Ok, I know this is going to sound quite off putting for many people. Tripe is a scary old thing. But fear not, although the word “Callos” translates as tripe, I don´t actually put any into this dish (although you could). Confused eh?
Well, let me explain. The first time I ever ate this dish was at a Feria in a nearby hamlet. It´s tiny, probably only a dozen houses, but it belongs to our “Municipio” and puts on an amazing fiesta every year. One of the first of the summer in fact. They always seem to attract a good flamenco singer, they do a fantastic paella at lunchtime, and they always have plenty of good food apart from the usual pinchitos (kebabs) and montaditos (fillets of pork on bread). Hundreds of people attend, it´s a great event apart from the winds which whip down the mountain and make hairstyles, skirts, old people and small children blow all over the place.
So, Big Man ordered me a portion of Callos which was essentially a chick pea stew with tiny chunks of meat, chorizo and morcilla in it. I loved it and looked up the word when I got home and though “oh lord, I´ve been eating tripe”! During the almost six years I´ve lived here, I´ve only eaten it a couple of times a year as not many people make it anymore – it´s not complicated to make, but it takes time.
Of course, I recently decided that I wasn´t prepared to wait until next summer for my fix, I´d make my own. This is where the fun started. I asked the butcher to prepare me whatever I needed for this dish (meat wise) and that´s when I found out that her version would not include tripe.
Strange, I thought, but let´s crack on. She (yes, we have two butchers locally, and one is a woman who looks exactly like a lady butcher should look – big and jolly with fingers like sausages) got things ready. The goodie bag included (per four person serving):
- Two pigs trotters split down the middle
- Some finely chopped pork tongue
- A finely chopped pigs ear
- Some chopped pancetta or pork belly
- Some finely chopped cooked pigs blood
See – not so scary after all (well, maybe apart from the blood)! I also had to buy some chorizo and morcilla and chick peas. I´m not giving measurements here as it´s a kind of “make it up as you go along” dish. I then asked about 20 different people how they made Callos. Half had never made it so were of no help at al. The others gave me 10 different ways of making it, each with their own little “twist”.
This is what I eventually came up with, and I have to say it tasted as good as the Fiesta version, and Big Man thought it was better…modesty prevented me from saying that myself of course!
Soak the chick peas overnight and the next day cook slowly for a couple of hours with a few bay leaves, 4 cloves, and a dried chilli until completely tender. Don´t rush this, you´ll have plenty to be getting on with while they cook.
In a separate pot blanch the all the pork products, drain and put into fresh water. Now cook slowly for a couple of hours until really tender and drain again. Get those kitchen gloves on and pull all the tender meat off the trotters and discard the bones (or give them to your dog who will love you forever). Now add the chunks of meat to the cooked chick peas (still in their water). Add about 5 or 6 whole cloves of raw or roasted garlic, some saffron dissolved in water, ½ a teaspoon of sweet or hot pimentón, the whole chorizo and morcilla (which you will slice before serving) and cook for about 30 minutes. Leave to stand for at least 15 minutes before serving (but it´s even better prepared the day before) and remove the cloves, bay leaves and dried chilli.
Make sure you have a table full of very hungry people, don´t tell them what´s in it if they´re a bit squeamish, and enjoy. Now go for a lie down…you´ll need it!
Chica Andaluza 
I’m always confused! Can’t help it. Looks good!
Confused is good – it means you get more choices!
You always put a good spin on things! And I’ve noticed people are more willing to help when you look confused.
Oh they are, they like to feel they are helping a “poor foreigner”!
Tripe is still one of those things that I find hard to love. I love pigs trotters but the full “assiette de boucher” is too much for me. I know that all my neighbours would love your dish.
I think when it´s all presented “as it looks” it´s also a bit harder to stomach!
That sounds like my kind of stew 😉
I’ve eaten tripe a few times, but don’t really rate it – it doesn’t have much flavour and it’s too chewy. It does look amazing though!
Well, I recommend you give this a go (especially as mine didn´t actually have any tripe in it 😉 ). I think you´d like all the chorizo and morcilla flavours!
I know I would! 🙂
I’m game for just about anything, but tripe is pretty gross. I hated packing it out in the market…
This sounds like a tasty soup…We might have to go “whole-hog” and but a pig from a local farm next year!
