Secret Pork Menudo Recipe

This Filipino style Secret Pork Menudo Recipe is sure to keep you filled and satisfied. A delicious stew made of pork shoulder and pork liver marinated in soy sauce, calamansi juice, pepper, and sweet pickles. Sautéing the potatoes, carrot, bell pepper, and hotdogs separately before stewing these in a savory red sauce made of garlic, onion, pork broth cube, bay leaves, raisins, cheese, tomato sauce, sugar, and a bit of salt. Serve this Simple Pork Menudo Recipe Simple with some freshly cooked rice and you’re in for a really nice dinner.

Secret Pork Menudo Recipe :

Ingredients

For the Pork

• 1 kilo pork shoulder ( kasim ), chopped
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon calamansi juice
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 2 tablespoons sweet pickles

For the Pork Liver

• 250 grams pork liver
• 2 teaspoons soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon calamansi juice
• ½ teaspoon pepper

Sauce

• 2 small potatoes ( chopped )
• 1 medium carrot ( chopped )
• 1 piece bell pepper ( chopped )
• 5 pieces hotdogs ( sliced )
• 5 cloves garlic ( minced )
• 1 medium onion ( chopped )
• 1 piece pork broth cube
• 4 dried bay leaves
• ¼ cup raisins
• ⅓ cup cheese
• 1 cup tomato sauce
• Sugar to taste
• Salt to taste
• Oil 

Steps:

1. First, marinade the liver with soy sauce, calamansi juice, and pepper. Mix well and let this marinade for 30 minutes.

2. Then marinade the pork with soy sauce, calamansi juice, pepper, and sweet pickles. Mix well and marinade for 30 minutes.

3. In a pan with some oil, saute potatoes until lightly browned. Set aside. Saute carrots in the same pan until lightly browned. Set aside. 

4. Saute bell peppers for a few minutes before setting it aside. Saute hotdogs until cooked, then take these out. Cook the marinated pork liver until light brown. Then take these out.

5. Saute garlic and onions until aromatic. Add the marinated pork, saute until it changes in color. Add in a pork broth cube and bay leaves. Cover and simmer for 30 – 35 minutes or until the pork is tender.

6. Add back the cooked carrots, potatoes, hotdogs, liver, and bell pepper. Then mix in raisins, cheese, and tomato sauce. 

7. Cover and simmer for 5 to 8 minutes or until the vegetables are tender. Add sugar and or salt to taste. Cook for a few minutes until the sauce thickens.

Menudo History

The origins of the Menudo dish is uncertain. While there are those who have said it came from Central Mexico, some say it might have come from the North during the pre-revolution era introduced from the Spanish as a way to use up leftovers. Ensuring that no food is wasted. That being said, it used to be called “Una Sopa del Pobre” meaning “Poor Man’s Soup”. While there are regional varieties of the meal. Traditionally it’s made of garlic, onion, tripe, chili, and hominy.

Once introduced to the Philippines by the Spanish as “Menudencias” which translates to “small bits and pieces”, the dish is a combination of chopped vegetables such as potatoes, carrots, bell peppers, and meats like liver, pork, or chicken. This tomato based dish has been changed to suit Filipino flavors and local ingredients. For example, compared to Mexican soup, it has become a slightly thick Filipino stew. Another difference is the type of meats, as well as how in the Philippines it’s typically served with freshly cooked rice or hot pandesal.

How to make this Filipino Pork Menudo recipe ?

To make this deliciously savory and saucy Secret Pork Menudo Recipe. The main thing to do is to marinade the liver and pork bits well. First, marinade the chopped pork liver with soy sauce, calamansi juice, and pepper. The marinade will not only help remove any foul smells or taste, it also helps tenderize the liver and help with its texture. In another bowl, marinade the pork chunks with soy sauce, calamansi juice, pepper, with the addition of sweet pickles. The pickles in the marinade not only tenderize the meat but add a certain richness into the dish. Set these both aside to marinade for at least half an hour.

To make the base, saute the chopped carrots and potatoes with a bit of oil until lightly browned. Set these aside as you saute some bell peppers just until it’s slightly tender to help bring out the flavors. Take these out then saute the sliced hotdogs or sausages until cooked or slightly charred. Then cook the liver just until it changes in color before taking these out as well. Now saute the aromatics-garlic and onions until aromatic. Then add in the marinated pork. Saute the pork until it turns browns, mix these in with a pork broth cube and bay leaves. Cover and let everything simmer until the pork is tender enough to be easily pierced with a fork. Place in the sauteed  carrots, potatoes, hot dogs, liver, and bell pepper. Also mix in the main ingredients that really make the dish it is, raisins and tomato sauce, and the more ‘modern’ addition of cheese. Cover and simmer everything once more to make sure the vegetables have fully cooked. Give this a taste and add sugar if it tastes too salty, or add more salt if it lacks a bit more flavor. Cook until the sauce is as thick as you like.

