Beef Tongue
September 6th, 2008
It’s part of my belief that when eating meat, the whole animal should be respected and valued in its entirety. Something that many Americans neglect these days. In the old days when humans lived among the animals that they raised, a meat animal would be valued as a whole, unique parts such as tongue, head, cheek, brains, heart, liver, tail, and etc. would be enjoyed not just because waste was not acceptable, but also because they are simply delicious.
I picked up a copy of The River Cottage Meat Book. One third of the book is dedicated to understanding meat as a whole – origin, raising, hunting, sustainable issues, butchery, as well as recipes. The author Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall explores different cuts of animals ranging from beef, lamb, pig, poultry, game and of course offal and no details are left out. Offal is the entrails and internal organs of a butchered animal. Although tongue is a muscle and not an organ, the delicacy seemed to have been lumped in to this category. It certainly doesn’t help to gain popularity when the word is pronounced “awful” .
In an effort to reclaim a more intimate relationship with the food that I eat, I decided to pick up a beef tongue; in it’s entirety. Having grown up in Japan and eating grilled gyutan I am no stranger to this cut of meat, served thinly sliced and in moderate portions. I must admit that I was a bit intimidated once I got home to unwrap the big joint.
Slow cooking, if executed correctly, is an art of making something special and oh so sublime out of meat that is cheap and more ordinary. Although the tongue may not seem so ordinary on an American dinner table, it does allow one to spend considerably less on a piece of meat that can feed more than twice the number of diners than a prime cut.
This project is broken down into three easy parts. Pickling the tongue in a brine for a week, rinsing and soaking in the water for couple days, and then finally slow cooking the pickled tongue for 3 hours or so. If you have access to a butcher to procure the cut, then time and patience is the only thing you will really need. The process is far from being complicated or difficult. I used an extra large plastic container with a lid to pickle the tongue, but if you don’t have one handy, a zip-top bag or a non-metallic container. This is necessary to avoid a reaction between the metal and the brine.
I can honestly say that this might be one of the tastier things that I have cooked all year. I knew that my patience had paid off the moment I took my first bite and heard the reaction around the dining table. The end result was a magically tender meat that could be cut with the back of your fork and subsequently melted in your mouth. My guests loved it and even went back for seconds – its good to know that it is was not an illusion created by my own excitement :)
Pickled Tongue Recipe
adapted from the River Cottage Meat Book
The brine:
5 quarts of water (Stay away from using tap water!)
1 pound light brown sugar
1 pound kosher salt
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
1 teaspoon juniper berries
5 cloves
4 bay leaves
A sprig of thyme
2 tablespoon saltpeter *optional: Sole purpose is to prevent the meat from turning gray. Helps to preserve the meat’s red color. ** EDIT** InstaCure #1 aka pink salt is also a great replacement.
- Add all brine ingredients in a large pot over low heat, stir well until the sugar and the salt has dissolved completely. Take off heat and let the liquid cool down.
- Place the beef tongue in a plastic container (with a lid), or an over-sized zip bag and pour in brine liquid being sure to submerge completely. If using a zip-top bag be sure to extract as much air as possible, seal and lay flat in the refrigerator for about a week flipping the tongue daily. If the tongue weighs in over 6 lbs, you can go up to 10 days.
- After patiently waiting for 7 whole days, it is time for you to remove the tongue from the brine. Rinse well under cold running water. Place the tongue back in the container/zip bag and soak it in fresh cold water, submerging again completely for 24~48 hours, changing the water every 12 hours. (The recipe calls for a 24-hour soak, I left mine for 48 hours and it was perfect seasoning – not too salty).
Cooking Pickled Tongue
1 whole beef tongue (pickled)
1 bouquet garni (sprigs of thyme, small bunch of parsley, bay leaf)
1 small carrot, chopped
1 onion, peeled and halved
1 leek, halved lengthwise
½ garlic bulb, outer skin removed
- Move the tongue to a dutch oven with all ingredients, cover with fresh water and bring to a simmer. Poach gently on the stovetop over low heat or in the oven at 275 degrees for 2½ to 3 hours. Tongue will become very tender and yield when pierced.
- Remove the tongue from the poaching liquid, place on a cutting board and peel away the outer ‘skin’. It should come away from the meat fairly easily, just make sure to get rid of all of it. Carve the tongue into fairly thick slices and serve over lentils with quality grainy mustard or creamed horseradish.
September 6th, 2008 at 6:31 pm
Looks great. Gonna have to expand my horizons and try this one. I have had tongue in Mexico but was chopped up in tacos. Still it was awesome.
September 6th, 2008 at 7:28 pm
Quite right.
I love offal and make a point of including it fairly regularly in our diet. Tongue is not sometime I have cooked myself, but I have bought it prepared, sliced and it is delicious.
