© 2022 | http://angiesrecipes.blogspot.com
| Beef Tripe / Kalb Pansen | Lamb Tripe / Lamm Pansen |
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© 2022 | http://angiesrecipes.blogspot.com
© 2022 | http://angiesrecipes.blogspot.com
Embracing nose-to-tail eating can be daunting for those who didn't grow up eating offal. Heart, liver, tripe, tongue… there are so many options on offer when it comes to choosing what to eat or cook. In my grandparents’ generation all parts of an animal were valued and eating offal was as normal as eating mince. Offal isn't awful at all, on the contrary, it's very delicious if prepared right and highly nutritious. We waste massive quantities of food every single day and by using the whole animal, which helps reduce food waste, we are eating more mindfully and thoughtfully while ensuring that animal is fully appreciated.
Tripe is a type of organ meat that comes from the stomach lining of cow, sheep, goat or pig. Aside from being low in calories and fat, tripe is an excellent, healthy, and affordable source of lean protein and it’s also loaded with vitamins and minerals (zinc, choline, iron, potassium, magnesium, and calcium).
According to Healthline, there are four different kinds of beef tripe, classified depending on which stomach chamber the product was made from. The four types include:
- Blanket or flat tripe. This type is made from the first stomach chamber of cows. This smooth tripe is considered the least desirable.
- Honeycomb tripe. This variety stems from the second stomach chamber and resembles a honeycomb. It’s more tender than blanket tripe and has a more palatable flavor.
- Omasum or book tripe. Coming from the third stomach chamber, this type of tripe is described as a mix between blanket and honeycomb tripe.
- Abomasum or reed tripe. This variety is from the fourth stomach chamber. Its taste varies from strong to mild.
You either hate it or love it because of its distinctive aroma, bland flavour and chewy texture, it's often strongly spiced and most commonly prepared in dishes like soups and stews, or deep-fried as a snack. Although it isn’t as desirable as other cuts of meat, tripe remains very popular in the traditional cuisines of many cultures around the world.
The tripe fresh from the farm requires quite a bit of cleaning, the one you can purchase from the stores (I ordered mine here, where you can purchase all kinds of offal, from brain, spleen to testicles) are usually washed / bleached and parboiled. However, it still needs to be further prepared to soften the texture before it's ready for consumption.