‘Buy’ a pig…Jeeze, and I’ve already HAD my coffee!
This is a good compromise as there is no tripe (what a trickster I am!). A whole pig would be fantastic – just think of all the things you could do….that would be a month´s worth of recipes 🙂
It’s the ear and tounge that I’d have trouble getting any other way…the only pig’s ears you find around here are smoked and sold for dog chews!
Oh dear, maybe not quite what you´d need 😦
I’m afraid you’re on your own with this one! I have awful flashbacks to childhood when it comes to the more squishy bits. My grandmother was fond of all sorts of stuff that, in my opinion, shouldn’t be let out of the lab! 😉 I’ll stick to kidney and liver, thank you very much! Enjoy!
I don´t blame you – it takes a certain kind of person (oh my god, that´s me!) to stomach all these scary bits…waste not, want not 😉
My father would love you for ever for this meal! Maybe I should pop over for a quick visit so I can bring a portion back for him…
🙂 Mandy
I´ll send it over express…actually my parents love this too!
I love the sound of the local fiesta, I have a great image in my head 🙂 and yes, save me a portion of the dish. I bet the flavours are fabulous
Oh that fiesta is such fun – it´s one of the smallest (in terms of the village) but biggest (in terms of fun!). Cheesy music (think Brotherhood of Man in polyester) and flamenco and food…marvellous!
It sounds fabulous, and I could join in, I’m bound to know all the words 🙂
Oh my…I could be one of the people put off by this, but I know for sure, without a doubt, that if I tasted a bowl of this (made by you) I would love it!! It looks comforting good!!
I´d pick out any bits you didn´t think you could stomach!
Sounds very, very interesting!!
That´s the word for it 🙂
It’s great to have a recipe for this – thanks for working it all out for us! Here we can buy tripe already cooked quite easily, but I’ve never tried to cook it myself. I have cooked andouillettes, though, which are tripe sausages and very delicious. What I like most about your recipe is the ambiguity…the put in what you have attitude!
Am chuckling at this – a recipe with ambiguity and attitude…sums it up perfectly! I love andouillettes but have only ever eaten them in France. A good reason to make a trip soon 🙂
I’m afraid that this would be a little too adventurous for me (especially if I knew in advance what it was). But not knowing what something was before trying it has gained me many new favorites. That fiesta sounds like a great time! 🙂
It´s not very everyone, I know…but you could always “fiesta” without the chickpeas stew!
I love how you tell a story Tanya! Whether or not I go all the way to the table with you or not, your warmth and colorful stories are always engaging!
I´d do another option for those you couldn´t face it…and we could all fiesta together 🙂
My dogs would go just nuts if I made this. We’d have to put them outside.
It´s a very “dog friendly” dish 😉
I can’t say I’d be brave enough to try tripe, but you sure make it look delicious in that bowl!
Thanks Caroline…it´s certainly something that most people are a bit wary of 😉
Yummy!! That looks good!
Thank you and for visiting too!
This is a serious investment of time and labor! But I’ll bet it’s tasty. Pork is soooooo good. 🙂
Yes, not one for if you are in a hurry. Once you´ve had a bowl of this though, you feel like you don´t need to eat for 3 days!
Oh, Tanya, this is too funny! I stopped by just after you posted this yesterday and, rather than tip off my next week’s post, I sat back and watched. Take a wild guess. What do you think I’ve planned for Tuesday’s post? Mine will be the 3rd tripe-related post in just a few days. (Did you see Roger’s post earlier today?) I expect to have this sort of thing to happen. After all, I do feature a lot of pasta and similarly “common” recipes. But tripe? What are the odds? If you ask me, it’s just more evidence that somewhere in our family trees is a common ancestor and, apparently, you and I have inherited her/his scheduling gene.