Questions

• Additional Pork Menudo ingredients

While there is a traditional way to make menudo. You can still make this your own by adding some choice ingredients. Some menudo recipes include adding green peas, malunggay leaves, mushrooms, freshly chopped tomatoes, pineapples to add tartness, olives, add spice mixing in a handful of green or red chillies, or replace the hotdogs with sausages or luncheon meat. 

• How to cook pork menudo without tomato sauce ?

You can replace the tomato sauce with 2 – 3 tablespoons of tomato paste with at least ½ to 1 cup of water. You can also simply use 1 – 1 & ½ cup of chopped tomatoes, cooking these after cooking the aromatics and simmering it together with the meat until it’s easy to crush. But if you don’t have any of the examples above on hand or are allergic to tomatoes. You can simply omit the tomato sauce in the recipe.

• How to store or reheat ?
  • Let the dish cool down to room temperature before placing it in an airtight container. Make sure it’s fully cooled before covering and placing in the fridge.
  • It can be left in the fridge for a week or 2 and in the freezer for a month or more.
  • To reheat, thaw out first if frozen, microwave 1 to 2 minutes at a time until steaming.
  • You can also place this in a pot with a bit of water to avoid the bottom from burning. Once simmering, give these a few minutes before serving.

Try our other Yummy Pork Recipes :

• Oven Grilled Liempo ( oven grilled pork belly )
• Baby Back Ribs
• Pork Belly Steak
• Braised Pork Spareribs
• Crispy Pork Belly

Secret Pork Menudo Recipe ( Tagalog ) :

Mga Sangkap

Para sa Baboy

• 1 kilo  pork kasim, hiniwa ng maliliit
• 2 kutsarang soy sauce
• 1 kutsarang calamansi juice
• 1 kutsaritang paminta
• 2 kutsarang sweet pickles

Pasa sa Atay ng Baboy

• 250 gramo pork liver
• 2 kutsaritang soy sauce
• 1 kutsaritang calamansi juice
• ½ kutsaritang paminta

Para sa Sarsa

• 2 patatas ( tainadtad )
• 1 karot ( tainadtad )
• 1 piraso kampanilya paminta ( hiniwa ng malalaki )
• 5 piraso hotdogs ( hiniwa )
• 5 butil ng bawang ( tinadtad )
• 1 sibuyas ( tinadtad )
• 1 piraso pork broth cube
• 4 dahon ng laurel
• ¼ tasa pasas
• ⅓ tasa keso
• 1 tasa tomato sauce
• Asukal panlasa
• Asin panlasa
• Mantika

Steps:

1. Una, i-marinade ang atay sa soy sauce, calamansi juice, at paminta. Haluin ng mabuti at itabi ng 30 minutes.
2. Pagkatapos, i-marinade ang baboy ng soy sauce, calamansi juice, paminta at sweet pickles. Haluin at itabi ng 30 minuto.
3. Sa kawali na may konting mantika, lutuin ang mga patatas hanggang mag kayumanggi. Itabi. Sa parehong kawali, lutuin ang mga karot hanggang mag kayumanggi bago tanggalin sa kawali.
4. Lutuin ang mga paminta ng ilang minuto bago tanggalin. Lutuin ang mga hotdogs at itabi. Lutuin ang atay hanggang mag iba ng kulay. Pagkatapos tanggalin sa kawali.
5. Igisa ang mga bawang at sibuyas hanggang bumango. Ihalo dito ang baboy at lutuin hanggang mag iba ng kulay. Haluan ng pork broth cube at mga dahon ng laurel. Takpan at pakuluan ng 30 -35 minuto o hanggang lumambot ang mga baboy.
6. Ibalik dito ang mga nilutong karot, patatas, hodogs, atay, at paminta. Haluan ng mga pasas, keso, at tomato sauce.
7. Takpan at pakuluan ng 5 o 8 minuto o hanggang lumambot ang mga gulay. Haluan ng asukal at asin. Lutuin ng ilang minuto o hanggang kumapal ang sarsa.