Ready to get out of your comfort zone? Offal refers to the parts of the animal most people would rather not think about. Kids remember having to choke down some of mom's liver or kidney. Beyond that, it can get even scarier but it can be very tasty.
I had my epiphany with offal on a camping trip with my future wife and future inlaws when my brother-in-law's then girlfriend's (now his very lovely wife) dad set up a barbecue at our site. He proceeded to unravel a large piece of cow intestine in a spiral on the grill.
"I'm not eating that," I whispered to Letty.
"At least try it," she insisted.
Quite a bit of back and forth later, I relented and told her I would try just a little bite. Screwing up my courage, I did and guess what? It was terrific. I couldn't get enough.
I now search out a good tripas taco whenever we're someplace I'm likely to get some good Mexican food.
I've learned to not pass up on foods that might be off-putting to me. I've found some great foods and, yes, a few stinkers along the way trying things like pig's intestine soup, blood sausage, brains, heart, snails, and tripe (as in menudo).
Recently, we had this dish. If you're ready to jump off the safe ledge, give it a shot.
Tacos de Cachete
INGREDIENTS
2 pounds cachete de res (beef cheeks, ask your butcher)
4 tablespoons minced garlic
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon pepper
1 small onion (chopped)
1/2 pound cilantro (chopped)
Corn tortillas
In a stock pot, boil the cachete, garlic, salt, and pepper for three hours on low heat. It should be soft enough to easily chop up with a knife when done.
Heat up a comal (or a flat griddle) on medium heat. Heat up some corn tortillas, about 30 seconds on each side. Place the tortillas folded up into a clean dish towel.
Chop up the meat, place a bit with the onion, cilantro, maybe a little guacamore, and your favorite salsa into a warm tortilla and eat as a taco.
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