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Mexican

Panza Guisada para Tacos (Shredded Tripe for Tacos)

A gutsy, aromatic Mexican taco filling built from cooked tripe cut into narrow strips and fried with white onion, serrano chiles, and epazote in two stages. The herb is added in two passes — half at the start to perfume the fat, half near the end to keep some brightness — giving the finished filling a layered herbal character that dried herbs simply cannot replicate. A splash of tripe or chicken broth loosens the pan and allows a brief covered cook that melds everything without stewing the tripe into mushiness. Finished in warm tortillas and topped with a raw salsa verde, this is the kind of market-stall cooking Diana Kennedy documented across Mexico: thrifty, direct, and genuinely delicious.

‹Swipe for the next dish›
Serves2–3 as a taco filling
Sourced1of 6 in BC
Cook
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I

The Market List

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450 g (1 lb)
2 tablespoons
lard or safflower oil
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
80 ml (1/3 cup)
finely chopped white onion
Your own market
2
chiles serranos (Capsicum annuum), finely chopped, or to taste
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
80 ml (1/3 cup)
loosely packed fresh epazote (Dysphania ambrosioides) leaves, divided
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
30–45 ml (2–3 tablespoons)
tripe broth or chicken broth
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
Sea salt, to taste
Your own market
To serve: warm corn tortillas, salsa verde cruda
Not yet stocked in British Columbia

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II

The Method

1
Cut the cooked tripe into narrow strips approximately 5 cm (2 inches) long.
2
Heat lard or safflower oil in a wide pan over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add the onion, serranos, and half the epazote. Fry, stirring occasionally, until the onion is soft and fully translucent — about 4–5 minutes.
From the canon — Epazote (Dysphania ambrosioides) is one of Mexico's defining culinary herbs — a pungent, aromatic annual with a distinctive smell sometimes described as petr… Epazote — identification and usage →
3
Add the tripe strips and remaining epazote. Fry for 2 minutes, turning the strips so they make contact with the hot fat.
4
Add the broth and a pinch of sea salt. Cover the pan and cook over medium heat for approximately 5 minutes, shaking the pan occasionally. The filling should be moist and cohesive, not wet.
5
Taste and adjust salt. Spoon into warm corn tortillas and top with salsa verde cruda. Serve immediately.
From the canon — Salsa verde is built from tomatillos (Physalis philadelphica — not green tomatoes, an entirely different plant) combined with fresh green chiles (serrano or … Salsa verde — tomatillo preparation →
III

Sensory Tests

◇Pinch a strip of finished tripe between your fingers — it should feel tender but spring back slightly, with a faint resistance at the centre; if it compresses to paste, the covered steam stage ran too long or the tripe was overcooked before it reached the pan.
◇Smell the pan thirty seconds after the second addition of epazote: you should detect a sharp, resinous volatility distinct from the earthier base note already present — two clearly different aromatic registers from the same herb confirm the timing of both passes was correct.
◇Bite into the assembled taco without the salsa first; the filling should carry enough brightness on its own from the late epazote and serrano that it tastes complete, not flat — the raw salsa verde should amplify rather than rescue.
◇Where it lives or dies. The dish lives or dies at the moment the tripe first hits the pan: the strips must be thoroughly dried and the fat genuinely hot so they fry with contact rather than steam, building the caramelised edges that give the filling its textural and flavour backbone — wet tripe or a crowded pan collapses everything that follows into a grey, soft stew.
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V

What to Pour

Pouring for British Columbia · ·

The pairing
1897 Amber Ale
Stanley Park Brewing · Metro Vancouver
Stanley Park Brewing · Vancouver →
Beer
From British Columbia
Beldame
Strange Fellows Brewing · Metro Vancouver
Strange Fellows Brewing · Vancouver →
Beer lager
Without alcohol
SYNERGY Strawberry Lemonade Kombucha
GT's Living Foods
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
Non-alcoholic

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The whole pairing
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Where the dish comes from and how it came to be — on every recipe.
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The working kitchen
Cost this recipe
Part of The Profession · ingredient costs and your margin
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HACCP brief
Part of The Profession · the food-safety plan
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Sourced through Provenance

The hands behind the plate.

Noble Meats & Cheeses Ltd.
Sechelt, V0N 3A0, Canada · cooked tripe
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