How to Cook Beef Tripe

Reviewed by Marrow Private Chefs

Last Updated: April 10, 2024 Approved

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Beef tripe is a type of food derived from the lining of one of a cow's four stomach chambers. Tripe (which can come from many other animals, but usually hoofed farm animals) is eaten all over the world as an important ingredient in many local cuisines. Tripe is surprisingly versatile - it can be incorporated into a huge variety of dishes including soups, stir-fries, and even traditional pastas. If you're not used to eating foods made from an animal's internal organs, the prospect of biting into a big pile of tripe can be daunting, but don't worry - with this guide, preparing a tasty tripe dish is a snap!

Preparing and Cooking Beef Tripe

Cut clean tripe into even strips and boil in salted water for 15-30 minutes.
Add the tripe to a pot with herbs and veggies like onion, carrot, and parsley.
Fill the pot with water and simmer for 1-3 hours, or until the tripe is tender.

Ingredients

Beef tripe
Rock salt
Water
Hydrogen peroxide
Herbs and spices, such as parsley, cloves, peppercorns, or bay leaves
Vegetables, such as onions, celery, cilantro, or carrots

Part 1

Part 1 of 3:

Cleaning and Preparing Tripe

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1
Inspect the tripe for cleanliness. Because tripe is made from the stomach of the cow, it can contain remnants of the cow's last meal, which you do not want to eat. Tripe is sold at butchers' shops in multiple varieties - "green," "cleaned," and, most commonly in North America, "bleached."^{[1]
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Research source} Each variety of tripe requires different cleaning procedures, so it's important to know which of the following types of tripe you are working with before you start:
- Green tripe is the stomach lining basically unchanged from the way it came out of the cow. As its name implies, it has a greenish or grayish color. It needs to be thoroughly emptied and cleaned before cooking (see below).
- Cleaned tripe is tripe that has been rinsed and cleaned to remove the stomach contents. It's lighter in color and requires less preparation on your part in terms of cleaning and rinsing.
- Bleached (or "Blanched") tripe is tripe that has been cleaned, then soaked in chlorine to kill germs, giving it a very pale color. It's the cleanest type of tripe you can buy, but, unfortunately, it must be rinsed several times to remove the strong chlorine odor and taste.
2
Clean if necessary. Depending on the condition of your tripe (see above), the precise cleaning process of your tripe will vary. Tripe from most butcher's shops should already be cleaned, but if yours isn’t or you've opted for organic, untouched tripe, you can clean the tripe in your kitchen with a few household ingredients:
- Rub the tripe with rock salt, loosening any small undigested bits (or "grit"). Rinse thoroughly with cold water. If necessary, use a clean toothbrush for hard-to-reach places. By doing this, you empty the stomach lining of any remnant pieces of partially-digested food. Repeat until you see no more grit.
- Soak the tripe for one hour in a dilute solution made by mixing a tablespoon or two of hydrogen peroxide with enough water to cover the tripe (turning and squeezing the tripe occasionally). Hydrogen peroxide is a disinfectant and a bleaching agent.^{[2]
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- Discard the hydrogen peroxide solution and rinse the tripe thoroughly several times with water (squeezing as you do so). Trim edges that still appear unclean. The resulting tripe should be free from any obnoxious odor.
- After soaking, scrape the interior of the tripe with a knife to remove the inner membrane. Stomach lining is a complex tissue - parts of it are good to eat, but other parts aren't. The interior membrane should be removed if it hasn't.
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Raw tripe can vary significantly in thickness across its length. Unfortunately, varying thickness in a piece of tripe can cause it to cook unevenly. Lay your piece of tripe flat and carefully look it over - if you see any sections that are particularly thick, use a sharp knife to make a "butterfly" cut, halving the thickness.
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Cut tripe into strips and parboil. Parboiling is process where a food is first boiled by itself to prepare it for cooking in another dish. Use a sharp knife to divide the tripe into thin strips or squares. Gather the strips and toss them into a pot of boiling salted water (2 Tbsp / 34g of salt per litre of water). Boil for 15-30 minutes. When you’re done, discard the water and rinse the tripe. After boiling, tripe should be noticeably softer - it's now ready to cook in a variety of dishes. Read on for standard instructions on flavoring.
- Be sure to wash your hands after handling raw tripe, even if you've already cleaned it meticulously.

