes and olives. We prefer Australian or NZ tripe because it is cleaner and plumper. It’s even cheaper than the one from the leading local meat shop.
I am going to try putting in some white wine and herbs to the boiling liquid as MM does. Am always willing to try other versions of my favorite food.
BTW, I tried the chorizos and fresh bacon from Chef Ed Quimson’s stall in Salcedo. Uber yum!!!! His chorizos would be great in the callos recipe.
I am embarrassed to admit I chickend out right at step one. :( I went and bought some nice looking tripe tonight, thinking I’d get a head start and do as MM did (cook the tripe the night before). Wellll…I was overcome by the smell and the texture of the fat on one side, I just couldn’t bring myself to clean it. Sayang — into the trash it went. Thankfully I didn’t buy a whole lot, figuring I’d do a half recipe first. :( :( :( Guess I’ll have to wait for mom to come visit, or wait till the weather warms up and I can throw open the windows. Sayang talaga…
Jacob’s Mom, I can completely understand your reaction. Folks who like tripe think we might be nuts. But tripe phobics like us HAVE to GET OVER the texture, it’s pretty gross… :)
The latest Callos I tried was on a recent visit to Budapest at a local market. I recognised the dish by the tomatoey sauce and despite the language barrier (pointed at my tummy to confirm what it was) I ventured to eat it and was pleasantly surprised at the combination of flavours, a blend of the Madrilena and the Trippa Florentine with a slight “lansa” eaten with a thick slice of sourdough bread. Not bad.
Thank you for all the comments and tips fellow readers. I am now more confident to experiment with my first ever Callos a la Scandinavia!
Callos is one of my favorite. You just cannot celebrate without it. Luckily, a friend of mine cooks the BEST callos I’ve ever tasted. A product of studying from different cooking schools. She uses only the best ingredients. By the way, it is better eaten a day old. More flavorful and a bit malagkit.
Hi, MM. I myself was surprised at my reaction. I have a pretty high level of tolerance for gross things but the tripe was a bit much, even for me. :) I was so looking forward to it pa man din. I think the last time I had it was before coming to the US. A good friend’s mom always made it for fiesta in Calamba and I love her version. I *think* my friend says that she added olive oil to it?
Anyway, since I had taken the day off, I’m trolling the web looking for other things to cook. I think I’ll make caldereta for lunch — maybe the closest thing to callos? Or callos w/o the callos. :)
Have a great day!
I love callos! I think it’s because I had really good versions growing up (plus the fact that I actually like tripe). My grand aunt’s is my ulimate fave (my mother in law also makes a good one)! I tried learning it but she doesn’t cook with a recipe so I had some trouble…basically washing away all the gelatinous stuff! Anyways, her process is pretty much like your’s except I somehow misunderstood her instructions and tossed the water I boilded the tripe in 3 times! Ack. I will save your recipe for when I’m strong enough to face another bout of callos making :)
Btw, at the end of your day 1 of callos-cooking you said to set aside the stock…do we use it in the final callos or keep for another use?
Joey, good catch on the recipe hanging instruction. Actually, you CAN throw the entire stock out at this point, as many believe it possesses the off flavor. But others use the carrots from the stock to thicken the sauce they make later. I didn’t do the carrot trick but I can see why it would work nicely… otherwise, the stock is chucked, so your doing that to the broth three times shouldn’t have spelled disaster… Some recipes call for several boilings then use of the last stock… I haven’t tried that version yet…
Hi all, I’m Fernando, from Madrid, Spain. I am lover of Filipinas culture and i use to visit your blog in order to learnt more about filipinas food.
It has been a very nice surprise to find our callos a la madrileña here… i never could imagine you cook that dish there.
Callos are a tipical winter dish here. Winter is very cold in Madrid, and high energy dishes like this one are allways wellcome on those cold days. As you say in the text, we use to add garbanzos (i have never seen to add potatoes).
and yes.. i agree.. your callos looks really very appetizing.
Fernando, muchas gracias por sus comentarios. Fue la primera vez que hice callos. Estoy contento con la resulta. Espero ir a Madrid un dia por comerlo. :)
Que sorpresa tan agradable, que además hables español :-)
Sigo tu blog con frecuencia, me gusta mucho e intento hacer tus recetas. Desgraciadamente algunos de los ingredientes son difÃciles de conseguir aquÃ.