I also fully agree with the respecting the whole animal. I grew up on a sheep farm and we used to slaughter sheep (and goats) for our own consumption – haggis using the pluck (liver, lungs etc contained in the stomach) was a biannual treat as we only slaughtered the animals twice a year. I even learned to make black pudding (blood sausage) from the blood of the sheep.
I will eat pretty much anything as a result of my upbringing (eyes excepting – I have a phobia about them – I cannot even watch my husband put his contact lenses in!).. but respect for the whole animal abounds in my house.
my children know where their meat comes from – they know beef is “cow”, pork is “pig” etc… they know that animals die to feed them and that you should thank the animal so that you can eat (our version of grace).
I have yet to buy and cook tripe (no longer living anywhere near my parents farm so can’t obtain it direct from a producer) but Dad has told me it is delicious fried till crisp in bacon fat, so one day I will buy some and try it.
September 7th, 2008 at 11:45 am
Kudos for picking up beef tongue! It’s something that we haven’t gotten around to doing. I agree: we’ve lost something valuable when we decided that we only want tenderloins, rib eye steaks, etc. and discard the other “less desirable” parts of the animal.
Your beef tongue looks sublime! Thanks for sharing this.
September 7th, 2008 at 12:24 pm
@foodluvin Tacos al vapor! Cabeza and lengua pressure cooked for hours, makes a tasty road side tacos. We need to make a Ensenada run!
@eatingclub Tenderloins, rib eye steaks are all great, but a prime cut is a prime cut. There is no fine art! Little TLC goes a long ways to serve up those less desirable parts in to a fine cuisine.
@LotteW Haggis and blood sausage – now that is two things I have yet to try. Your father’s farm sounds wonderful. One day, I will have my own farm and live off of the land. Of course, I will need a big fat Internet connection :)
Thank you all for reading and taking a moment to share your stories!
September 8th, 2008 at 8:53 am
Interesting post… Those pictures look delicious, but there’s no way you’d catch me eating those! :)
September 9th, 2008 at 2:08 pm
My grandmother loved tongue.
September 9th, 2008 at 10:26 pm
I have beef tongue in some of the Central/South American joints in East L.A. although it is not something I would eat all the time…if braised slowly and with the right spices like you’ve done it can be delicious
September 10th, 2008 at 9:32 am
@jodycakes East LA as in Louisiana not Los Angles, I assume.
@Jeff – I don’t blame you!
@ Shimon aka Gourmet SEO, welcome to Wasabi Bratwurst, thanks for stopping by.
September 10th, 2008 at 2:39 pm
Actually just moved back to TX from CA, so most recently my tongue dining has been in Los Angeles…
:)
September 10th, 2008 at 8:16 pm
@jodycakes I love the taqurias in LA!
Tex-Mex or Mexican?
September 11th, 2008 at 6:33 am
Love that book. I’ve only browsed through it briefly but I went straight to the offal chapter immediately :)
September 11th, 2008 at 8:15 am
@Jude
I am glad that I was finally informed! Tried couple recipes and they are all good. Have you read any other Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall cook books?
September 13th, 2008 at 4:59 pm
I grew up having to eat a certain type of meat that was from a cow’s tongue – I don’t know how to say it in English and I can’t spell it in Dutch. I’m not sure I can get over it because I really didn’t like it.
But, this does look interesting.
September 14th, 2008 at 1:51 am
I’m usually not a blog reader, but I found this article of yours quite interesting.
I personally quite enjoy oxtail soup, although I’m not sure why some people avoid it; are they scared of fecal contamination of sorts? Doesn’t sound too silly though, since some animals splatter their feces around with their tail. :(
Haha… I think I’ve unknowingly consumed beef tongue as well. Tender, and tasty, but once you realize what it is, hmm…
By the way, is ‘Admin’ the same as ‘Fumi Matsubara?’
September 14th, 2008 at 7:11 am
Your pickled tongue looks gorgeous!! I truly love the photos you took. Good for you for preparing it for guests… I was too timid to do so the first time around but I plan to serve it at a dinner party this fall or winter. Have you tried any other recipes in the RCMB? I had the chinese spare ribs and they were out-of-this-world!
As for the colored photos… I’m a bit embarrassed to say I don’t even know what HDR is (high def resolution?) I just have good light and played off the red color of my tupperware and the white of the plate. My pictures are usually hit or miss but I particularly liked these ones… So THANKS!!
Also, Jim just bought me the Charcuterie book the other day! I’m so excited to get into it.
