Hi everyone! I’ve been battling tonsillitis the past two weeks, but now I’m fully mended. We wanted to share with you our version of Flaki, a traditional Polish tripe soup that is perfect for the coming colder months. It’s definitely helped me bounce back from being tired and having a sore throat.
We first grew to like tripe soup from a restaurant we used to frequent in Brooklyn. They had delicious soup there, and were very generous with their meat and vegetables. We weren’t sure how we were going to re-create the dish, as we hadn’t really tasted Polish tripe soup at other restaurants. It was only recently that we decided to try a bunch of different kinds, and try to come up with our own.
Kitty and I noticed that each restaurant had their own style, much like how a household adds or omits an ingredient according to what’s growing in the region. We just loved having all of the ingredients in our soup; plus, we decided to add some star anise (which isn’t part of a regular pot of flaki) to carry on the meaty and hearty flavors of the soup.
We hope we did this proper. I certainly enjoyed eating this soup!
Recipe for Flaki - Polish Tripe Soup
- About 5 Liters
- Preparation:
- Cooking:
- Waiting:
Ingredients
- 1350g (3lbs) Beef Tripe
- Kosher Salt
- 675g (1½lbs) Beef Chuck
- 2400ml (10 cups) Beef Stock
- 120g (4½oz) Tomato Paste
- 9 Black Peppercorns
- 6 Juniper Berries
- 6 Allspice Berries
- 6 Garlic Cloves
- 6 Star Anise points
- 2 Bay Leaves
- 200g (3 large) Carrots
- 200g (5 stalks) Celery
- 200g (2 medium) Onions
- 200g (2) Leeks
- 2½g (1½T) dried Marjoram
- 3½g (1½t) Paprika
- 2½g (1½t) ground Ginger
- 3g (1½t) ground Nutmeg
- 35g (2½T) Unsalted Butter
- 35g (4½T) All-Purpose Flour
- 4g (1T) Parsley, chopped
Procedure
- Rinse and soak the tripe in cold water for 30 minutes. Drain and generously salt the tripe. Rub the salt into the tripe thoroughly. Repeat the steps again.
- Wash off all the salt, refill with fresh cold water, and add a splash of distilled vinegar. Soak for another 30 minutes. Rinse, drain really well, and slice the tripe into thin strips. Set aside.
- Cut the beef chuck into edible-size pieces, and boil them for about 5 minutes to remove the blood.
- While the chuck is coming to a boil, measure out the peppercorns, berries, cloves, star anise, and bay leaves.
- Drain the beef chuck and place them into a large stock pot with the sliced tripe, stock, tomato paste, and measured whole spices. Give the contents a stir. Bring the pot to a boil, then lower the flame to simmer the soup for 2 hours.
- Slice the carrots, celery, onions, and leeks into a chunky dice. Set aside. Measure the marjoram and ground spices.
- Create the roux: bring together the butter and flour in a pan. Cook it over low flame, continuously stirring with a whisk, until it turns to a shade of a light blond. Turn off the flame.
- After 2 hours, add the carrots, celery, and onions, marjoram, and the ground spices. Simmer for 20 minutes.
- Slowly ladle some of the liquid into the roux, and combine. Continue adding the soup liquid, one ladle at a time, until the roux is smooth and like gravy. Pour the roux mixture into the pot and stir until combined. Toss in the leeks. Simmer the tripe soup for 10 minutes.
- Serve with parsley, ground black pepper, salt, and warm bread.
*Bunny Wisdom*
- The tripe may need additional soaking if it's particularly funky. Don't be afraid to soak for longer than 30 minutes.
- The salt is used as a natural abrasive to help clean the tripe further, and the vinegar helps with the funk.
- I cut the chuck into 1-inch cubes because they shrink when cooked. They can also be cut into strips like the tripe.
- I do an initial boil with the beef to get rid of impurities and blood.
- We made the roux while the soup was simmering, so it would cool down and be easier to mix in the soup liquid. Oftentimes the liquid is harder to mix into the roux when it has just been made, mainly because the mixture is really hot and the whole thing tends to sputter.
- Tomato paste is optional, as is the roux, though we really enjoy having both in the soup.
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