How to clean tripe: procedure, advice from experienced chefs

There are very few people who don't like meat, but by-products are often simply ignored. But in fact, if you know how to clean beef tripe, you can ultimately prepare a dish that will be a real masterpiece in taste. Nowadays, a well-processed ingredient can already be found in a good butcher shop, and therefore there is no need to spend time and effort on preparing it. But if you really are a true connoisseur of offal, then it is best to buy the offal in its original form and then clean it yourself. This article will tell you how to clean beef tripe at home, while getting excellent results in a minimum of time.

Offal - what is it?

Before you start figuring out how to clean beef tripe at home, you need to understand what it is. Offal is the insides of an animal, such as the stomach, intestines, etc. The stomach is also known as tripe. Now in Russian cooking, dishes made from it are not as common as those made from other offal - such as liver and kidneys, but when properly prepared, it is much superior in taste. However, in a number of European countries this ingredient is quite widespread and is valued even higher than the highest quality meat.

It is worth noting that all recipes that use tripe as the main component are easy to use, but the dishes are very healthy. They especially need to be taken into account by athletes, as well as people who lead a very active lifestyle, since it contains many useful vitamins, minerals and protein that benefit them. In addition, tripe has low calorie content and is well absorbed by the gastrointestinal tract.

The most difficult step in preparing tripe is proper cleaning and boiling of the workpiece, which will require a lot of time. In total, this can take up to 6 hours, although its preparation does not require constant attention.

Description

Lamb stomach, also known as tripe, is an offal that is very often found in culinary recipes. It is a valuable source of low-calorie protein and is easily digestible.

The rumen is the largest section of the stomach of ruminants. In cooking, this part is often used to prepare meatloaves.

Often, lamb stomach can be purchased already cleaned, which significantly saves cooking time. Even a cleaned stomach has an unpleasant odor, so it must be cleaned again and removed from the smell.

Lamb is considered a dietary type of meat; it is absorbed by the body much easier than pork. The meat, as well as the stomach of young sheep, is very tender and nutritious. In addition, lamb stomach contains microflora enzymes, which makes it especially useful for humans. Eating dishes prepared from this product allows you to normalize digestive processes, avoid enzyme deficiency, and protein deficiency in the body. The iron content makes this product beneficial for people suffering from anemia.

For gastronomic purposes, lamb stomach is consumed boiled, dried, and also dried. Very often this product can be found in recipes for many national dishes. So, the Scottish highlanders prepare their traditional haggis from it. Haggis is a lamb stomach stuffed with offal. Similar recipes are found in the cuisines of Turkey, Poland, Russia, and the Caucasus. In Russia this dish is called “nanny”, the Chechens call their dish “baar”. The only difference is that in Scotland oatmeal is added to hagiss, but in Russia nanny is prepared with the addition of buckwheat porridge. The word "haggis" means "to rip, to cut with one stroke." This dish cannot be cut into slices because it falls apart, so it is eaten with a spoon.

The nutritional value

The rumen is part of the cow's stomach, and therefore consists almost entirely of muscle fibers. They are the ones who make it filled with pure protein, which is so beneficial for the body. In addition, this part of the animal contains many B vitamins, as well as H and PP. Of the minerals that are found here in large quantities, we can mention potassium, iodine, zinc, phosphorus, selenium, copper and iron, which are necessary for a person to function normally.

But at the same time, as mentioned earlier, this product has very few calories - only 97 per 100 grams of product. It contains virtually no fat and no carbohydrates at all, so it will be an excellent component for anyone who adheres to proper nutrition.

But in order to prepare it correctly, you will have to look for recipes from various national cuisines. Among the most famous dishes that use tripe as a main ingredient are haggis, as well as flaki, which are common in Poland.

How to clean tripe

The rumen is part of the stomach of ruminants. Almost everyone considers it unsuitable for food and purchases it only for feeding dogs. Completely in vain! When properly prepared, tripe is extremely tasty and is used in almost all dishes of Polish and Czech cuisine.

You can buy tripe in the meat departments of the market; it is better to find it where they sell beef.

From time to time you may come across some poorly washed tripe. In this case, it is necessary to extremely carefully wash and clean it from all sides of sticky straws and dirt. If you need a small amount of tripe, then it is better to find it in stores, where it is packaged in small portions.

If the tripe is thick and hard, then to soften it it is necessary to lightly marinate it in a mixture of water, salt and vinegar for hours.

Then decide on the dish for which you are preparing the tripe. From time to time it is placed in the dish completely, with a fleecy top layer, and in some recipes only the inner smooth muscle tissue of the scar is used.

If you get the 2nd option, then the fleecy part must be removed. Do this extremely carefully. If the scar is fresh, then there should be no problem with removing the layer. If you have pets, then you can not throw away the tripe membrane, but feed it to your own pets.

