Tripas à moda do Porto

Tripas à moda do Porto is more than a stew — it is the dish that gave the people of Porto their nickname, tripeiros. Legend says that in the 15th century, the city donated all its best meat to provision the ships of the Discoveries, keeping only the offal — and out of that sacrifice came one of Portugal’s great dishes.

It is a rich, slow braise of tripe and white beans with a whole cast of supporting meats — chicken, veal, pork knuckle, chorizo, salpicão — warmed with cumin, which is the signature spice of the dish.

It takes some time and love, but the process is straightforward, and the result is deeply satisfying: creamy beans, tender tripe and a broth with centuries of history in it. Serve it, as Porto does, with fluffy white rice.

Tripas à Moda do Porto Recipe

Prep time: 20 minutes · Cook time: about 2 hours (mostly hands-off) · Total: about 2½ hours · Servings: 4 · Calories: ~464 per serving

Ingredients

• 18 oz (about 1 pound) veal tripe
• ½ fat chicken
• ½ veal foot
• 1 pork knuckle
• 1 chorizo sausage
• 7 oz salpicão (Portuguese smoked loin sausage)
• 7 oz fatty ham
• 14 oz butter beans, soaked
• 7 oz onion (about 2 small), divided
• 1 medium carrot, sliced
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 tablespoon lard
• 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 2 bay leaves
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• Parsley, to taste

Instructions

1. Wash the tripe very well, rub it with coarse salt and lemon, then cook it in salted water until tender.
2. Clean the veal foot and cook it separately until tender.
3. In another pot, cook the remaining meats through.
4. Meanwhile, cook the soaked beans; halfway through, add the sliced carrot and half an onion in pieces.
5. Debone the veal foot and cut all the meats into bite-sized pieces.
6. Make a refogado: cook the remaining chopped onion and the garlic in the lard until golden, then add the meats and paprika and let them take on flavor.
7. Add the beans with their carrot, the bay leaves, parsley, salt and pepper, and simmer gently until everything melds.
8. Remove the parsley and serve in a tureen, dusted with cumin or chopped parsley — with white rice alongside.

Recipe Notes

• Pork knuckle (ham hock) turns silky with slow cooking and enriches the whole stew.
• Tripe is mild and takes on the flavors around it; honeycomb beef tripe is the easiest to find in the US and works perfectly.
• Potatoes or bell peppers are non-traditional but welcome additions.
• Different smoked sausages or cured meats can stand in for the chorizo and salpicão — use what your market offers.