This simple beef tongue recipe results in tender, melt-in-your-mouth meat. The tasty mushroom onion sauce is optional, but it greatly enhances the dish.
Nose-to-tail eating is the responsible way for meat-eaters to consume meat. And this particular cut makes it very palatable indeed. Its wonderfully flavorful and tender, and its also surprisingly easy to make.
I learned to cook lengua from my friend Irina, a wonderful cook who makes many traditional recipes. My entire family loves it – yes, even the kids![feast_advanced_jump_to]
Youll only need a few simple ingredients to turn a cows tongue into a delicacy. The exact measurements are included in the recipe card below. Heres an overview of what youll need:
Onions and mushrooms: As a lazy cook, I often use the food processor to chop onions, and I buy pre-sliced mushrooms.
Beef broth: Store-bought is fine – just check the ingredients list to make sure it looks OK.
Kosher salt and black pepper: If using fine salt, you should reduce the amount you use, or the dish could end up too salty.
Cooking beef tongue is easy! Scroll down to the recipe card for detailed instructions. Here are the basic steps:
Allow it to slightly cool, just until its easier to handle, then remove the skin and slice it.
If making the sauce, cook the onions and mushrooms in butter, then add beef broth, kosher salt, and black pepper.
Add the sliced meat to this tasty sauce and simmer it for 30 minutes, until its super tender. You can thicken the sauce with a little cornstarch if youd like.
Youll want to let the cooked tongue cool a little before removing the skin. Its too hot to handle when you remove it from the saucepan.
But dont let it sit and cool for too long. You want to remove the skin as soon as you can. If it cools down too much, it will be very difficult to remove.
Yes! I can see why some people find this difficult to accept. I suppose there is a certain reluctance unless you grew up eating internal organs. But for someone whos used to eating the entire cow, not just steaks, its really no more problematic than a piece of steak. Its just meat. And its wonderful! In fact, as far as I know, our modern Western culture is the first human culture to shun organ meats. Eating just muscle meat is such a wasteful way to consume animals.
If youre in the U.S., this can be quite a challenge. Youll probably need to ask your butcher to special order it for you. Or go to a Hispanic market, where its always available. Lately, Ive been able to find it frozen at Whole Foods, so thats progress.
This is a muscular organ that works hard, so its very tough when uncooked. Much like beef heart, you have two options when cooking it. Either slice it very thin and cook it quickly, as they do in Korean barbecue. Or cook it low and slow, in a saucepan or in your slow cooker. I like the second method better because it results in meat that literally melts when you put it in your mouth. So wonderfully tender! And despite owning a slow cooker, I prefer to cook it on the stovetop in water. This is mostly because then I get a wonderful bonus – rich, flavorful homemade beef broth!
Oh yes. When properly cooked, its amazingly tender and very flavorful. I consider it a delicacy, especially when served with my friend Irinas delicious onion-mushroom sauce. In fact, I often think to myself that its just as good as ribeye roast – and so much cheaper!
You can serve this dish with anything you would serve with steaks or roasts. Mashed cauliflower, roasted carrots, roasted asparagus… anything, really.
Storing and using leftovers
You can keep the leftovers in the fridge, in a sealed container, for 3-4 days. Reheat them gently, covered, in the microwave on 50% power.
I actually really like them cold, sliced thin, and served with quick pickles, mustard, and fresh-cut veggies.
If youre interested in trying more offal recipes, here are a few good ones:
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