Then the scar must be painstakingly rubbed with salt and left to lie for half an hour in a cold place, after which it must be carefully washed several times in running water.

This is done to remove any foreign aroma that may be present during cooking.

Cut the washed tripe into huge pieces and place it in a pan of cool water. As soon as the water boils, wait about 5 minutes, and then remove the pan from the heat, drain the water and carefully wash the tripe again.

Then pour water into the pan, salt it, add again, place the tripe on the stove in cool water and now it needs to be boiled for hours. The readiness of the tripe is determined as follows: pierce it with a fork, it should not spring back.

After the tripe is cooked, cool it and cut it depending on the recipe.

Scar selection

The question of how to properly clean tripe is very important, but it is equally important to know how to choose the right starting product so that the dish then turns out to be of high quality. Therefore, when purchasing, you should pay attention to the following things:

The color of a fresh scar should be cream or light gray with a beautiful shiny surface.
Make sure there are no shiny diamonds on the surface of the tripe. Their presence means that the piece was cut from the lower part of the stomach, which is very difficult to cook tasty.
The smell of the tripe should resemble regular meat, so if there is a strong or unpleasant aroma, it is best to refrain from purchasing it.
Also, the tripe should not have mucus or other signs of rotting, since even if such places are cut off, the dish will still be tasteless.

What is tripe and how can it be used in cooking?

Tripe, or tripe, unlike liver and other popular offal, is not used so often in professional cooking. But in terms of taste and nutritional value, it is not inferior even to meat tenderloin, and in some moments even surpasses its indicators. The reason for this injustice is simple - people do not know how to cook tripe at home, so it is not in demand in restaurants either. Few people know that in some countries this component is highly valued and costs more than selected meat.

Tip: Tripe is especially useful for athletes and people leading an active lifestyle. The product contains a lot of pure protein, minerals and vitamins with a fairly low calorie content. It is well absorbed by the digestive system and very rarely causes intolerance.

Recipes based on tripe are quite simple; most of the trouble goes into the preparatory stage. Another negative point in preparing the product is that it will not be possible to quickly bring it to the desired state. It will take at least 5-6 hours to properly clean and boil the workpiece. True, this does not mean that you will have to do something for the entire specified time. With the right approach, the amount of action can be reduced to a minimum.

Necessary conditions and tools

All those who are interested in how to clean tripe themselves should know that doing this at home is not recommended. It is best to carry out cleaning outside, but if this is not possible, then you must first open all the windows in the house. This is done due to the fact that the cleansing process is accompanied by a disgusting odor.

In addition, it is also important to prepare in advance all the necessary tools that will help the housewife make the scar clean. You will definitely need both hot and cold water, as well as table vinegar, coarse salt, ammonia, potassium permanganate and a deep basin in which you can easily clean the tripe.

How to choose quality tripe?

The taste and aroma of the finished dish directly depend on the quality of the original product. Even if you clean not the freshest preparation according to all the rules, and then cook it for several hours, you should not count on recognition from your family. Regardless of whether tripe is purchased for boiling, stewing or frying, it must meet a number of requirements:

We take only light gray or cream colored tripe with a shiny surface. Leathery hairs are allowed.
If shiny diamonds appear on the surface of the product, then this is the lower part of the stomach. It is not so easy to prepare it deliciously at home; the result can be the most unexpected.
You should definitely smell the tripe; its aroma should resemble the most common meat. It is better to refrain from purchasing a product with a strong or unpleasant odor.
You should not buy tripe that is covered with mucus or shows signs of spoilage. The rotting process has already begun, and even if you cut out all the problem areas and clean the workpiece more thoroughly than usual, the dish will not be as tasty and dangerous to health.
The offal obtained from an older individual will differ in color and smell. There are several secrets to improve its quality (soaking in milk or a composition with food acid), but the ideal result is not guaranteed. So it is better to use derivatives of a young animal.

Before you start processing the tripe, it should be doused with boiling water. This will simplify the cleaning process and disinfect the component.