-Robin
September 14th, 2008 at 3:38 pm
My gf won’t forgive me for the following:
Played a marriage proposal party in LA and they had a little taquiza cart serving food bc the unknowing bride’s family is Latino. I made a little plate of 3 tacos and a friend called me as I sat down to eat. I’m talking as I watch my gf eat two of the mini tacos. When I hang up she’s like, “Sorry babe, those tacos were good!”
-”You know what you just ate, right?”
“Uhhh…!!!”
-”The first was lengua and the second cabeza.”
“What’s lengua?”
-”Tongue.”
“Oh god (ulgh!)… And the second???”
-”Cabeza is the head.”
“(Bleh!) I hate you!!!”
I freaking LOVE lengua tacos. You guys should go to Rudy’s for lunch instead of Primo’s:
http://www.yelp.com/biz/rudys-taco-shop-la-costa
September 14th, 2008 at 5:50 pm
@X – Thanks for stopping by the website. Oxtail soup is delicious. Hmmm, perhaps I should try making it. To answer your question, I do login as Admin at times. But there are few others who also help out with the website. For now, they would like to keep their name anonymous.
@Marijke – My Dutch colleague mentioned about a tongue that was pickled in vinegar. Was the dish you are thinking about sour?
@Robin – Haven’t tried lot of the recipes yet but after reading the Bolognese recipe I am certain that my current Bolognese recipe has room for some improvements. Thanks for the recommendation, going to try the spare ribs as soon as I see it on sale! HDR stands for high dynamic range, a technique that allows to wide range of intensity in both direct light and shadows. Check out HDR collection on Flickr. Pretty cool stuff out there.
@Social Sound System – LOL that’s a great story. Looks like she is just around the corner from converting. Rudy’s Taco Shop… you mean the one by the new La Costa Broken Yolk? I thought that place was just another gringo burrito shop? We should meet up for lunch next week.
September 14th, 2008 at 7:22 pm
Well she’s closer to converting to Bean than I am to going’ Heeb. LOL.
As for oxtail, I had a bunch in the Philippines. Kare Kare or bulalo oxtail marrow soup were delicious.
Lunch Thurs?
September 15th, 2008 at 6:13 pm
Thursday is not good, I will be mtn biking after work and gotta put some time at work during lunch. Friday?
September 21st, 2008 at 5:27 pm
Ooo, I’m going to go check out the HDR stuff now.
I’m making a pork belly from the RCMB this week, I’ll let you know how it turns out.
September 22nd, 2008 at 7:52 am
@caviar and codfish – Pork belly, oh I am SO there. What time is dinner? What do you want me to bring over?
November 9th, 2008 at 9:46 am
my grandmother used to cook lamb tongue…i remember her peeling the top layer, and then burning the tongue lightly over open flame before cooking it. she would boil it for hours with onions and spices. i was young , and the thought of eating tongue was overwhelming..also i had not developed my taste buds and did not try it…i regret that!! but everyone loved the taste and enjoyed it.
i personally like to eat lamb spleen once or twice a year, my kids are appalled by the idea of course! it should be cleaned well with white flour and vinegar, make a little pocket in it, fill with cut parsley and lots of garlic, salt and sumac. bake and enjoy sliced hot or cold, it makes great sandwiches too.
thanks for sharing your tongue recipe, i never thought anyone would dare to post such recipe :)
November 9th, 2008 at 6:05 pm
@Summer Growing up in Japan I ate plenty of the thinly sliced gyutan (beef tongue) in the yakiniku restaurants. I have to admit though, I did really know that the mystery meat was tongue until later on.
I have never tried spleen but if it comes from lamb, I should give it a try! I like the tangy flavor of sumac, so I am sure I will like the way you prepare it.
Thank you for stopping by and sharing your story Summer!
November 18th, 2008 at 7:24 pm
Many of the deli’s in upstate NY serve roast beef and tongue sandwiches that are to die for. Pickled lambs tongue was a childhood favorite; they came in jars and were quite good. Rogers company used to sell them but they apparently went out of business. Anyone know of any one else selling these pickled goodies?
November 18th, 2008 at 7:59 pm
@Marco B
Thanks for stopping by our website! Two lamb tongue comments in a row, this must be my sign. Lamb is what I will cook next time I get the craving for tongue :)
There are not many choices here in San Diego when it comes to NY style/Kosher deli. There was one in my neighborhood here in Encinitas but the owner skipped town and the place became a family owned Italian restaurant to compete with the other 20.
Never knew they have pickled tongue in a jar. When you find out, please do let me know. Love to try it out.
