In this entry I will demonstrate the steps I take in preparing Tripes à la mode de Caen. I will not be going much into measurements or details of the recipe, so if you have any questions I encourage you to explore the recipes on this site or simply drop me a line.
First, I head to the Chinese supermarket and pick up what I will need. I found some beautiful tripes and meaty ox feet, but no suete this time. (I got there at the end of the day and by then the suete had been ground down.) I came home with a gorgeous rumen, reticulum, and omasum weighing 5½ lbs.
The tripes and ox feet have been washed and boiled; the tripes cut to the appropriate size; and the aromatic pouch prepared. We are ready to assemble.
From left to right: tripes, aromatic cheese-cloth bundle, ox feet, onions, carrots, wine, and calvados.
First, I arrange the ox feet and herb bundle in the bottom of my vessel (a bean pot pie). Next, I build up layers of tripe alternating with layers of thin-sliced onions and carrots. Once I fill the vessel I add the wine, calvados, and a couple of cups of water. As I mentioned above, I could not find the suete to cover the tripes with, so I improvised a lid made of a layer of thick-sliced onions.
The final step in the assembly is the flour paste cover. There are a couple of methods to choose from. One is to cover the entire mouth of the pot with a paste lid, cook it for three hours in the oven, and finally place the vessel’s cover on the mouth and complete the cooking (as demonstrated by Julia Child). Today, I opted for the method where the the flour paste is used to seal the lid. Stick the pot in the oven at 250°F and see you in 10 hours!
Let’s crack this sucker open! The improvised onion lid did a pretty good job; it weighed down the tripes and kept the top layer from crusting. I discard the onions and the pouch, and strain the broth. I separate the tripes, feet, and carrots. I take the feet and separate the flesh and bones, discard the bones, and chop up the flesh.
Chopped up feet.
Finally I cut up the carrots and reassemble the dish in a sauce pan and reheat. Serve piping hot. I put extra broth because I had some good bread to dip.
Délicieux! J’ai trop mangé!
Demonstration: Tripes à la mode de Caen
By Guy Docetoni
RUMENATIONS 
This is sheer dedication to tripe!
Thanks for stopping by my blog fitfinnrecipes@wordpress.com
I am very impressed with you cooking techniques.
Awesome demo. I’m literally drooling. I lament the fact that my family won’t touch tripe let alone trotters (even my wife who is usually quite adventuresome)… maybe I should just make this dish and just not tell them? Bwahahah!
BTW Thanks for the “like” on my blog (http://ww.fishinfoodie.wordpress.com/), the Moules et Frites recipe I posted is a tried and true crowd pleaser. I love French cooking, but I’m not sure my heart could stand a regular diet of it.
Aaron
Gorgeous! Nicely done.
Wonderful: one of the world’s greatest dishes. I find that stirring a further glass of calvados into the broth at the end, before reheating, enhances the dish greatly without, somewhat surprisingly, making it too “winey”. Also, adding a 1/4 cooking apple to the herb bundle gives the sauce additional complexity and a welcome freshness.
For a left-field restaurant recommendation, I ought also to pass on this quintessentially old-school place in the tiny Norman village of Gratot. A few years ago, I ate a simply breathtaking rendition of tripes a la mode here, preceded by a superlative langoustine bisque, followed by tarte tatin with aged calvados and a typically wonderful cheese trolley. The whole thing from a 16 Euro menu!! If you are ever in that neck of the woods, I recommend it:
http://www.tripadvisor.fr/Restaurant_Review-g3940439-d3936428-Reviews-Le_Tourne_Bride-Gratot_Manche_Basse_Normandie_Normandy.html
Thanks for chiming in; sharing your experience; and for the terrific suggestions! I really like the idea of adding the apple to the bundle! (I will be trying that next time I make it.)
By way of a plug: your website andalusiancountrykitchen.com is excellent.