Recipe for Tripe and Onions

This recipe was given to me by Michael Ryan of Isaacs Restaurant in Cork, for my book on Traditional Irish Cooking. This was how his father cooked tripe and onions.

1 lb (450g) tripe

1 small onion, peeled and sliced

Salt and freshly ground pepper

Cold milk - sufficient to cover roux

Put the tripe into a saucepan with a quarter cupful of water, with the lid on, place on gas ring for 8-10 minutes approx.

Discard the liquor in the pot, add the sliced onion and cover with cold milk. Simmer gently for 1 hour approx. until the tripe is tender.

Strain off the milk, thicken with roux, season with salt and pepper. Pour the milk back into the saucepan with the tripe, heat through. Check seasoning, it will take quite a bit of pepper. Serve on a slice of buttered white bread.

Tripe and Drisheen:

After adding the thickened liquor back to the saucepan, you could if you wish add some drisheen to the tripe. Peel and slice some cooked drisheen, add it to the saucepan and heat through before serving.

Tripe in Batter

2 lb (225g) tripe batter - see below dripping

Wash the tripe in hot water. Put it into boiling water and simmer for 20 minutes, skimming well. When quite tender, take out the tripe, dry it, cut in pieces about 2 inches (5cm) square and allow it to become perfectly cold. Put the fat into a frying pan. When hot, dip the pieces of tripe into the batter and fry at once.

Batter: 4 ozs (110g) flour 2 tsp salt 3 tsp pepper 5 fl ozs (150ml) milk

Put the flour and salt into a basin, make a hole in the centre, pour in the liquid gradually, beating till the batter is quite smooth.