Brilliant – and it´s not like what we post is a “load of old tripe”….seems our (good) tastes just coincide. Can´t wait to see what you do with yours 🙂
I love this recipe sounds so delicious, I also have a similar version and its also called callos in the Philippines and here it is http://wp.me/pMp9M-ZC
Wasn´t sure how people would react to this but it seems there are a few fans out there! I guess the Spanish traditions in the Philippines still have some influence. Am off to check out the link! Thanks for your kind words 🙂
Hi Chica – tripe is very scary to me … plus I’ve had too many bad experiences in the past with it. Even things like trotter and ear are a bit edgy for me, but that said – I absolutely love how this stew looks. It looks so warming and hearty 🙂 I’m the kind of person who would scoff the whole lot down without thinking, raving about how awesome it was, as long as you didn’t tell me it was ear and trotter first 🙂
If you like pulses Charles and chorizo, I bet you wouldn´t even know what else was lurking in there! I like that you´re up for it even though you´re not a fan. And it´s a hugely economical dish too 🙂
Oooooooh, I think I like the sound of this alternative version of the recipe. Though I’m still in the process of getting over some of the (odd for me) meat intake that is common here. Last year, I finally learned to love jamón ibérico. This year, I’ve learned to love “morcilla” – a true miracle. I’m open to trying just about anything. Wait, did I see pig ear and pig tongue somewhere in there?? 🙂
Take it gently Michi – it´s very meaty! You´re right though, although I am by no means a vegetarian, it stunned me just how meat is consumed especially with the choices in restaurants. At home we balance it more – plenty of fish and vegetables too. Mind you, I´ve always loved jamon ibérico and morcilla..quite like “fatty” meat which is why I am not thin 😦
Tanya can I take the chickpeas and pass on the rest. It looks so good in that bowl but knowing what’s in it makes it hard to stomach
Of course you can, I´ll even make a special bowl for you!
Pigs ear? Didn’t know that was an ingredient until Nigella mentioned it on one of her shows and now its here, so it must be real! I would be more than willing to try this one, ‘squishy bits” ingredients not withstanding, but there is no way in hell my JJ would. He would insist I tell him what’s in it and, well, that would be that. More for me I guess.
Sometimes it´s best to just raise an enigmatic eyebrow and call it “pork surprise”!
Absolutely nothing wrong with tripe. It was served regularly after WW2 when I was growing up! I doubt if I could find any for sale in my local supermarkets.. Remember a few years ago when in France with a group of people being served a meal, when asked what the meat was the waitress said ‘Pigs Cheek’. Only 2 of us out of almost 30 continued to eat, and enjoy the meal.
It´s so hard to find these “odd” cuts of meat now in England – elsewhere around the med they are consumed with great glee. I know my mum loves pigs cheeks (me too) and she used to be able to buy them cheaply but told me that have become a bit trendy and they are not sold in Waitrose at some outrageous price!
Interesting recipe my grandmother is from Madrid, Spain I think really good Spanish Callos need to have a good sofrito (onions, garlic, bell peppers, and tomato with generous olive oil & cumin or Pimenton dulce should be one of the spices in the mix)
My grandmother makes it with tripe and pig trotters, we buy the white tripe, wash it well with vinegar, salt, and soak for a little bit, drain and rinse, then blanch it with the pig trotters (boil it 15- 20 minutes then throw that water away), then boil them until tender in new water, with salt, 1/2 a large green bell pepper, and a couple bay leaves about 2 hours. Meanwhile we cook our chickpeas/ garbanzos, when tender drain and set aside.
To put everything together, we heat a large pan with a good amount of olive oil, about 1/4- 1/2 cup, and sautee some spanish chorizo cut into rounds, 1 bell pepper finely diced, 1 large onion finely diced, about 8 cloves of garlic finely minced until fragrant and translucent, and 1 can 8 oz tomato. We add that mixture we call “sofrito” to the pot of pigs feet and tripe along with the drained garbanzos along with 1 teaspoonful cumin, black pepper to taste, more salt to taste a little oregano, and you can add sweet smoked Spanish paprika although the chorizo usually has a good amount of it, and allow to boil an addition 20 minutes or so, and that’s it your done 🙂
You can add chunks of potato if you wish when adding the sofrito to the pot, or the blood sausage cut into rounds if you like towards the end so it doesn’t break apart.
Thanks for that amazing recipe – this is obviously a little different from what the ladies around here told me, but I will definiteiyl be giving this fantastic versiona try soon. Thank you so much for sharing your grandmother´s callos Madrileños!