Espero que esa visita a Madrid sea pronto, seguro que disfrutarás de la ciudad. :-)
Thanks, this is very good version of this recipe. This is my favourite dish in the whole wide world I think. Some comments call for throwing most the original broth away which is a real waste of flavour. If you do not like the flavour of tripe then maybe better to use something else as it does not do justice to the dish. Tripe should be clean but not antiseptic, give it a good scrub using just water, cook slow or in a pressure cooker, then most importantly, chill it so you can skim the fat on the surface, this is where the “lansa” comes from. Then heat again and slowly decant to another pot to remove the grainy bits on the bottom of the pot . I agree with the comment that it shouldnt have processed tomatoes.
“Reading about the complexities of cleaning the tripe makes me realize how fortunate we are in Australia that tripe is sold absolutely clean; it almost looks bleached. No preparation at all is required to clean it; you can just slice and put it directly into the pot. There is no smell, it is wonderful – it looks almost edible as is, when you buy it.
Lengua, however, is another matter.
MM,how about adding some olives?is it alright to add some?:-)im cooking your recipe as i am writing to you now.heheheh
btw,i have a copy of the aboitiz cookbook too.but i have not checked on their recipe.but i will follow your step by step experience.thanks for all your tips!!!i love your blog!!!!
I cook another delicious tripe dish that is very popular in Mexico, menudo. To all of you who claim you do not cook recipes that require a lot of preparation, you poor things, you are missing out on some good food and the sense of accomplishment that goes with it.
My Italian family cooks Tripe with Tomatoe Sauce and fresh Green roasted peppers. Cook the tripe, slice and then add to tomatoe sauce with the cut up roasted green peppers. Let cook together for awhile till all the flavors mingle togther and have plenty of fresh Bread and lots of Wine. Sometimes we make it with just tomatoe sauce and plenty of Parmigiano cheese. Either way you make it, its better than Sex.
oh, my–what is this????? i just came to the bedroom to rest from all the cleaning, boiling and chopping for—CALLOS!!!! i’m not kidding!! alas, there were ‘extenders’, but that’s how i’m used to—but, our minds were in the same thing, MM….this is good for a cold day like today…my caserole was on the soupy side..hubby bought pan de sal baliwag, so i guess he’ll have that with his callos stew
It’s nice to read comments how callos is cooked. it’s true one has to discover how you come to improve callos by reading other recipes. apply what you have read. i got the recipe from my mother. lately. i have been using spaghetti sauce – italian style.
cleaning the tripe is tedious, but worth all the effort. when cooking callos for family “only” consumption, i put as much extender as i can – potatoes, carrots. When i do it for special people and occasions, i minimize the potatoes and carrots. then i use olives. more green and red peppers. lately i have tried putting canned pimientos – the sauce taste richer and tastier. nov. 1, 2009.
MM,
Interesting recipe. Can I use leftover spumanti? Or should I get something less sweet?
Would appreciate your suggestion. Thanks.
carmen, I think the spumanti is a bit sweet, so I would opt for white wine instead…
I knew there’s callos in here somewhere :)) I’d love to make the callos old-school with the slow cooking and boiling, but I really don’t have the time (and maybe even the patience) to do it! do you think I can cook the tripe in a pressure cooker to soften it faster?
Thanks for this MM. Was planning on making my own Callos themed post since it’s one of our staple foods during a family gathering. We would have bacalao cooked in tomatoes + potatoes, callos with olive oil and bruchetta, and finally the lengue with orange marmalade. As you can tell we are a very spanish influenced family. Our last name was taken from a town near Madrid called Palmas! Will go get a dish now for lunch and hopefully my post will be up today! Btw I learned this technique from my boss and my lola. We would boil the tripe using firewood for a few hours to make them really tender and soft. A few hours before we serve it, we take the pot, put it in a cooler/styrofoam box lined with telephone directories (to avoid burning the container) and by the time we put everything together the meat is so tender it literally melts in your mouth. This is to save on Gas as well as electricity. The slow boil as well as the constant temperature of the firewood technique adds something special.
We use garbanzos as well not potatoes.
I’ve only eaten tripe, never cooked it myself. I feel like I am missing out on a Pinay’s rite of passage. I will have to have my mom help me prep it sometime.