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When people go beef shopping, the part they go for is usually based on preference and sometimes on what they want to cook with it. That’s why when you get to the butcher’s shop, you’ll hear things like, “I want the head. Cut the tail and the tongue for me. I want torso. How much is the leg? Can I get the offals for this amount?” Well, today, the part of beef I’m interested in is the tripe. The tripe is part of the cow called shaki or towel in Nigeria. When people ask for assorted meat, the tripe is usually part of it. Anyways, for the benefit of those who do not know, tripes are the edible lining of the cow’s stomach.

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Now, I know a lot of people who wrinkle their nose in disgust whenever this meat arrives from the market because it’s usually very dirty. I don’t blame them because cleaning cow tripe is often messy business. I also know some people don’t scrape out the nyama nyama in the tripes before eating it; in fact, some of them who do this argue that the sweetness of this meat lies in the nyama nyama. Obiamaka does not know where they got this idea but their opinion will not stop me from saying what must be said- there is a proper way to clean cow tripes. If you don’t know how to do it, please, just keep reading and you’ll learn how it’s done.

How to Clean Cow Tripe

Put some water in the kettle to boil. When it comes to the boil, pour it into a clean bowl. Soak the tripe in the hot water for at least 1 minute. When the time is up, bring it out and place it on the chopping board. Use a sharp knife to scrape the dirts off the tripes and unto the chopping board or work surface. When you think you’ve gotten rid of most of the dirt, soak the meat in hot water and continue scraping. When you think you are done, rinse the meat and give it a once over to be sure you did not miss any dirt. Next, give the meat a thorough rinse and cut it into pieces in readiness for cooking. That’s it for cleaning for tripe. It’s not that difficult abi? So, now that you have learnt how to do this, please, clean your tripes properly before cooking. Featured Image Source: Sisi Jemimah

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This article was first published on 18th February 2021

udevi-obiamaka-angela

Udevi, Obiamaka Angela holds a Master of Arts degree in History & International Studies. She's a freelance writer with a passion for food and healthy living. She can be contacted through her email address, obiudevi@yahoo.com