Cook Beef Tongue

While beef tongue may not be a very common dish on your menu, this rich cut of meat is enjoyed in many parts of the world, similar in flavor to brisket and corned beef. And, it's usually pretty cheap! This article will help you make your first (second, third...) experience with beef tongue a positive one.

Ingredients

 * Beef Tongue
 * Peppercorns
 * Bay leaf (or, alternatively, sage and rosemary, etc.)
 * Vegetables for the broth (carrots, onions, celery, etc.)
 * Cloves (optional)

Steps

 * 1) Purchase your tongue, as small as possible (try to keep it under three pounds or so).
 * 2)  Clean the tongue. After you've opened your tongue package, explore it a little (it's undeniably freaky looking, but don't let it deter you from your quest!) and put it in a clean sink. Scrub at it with a kitchen brush and put it in a pot of cold water. Let it soak for a couple hours, switching the yucky water frequently and keeping everything nice and chilly for safety.
 * 3)  Put your clean tongue in a pot of cold water (if you use the same pot as before, use lots of fresh water) with some bay leaves and peppercorns. You can substitute some sage and rosemary for the herb flavor. You can also use some cloves, green pepper chunks, and dried onions as suggested by other sites.
 * 4)  Simmer the tongue on medium heat for a couple hours or so with the lid on. It should take a knife pretty easily if it's been cooked long enough. Be careful not to cook it too fast, as muscle meats are prone to become tough and cooking it too fast may bring out that aspect of the meat. It is recommended to cook it for an hour per pound.
 * 5)  Remove the meat from the pot with a tong, placing it immediately in a bowl or another pot of very cold water. With the help of a knife or kitchen shears, remove the skin. It should be pretty easy to do if your water is cold, like canning peaches. There might be some tricky bits, but don't shy away, use your knife and a little force.
 * 6) When the meat is cool enough to handle, remove and discard the roots from the back. Tongue is not a lean meat, so don't be afraid to get your hands in there and trim.
 * 7) Cut the meat into 1/4 inch slices lengthwise. Here is where you make this special, reheating it in the original cooking pot, roasting it further in the oven with potatoes and some cooking liquid for a potato/gravy meal, or serving it cold for sandwiches. There are lots of recipes on the web for this step. You will get about four servings per pound, so don't be afraid to try a lot of things with one purchase. If you cook your meat and find that it's 'disconcertingly soft,' try boiling more, as one would pork for carnitas and serving in tacos.

Beef Tongue With Raisin Sauce
Recipe from the New York Times


 * 1) Gather your ingredients:
 * 2) * 1 beef tongue (4 pounds)
 * 3) * 2 onions
 * 4) * 2 carrots, sliced
 * 5) * 1 stick celery (with leaves), sliced
 * 6) * 1 clove garlic, crushed
 * 7) * 2 tablespoons butter
 * 8) * 1/3 cup raisins
 * 9) * 3 tablespoons almonds, chopped
 * 10) * 1/3 cup white wine vinegar
 * 11) * 1 tablespoon tomato paste
 * 12) * 1/3 cup Madeira wine
 * 13) * 2/3 cup tongue cooking broth
 * 14) * Salt and pepper to taste
 * 15) Simmer the tongue in water to with a coarsely chopped onion, carrots, celery and garlic until tender. Remove from heat and leave the tongue in the broth.
 * 16) Saute the other onion (chopped) in butter, then add raisins and almonds.
 * 17) When the almonds are golden brown, stir in the vinegar and tomato paste, then add the Madeira and stock. Simmer for three minutes to reduce slightly.
 * 18) Season with salt and pepper.
 * 19) Peel the tongue. Slice it and pour the sauce over the top.

Tips

 * There are a lot of different suggestions on the web of what to cut off and what to leave. One rule of thumb is if it looks yucky, you're not going to want to eat it, so cut if off.

Warnings

 * A lot of people are turned off by the idea of eating tongue, so make sure that, if serving it to guests, you have:
 * A. already tried it and learned how to make the finished product look like any other meat, or
 * B. spoken to your open-minded guests about "making out with a skinless cow," as an anti-tongue person once said.

Things You'll Need

 * Plenty of cold water
 * Kitchen brush
 * knife or kitchen shears
 * pot large enough to hold your ingredients with lid
 * lots of time, at least for your first try
 * tongs

Related Tips and Steps

 * How to Cook Tripe
 * How to Enjoy Offal
 * How to Make Steak Tartare
 * How to Cook a Snake