I made Menudo! It was offal! *huck huck*

Ok all of you who make gagging noises whenever you see tripe on the menu, just leave the room right now.  Thanks. 
For those of us who like offal, tripe soup with lots of nice tendony bits in it is heaven.  Menudo is one of my favorite tripe soups (along with pho and flaczky), but it is very hard to find in Western Massachusetts, which is not exactly a center of Latino culture.  So I finally tried to make my own. 
The downside:  You really do have to cook it and cook it and cook it for a REALLY LONG TIME.  Don't believe those "quick menudo" recipes.  No such thing.
The upside:  It's delicious!  And it freezes really well, so you can just make one big pot and freeze it in bowl-sized portions. 
I'm still tweaking it, but here's where I am right now:


For the soup:
2 1/2 quarts of water
1 cow's foot (usually sold chopped up into pieces -- if it isn't ask them to at the store) -- you can also add marrow bones or veal knuckle or pig's foot -- whatever you've got.
6 garlic cloves, whole
1 large onion sliced
2 tsp salt
3 lbs of clean tripe cut into 1 inch or smaller pieces (Insider tip:  this is much easier if the tripe is partially frozen)
2 tsp oregano


For the sauce:
6 guajillo peppers seeded, open flat, toasted  (you can play with the chilis -- one time I was out of guajillo and tried using a combination of New Mexico and Ancho and that was very good too)
11/2 tsp ground cumin
3 garlic cloves


Garnishes: (whichever you like)
chopped white onion
minced cilantro
lime wedges
diced radish
diced jalapeno
warm tortillas


Simmer the cow foot in the water with the garlic onion and salt for about 30-60 minutes, skimming off any foam.  Add the tripe and oregano and cook until the trip is tender but not falling apart and the tendon in the cow's foot is chewy but not tough -- this is going to be at least 2 hours, probably closer to 4. (You can also do this in a crock pot or a pressure cooker).  Remove the cow's foot and chop up the meaty and tendon parts and return them to the pot.  Discard the bones.


While the tripe is cooking, you can prepare the sauce:  toast the peppers on an unoiled griddle until they become fragrant -- don't burn them.  soak them in a bowl of water for about 20-30 minutes. drain them and put them in the blender with the garlic, 1/2 c of the soaking water, and cumin. Blend until smooth.  Strain into the soup pot once the soup is done and simmer for another 30 minutes, adjusting salt to taste. 


Serve hot with warm tortillas and whatever garnishes you like.  If freezing, freeze in serving-size portions.