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Adding Flavor to Tripe

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1
Prepare a broth. Place the tripe in a pot and add herbs and vegetables to season (e.g. onion, carrot, celery, bay leaf, parsley, cloves, peppercorns). Cover with water and add a generous amount of salt. Bring the broth to a boil.
- Here's your chance - let your creativity shine! The final flavor of your tripe depends on the contents of the broth you cook it in. Spice things up however you see fit - a few added peppers, for instance, can give your tripe a real "kick," while some slices of ginger will give the dish an Asian influence.
- Note that as long as there are enough ingredients to impart a substantial flavor, the proportions of stock are very flexible; feel free to add, modify, and remove ingredients to suit your own taste.
2
Simmer one to three hours or until the tripe is tender. When the broth reaches a boil, reduce the heat to a slow simmer. As the tripe cooks in its broth, it will gradually soften and absorb the broth's flavor. After about 90 minutes, start checking the consistency of your tripe every 10-15 minutes. Your tripe is "done" when it reaches your desired consistency.
- Individual tastes vary on tripe's ideal consistency - some recipes will, for instance, recommend cooking for over four hours to give the tripe a very mushy consistency.^{[3]
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3
Save the stock. The flavorful, aromatic stock leftover from simmering the tripe is perfect for adding that distinctive tripe flavor to another recipe. Alternatively, it can be used as a companion soup for your tripe dish. The two dishes will have similar flavors, so the soup will complement the tripe nicely.
- If the tripe is tender but the stock is still thin, you can either continue cooking them together or remove the tripe and allow the stock to continue simmering on its own. By continuing to boil the stock, the water will slowly leave, concentrating the flavorful ingredients.

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Incorporating Tripe into a Dish

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Menudo is a hearty Mexican stew that incorporates tripe along with a variety of spices and, optionally, pigs feet! Incorporate Mexican spices into your broth - cilantro, lime, oregano, and plenty of red chili pepper, for starters - and serve with bread or tortillas so your guests can soak up the delicious, concentrated flavor.
Pho is style of Vietnamese soup that's become hugely popular across North America in recent years. Pho dishes come in countless varieties, but tripe is a common ingredient. Add bean sprouts, ginger, fish sauce, basil, noodles, and any of your other favorite pho ingredients to your tripe broth!
Tripe has a long history in European cuisine. To make a delicious pasta dish, prepare a big pot of richly seasoned tomato-based pasta sauce, then add your prepared tripe and simmer for several hours. Simply add this sauce to your al dente pasta - the softness of the tripe compliments the pasta's firmness perfectly.
Tripe is very versatile, so once you're confident preparing and cooking tripe, test your new skills by crafting your own recipe. Possible dishes include tripe soup (made from the tripe stock you saved), tripe stew, as well as other dishes that veer away from the "soupier" recipes for tripe we've discussed, like breaded and fried tripe, and even tripe stir fry. Experiment to your heart's content!

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Question

Which is better: flat or honeycomb?

Community Answer

Honeycomb is better in Thai salad dishes. It holds the flavors better.

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What do I serve tripe with?

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Prepare it with tomato sauce with onion, garlic, carrots and bell peppers. Serve with rice, boiled potatoes or french fries.

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Can I eat it straight from the butcher? If so, what is the best way?

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Yes, cold with plenty of salt and vinegar.

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Tips

Flat tripe comes from the first stomach (strictly called the rumen) and honeycomb tripe comes the second (the reticulum). Both need the same preparation.

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