Ways to cleanse the scar

The first step for people who want to know how to clean tripe at home is to cut the purchased piece into several pieces. This way it will be much easier to work with the ingredient. After this, you need to follow the following sequence of actions:

After scalding the workpiece with boiling water, you need to remove the top layer of skin from the scar, and also wash it in cold water in order to get rid of all the dirt and any remaining fat.
Now you can go directly to how to clean tripe correctly. The first step is to use the most gentle methods. To do this, you will need to prepare a saline solution consisting of a liter of water and two tablespoons of salt. It will take about 3 hours to keep the tripe in such a liquid, but you should monitor the solution itself so that it is constantly changed as it darkens.
If after this it was not possible to achieve the desired result and the unpleasant odor persists, then you need to proceed to the next stage of processing. To do this, prepare the same saline solution again, but additionally add vinegar to it by eye. The resulting mixture should have a sour taste, but not disgusting. The tripe should again remain in it for 3 hours, but there is no need to change the mixture.
If all these measures do not lead to results, then you should use a solution of potassium permanganate. It should be slightly pink. The tripe is immersed in it for 3 hours, and then taken out and rubbed with salt. The ingredient is soaked in salt for 3 hours.
As a last resort, prepare a solution consisting of 1 liter of water and 5 ml of ammonia with 5 ml of vinegar. The scar should also remain in this liquid for 3 hours, after which it should be rinsed well.

Cleaning a rumen properly takes a lot of time and effort, and also requires the use of a fairly large number of chemicals. Therefore, it is very important after each stage of treatment to thoroughly rinse the rumen under cold running water to wash them off.

How to properly clean beef tripe?

It is best to clean beef tripe outdoors or indoors with open windows, because... the procedure will be accompanied by a not very pleasant smell. First you need to prepare everything you need, after which you can begin the procedure:

In addition to the tripe itself, we will need boiling water and cold water, a deep basin, table vinegar, potassium permanganate, coarse salt, slaked lime, baking soda and ammonia.
Before you clean the offal of a recently slaughtered animal, you need to get rid of the stomach contents. In stores and markets, a product is sold that has already passed this stage of processing. In this case, simply wash the scar thoroughly and cut it into several large pieces, which will simplify the work.
After the workpiece has been scalded with boiling water, the top layer of skin can be removed from it. We remove dirt and remaining grease, and then rinse the component several times in cold water.
Usually, after such treatment, the unpleasant odor still remains. If it was a store-bought product, you can start boiling it.
First, we use the most gentle and accessible method at home. Prepare the solution by mixing two tablespoons of table salt with a liter of water. Dip the scar into it and leave it for 3 hours. After some time, the liquid will darken, then the composition needs to be refreshed. We repeat this several times until the specified time is reached.

If the desired result is not achieved, continue cleaning the product. This time we take not only salt, but also table vinegar. The salt concentration is the same, add vinegar by eye. The composition should be sour, but not unpleasant. Soak the scar again for 3 hours. If the salt approach was previously used, a fluid change will not be necessary.
The lack of a positive result when using simple approaches or the initially poor condition of the scar requires thermal intervention. Boil the workpiece in salted water for 20 minutes, drain the water and repeat the procedure. To be sure, we take one more approach.
A good result is obtained by using a solution of potassium permanganate. We prepare it from a small amount of crystals and boiled water. The color of the product should be pale pink. The tripe is soaked in it for 3 hours, after which it is rubbed with coarse salt and left alone for 30 minutes. The product remains to be rinsed in cold water and you can start cooking.
As a last resort, prepare a solution of ammonia and vinegar. For 1 liter of water we take 5 ml of chemical components. Leave the scar in the liquid for 3 hours, rinse and use as intended.

As soon as the optimal result is achieved, we begin to boil the offal. This step is mandatory, regardless of what type of processing the tripe will be subjected to. The duration of cooking is at least 5 hours with a possible adjustment towards increasing the duration. It is worth considering that even if the workpiece has been cleaned according to all the rules and to the required extent, during the cooking process it can still become a source of an unpleasant odor. So it is also better to carry out heat treatment of the component in the fresh air or in a closed kitchen with open windows.

Boiling stage

Now that it has been clarified how to clean tripe, one more step should be followed before starting cooking, namely boiling. It is required in any case, regardless of what the chef decides to cook from the ingredient in the future. On average, the cooking process takes approximately 5 hours, although in some cases it may take longer.

By the way, it is worth noting that even if the cleaning was carried out correctly, despite this, during heat treatment the tripe may well emit an unpleasant odor, so this must be done with the windows open.

How to easily clean frozen beef tripe, shoulder, liver

When frozen, offal is sold already peeled; it does not need to be soaked, you can just put it in cold water, which needs to be quickly brought to a boil. Then the water is drained and the tripe is washed well. Finally, now on the lowest heat, the tripe is boiled for about 5 more hours with the addition of salt and spices to the cooking water.

To prepare dishes from frozen beef shoulder, the meat must first be thawed. This is usually done by placing the meat in a bag with a pan filled with cold water. The defrosting process in this case takes on average 1.5 – 2 hours.

You can defrost meat much faster using a microwave oven that has a defrost mode.

Beef liver does not need to be thawed before cooking. To clean a frozen piece of liver from films and veins, immerse it in hot water for a few minutes. This way you will prepare the frozen liver for further cooking.