December 18th, 2008 at 12:24 am
here is a very new recipe for tongue i found on youtube with a Moroccan twist…really interesting:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDcMMY65z50&feature=channel_page
February 19th, 2009 at 7:58 am
I have a recipe for pickled venison tongue, that I got from teh Pied au Couchon cookbook. They do it teh opposite way, if I recall, cooking, and then pickling the cooked tongue. I’ve had it in their restaurant too, and it’s amazing. Been looking to recreate that at home, perhaps this summer…
May 4th, 2009 at 1:49 pm
Hello Just been looking at your blog.
Have you heard of St Johns a resturant in London which is making offal recipes popular at the moment. The chef is Fergus Henderson and he’s got a great cook book called Nose to Tail Eating.
We made his deep fried lambs brains and they were delicious.
http://bagsofflavour.blogspot.com/2009/02/meat-monday.html
May 28th, 2009 at 11:20 am
Thanks for the great recipe. I just had the finished product last evening and it was the best tongue ever! (Of course my boyfriend wouldn’t even go into the kitchen with it, let alone eat it. More for me, and my cat!) One question however. Why the warning against tap water? I used tap water and it was fine. What is the alternative–bottled water?? I have River Cottage Meat Book and I don’t recall Hugh ever warning against tap water. Perhaps it’s in the American version (I have the British). Anyway, great recipe, but I’d say throw all caution to the wind and use your tap water–it’s fine!!
December 6th, 2009 at 11:35 am
Made the recipe as described and thought the tongue tasted like the best corned beef. Served the tongue over risotto and sauerkraut. Also, made hash out of the leftovers. It was very good and I will also use this recipe for my brisket around St Patty’s time. Thanks!
December 7th, 2009 at 10:57 am
Hi Mike! Thanks for taking the time to post feedback. Hash with the leftover sounds amazing! Perhaps I will sneak serve beef tongue to my guest on St Patrick’s day, might help some of my friends to get over their offal fear. You got me thinking now. Thanks again for reading, glad you enjoyed it.
December 27th, 2009 at 11:42 am
I grew up on a farm and we raised our own beef cattle. When these animals were butchered (and most of them sold) we would bring home our half of beef along with any ‘left over’ meat that the other people would not take, i.e., tongue, heart and liver. My mother would slow cook the hearts and tongues together and then cut into small pieces and pickle them (in canning jars). This is something that became a real treat; my brother and I would open up a jar and sit on the kitchen counter and eat right out of the canning jar.
December 27th, 2009 at 12:07 pm
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January 14th, 2010 at 2:33 pm
I’m wondering where the heck people get it into their heads that tongue or organ meats are somehow “weird” or “strange.” Had I never heard comments like Jeff’s or X’s, it would not ever have occurred to me that the cafeteria liver and onions I used to LOVE as a kid is any stranger than steak or chicken breast. I find reactions to tongue particularly disturbing since it is a muscle, just like the loin or other “normal” cuts. This must be a learned behavior. I’ve often thought that kids don’t like greens, liver, etc because people (parents) tell them they’re not supposed to like it.
January 26th, 2010 at 7:10 pm
I can’t wait to taste this recipe (it’s in the post-pickling water bath now). We ate a lot of tongue when I was growing up in St Paul, MN, but never pickled it first. The Mexican grocery down the hill on Concord (now Cesar Chavez Blvd) often had it on sale, and my mom loved a bargain for feeding 4 hungry kids. After serving slices for dinner, she’d take the extras, run it through the rough disc on the old fashioned meat grinder, and add good mustard, mayo and some chopped celery and dill pickle. Spread this on good wheat bread, and what a delight! I loved shocking my girlfriends in the lunch room when they would ask for a bite of my “beef salad sandwich” because it smelled so yummy. Then I’d tell them they were enjoying beef tongue!
March 11th, 2010 at 1:02 pm
I’ve been cooking and feeding beef tongue to my family for a year or so now and we all love the super-beefy flavor. I haven’t ever pickled it before but I’m definitely going to try your recipe. I’ve been searching for some time now for one that sounded good and this one hit the spot. Thank you!
March 11th, 2010 at 2:34 pm
@Darcy Thanks for commenting! Wondering how do you usually prepare the beef tongue for your family? Do you stew or grill?
August 15th, 2010 at 9:27 am
Your photos turned out so much better than my own. I used them in my recent post, cited and linked back to your post. Please let me know if you’d prefer I didn’t. The simple German recipe my grandmother used for beef tongue was just water, salt, and vinegar – and finished in one day. I posted the recipe here: http://omnivorouschild.wordpress.com/2010/08/15/trying-tongue/. Knowing it’s so tasty at such a basic level makes us excited to experiment with many of the ideas amongst the comments here. Thanks again for your simple and elegant photography.
@Niki: Thanks for the suggestion on the leftovers chopped into salad! My 7-yr old and I just had the last ‘tip of the tongue’ as your salad suggestion on pumpernickel rye. Got a big thumbs up!