(Images coming soon)
2 1/2# Beef tongue
1 Onion
1 Large Turnip
4 Celery Stalks, washed
1-2 Carrots
1 Leek (wash well)
4 Large Garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
1-2 Bay Leaves
3 T Beef soup base
2 T Salt
1 T Whole Black Peppercorns
1/2 t each: Ground Thyme, Leaf Marjoram, Leaf Tarragon
2 bay leaves
1 whole clove
1 T MSG (optional)
Scrub and rinse tongue in cold water.
Soak tongue in cold water for 2-4 hours (or over night).
Dice celery, turnip and onion and carrots. Quarter the leek and wash well.
Place tongue, chopped vegetables, bay leaf(s) and spices in large stock pot. Cover with cold water. Bring to a boil and simmer for 4 1/2 hours on medium heat, adding more water as needed to keep tongue covered.
Remove tongue from liquid and loosely cover with foil. Let rest until cool enough to handle.
Peel skin off of tongue by sliding the tine of a fork under the edge of the skin, grasp a loose end and slowly pull skin off. Continue until all skin has been removed.
Check large end for bones or large bits of cartilage. (I have never found any of this on any tongue I’ve cooked).
Once tongue is completely clean, it’s ready to eat or use in recipes.
Beef tongue 3 ways
1: Beef Tongue au Jus
Au Jus:
Discard vegetables (While the vegetables are edible, I find the flavors and nutrients have been pulled from them.) and reduce broth by 1/2. Keep warm.
Slice tongue in 1/4 inch slices against the grain.
Place one slice of colby jack cheese on the bottom half of a hard roll. Lay 2-3 slices of tongue on top of cheese. Spoon a few tablespoons of hot Au Jus over meat. Lay pickle slices over meat. Spread a thin layer of dijon mustard on top bun and place on top of the pickles and meat. Spoon a few more tablespoons of Au Jus over entire sandwich, serve immediately. This is a knife and fork sandwich!
2: Tongue salad
Dice tongue, mix with your favorite macaroni salad (recipe coming soon).
Serve.
3rd way: Tongue and shrooms
- Saute 1/2 diced onion for 2 minutes on medium heat. Add 8 oz of sliced mushrooms. Continue to cook until mushrooms are cooked through.
- Add 3-4 tablespoons of flour to pan, stirring to coat onions and mushrooms, cooking and stirring for 2-3 minutes. Pour 2 cups of Au Jus to the onion and mushroom misture, stirring quickly, scraping up flour from the bottom of the pan. Continue to cook, stirring constantly until thickend.
(Cheater blog: skip step 2, use packaged brown gravy by mixing cold water and gravy mix in measuring cup. Add to cooked onion mushroom mixture, bring to a simmer to thicken.)
- Fold sliced beef tongue in to gravy mix. Heat until warmed, serve over Rustic Mashed potatoes (recipe coming soon)