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Tongue

A friend mentioned that he'd had tacos de lengua, and it made me want to cook tongue myself.
I used to see it in supermarkets from time to time, but I had a heck of a time finding it.
Even the Western Beef chain here in the NYC metro area doesn't carry it any more -- apparently it doesn't move at retail, despite something of a recent rebound in popularity in restaurants. You can still get tongue sandwiches in New York's old-school Jewish delis.

Anyway, I did find one (frozen) at an Italian butcher shop near me.
I put it in the slow cooker last night, and it is now in its final stage.
There's a not-so-pretty prep stage involved, but I think it'll be worth it.

The way I'll be serving it tonight is in Italian dip sandwiches, with peppers and onions, sautéed spinach, tomato, and sharp provolone, on focaccia.

Who here has cooked tongue? What way do you like to do it?
 
We're going to need pictures!

I've had tongue but only in tacos de lengua. I really enjoyed it. I looked into how to prep tongue for lengua tacos and it didn't seem that difficult. I've actually seen tongue for sale at grocery stores down here. Not often, but it is available.
 
I remember seeing a complete cow's tongue at the deli where my mother used to shop, it frightened me as a child and I would turn away and hide behind her so I didn't have to see it. I'm sure that they served me many tongue sandwiches and I gladly ate them, as long as I didn't know what was in it.

But that was more than 50 years ago. I haven't seen any tongue in the butcher's case in many, many years, nor have I seen it available in any of the pre-sliced packaged meats, either.

It must be available somewhere. Even though consumer demand might be down, I can't imagine that they just throw it away when they butcher a cow.
 
I am a fan of cow tongue, but have only cooked it myself a few times. It has been a number of years since my last effort, but I was very pleased with the results.

What I did (trying to remember back that far) is I only cooked it partially by boiling it, enough to peel the outer layer off. Then starting at the end I sliced the tongue into little, round, one-inch thick "steaks". I may have boiled them a little longer once they were cut... I'm not sure now. Anyway for the final cooking I threw them on the barbeque with a little seasoning. My tongue steaks were delicious!

I would check the internet for cooking times recommended for peeling the outer layer off, and overall cooking time. The key is to let the boiling do the majority of the cooking to get it tender, but let the grill do the browing and give it some flavor. This is a YMMV thing and you'll have to do a little figuring out yourself.
 
I've had it a few times at restaurants and found it to be delicious. I've had sandwiches, tacos de lengua, and braised tongue. I can't say that I've ever seen it at any store or butcher. If you live in the Cleveland area, I'm sure you could track some down at the West Side Market. I've seen whole pig heads for sale there.
 
I'm sure you could track some down at the West Side Market. I've seen whole pig heads for sale there.
There used to be a Brazilian market around here that had whole piglets and skinned goat kids in the butcher case ... I'm sure they were a popular menu item for that populace but looking at them grossed me out. They also offered chicken feet, and had a tank with live eels swimming in it.

The main reason I went there is that they had a good supply of Portuguese shaving items. I picked up many tubes of Lavanda cream for $2.09 and a large 400ml bottle of Lavanda Cologne for only $1.59. I also scored a few bars of Musgo Real bath soap and even snagged a glass bottle of AquaVelva.
 

martym

Unacceptably Lasering Chicken Giblets?
Growing up, on the weekends we would go to the slaughterhouse and they would give us the "trash". Tongue was one of the favorites and believe it or not fajitas. Sweetbreads too. Grandpa always baked the tongue in the oven with sweet potatoes. Still one of my favorite meals.
In my early years, tacos de lengua with very hot salsa were my favorite at about 0245 hours.
 
The Italian dip sandwiches turned out beautifully, and the tongue was melting-tender -- as I'd read it's supposed to be.
I have photos but am encountering some technical difficulties. It'll probably be some time tomorrow when I post them.
 

oc_in_fw

Fridays are Fishtastic!
The only time I've had tongue was in tacos at a real Mexican restaurant, not an Americanized one. The tacos were excellent.
 
Here we go. Italian dip sandwiches made with slow-cooked beef tongue.

$ItalianDip_Tongue_1.jpg$ItalianDip_Tongue_2.jpg
 
Looks good! The pretty tomatoes and rustic bread should round that out nicely.

Tongue is pretty easily found at DFW supermarkets. And they always have it at Sam's Club. I've never tried making my own, though.
 

TexLaw

Fussy Evil Genius
I love tongue, and it's not too hard at all to find around here. I've done a lengua style in the crock pot and something more German just by braising in the oven. Great stuff!
 
I love tongue also, here is one I did a couple weeks ago
 

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martym

Unacceptably Lasering Chicken Giblets?
Lengua would be really good right now. Just sitting by the pool, having a drink, and eating tacos de lengua!
 
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