How to Make Beef Tongue

Beef tongue is a valuable piece of meat that can provide an inexpensive meal for the whole family. Although the price is cheap, the quality of the meat is not low. In fact, thanks to its rich flavor, beef tongue was considered a luxury food in the old days when people were not strict. Learning how to properly cook beef tongue will help you prepare a special and nutritious dish.

Table of Contents

Ingredient

Basic cow tongue :

1 small beef tongue (1.4 kg)
Pepper
Bay leaves (or other herbs)
Onions and carrots (or other vegetables)
Optional: powder or concentrated French onion soup, used to thicken the sauce

Tacos de Lengua :

1 small beef tongue (1.4 kg)
Onions, carrots, favorite herbs
Lard or oil
Salsa Verde
Tortillas

Beef tongue cooked with raisin sauce :

1 beef tongue (1.8 kg)
2 onions
2 sliced carrots
1 stalk of celery (with leaves), chopped
1 clove of minced garlic
2 tablespoons (30 ml) butter
1/3 cup (80 ml) raisins
3 tablespoons (45 ml) chopped almonds
1/3 cup (80 ml) white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon ketchup
1/3 cup Madeira wine
2/3 cup beef tongue broth
Salt and pepper to taste

Basic boiled beef tongue

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Buy beef tongue. Large blades need a longer processing time, so you need to choose to buy small blades, preferably about 1.4 kg. Beef tongue has a short shelf life, so you need to choose fresh or frozen tongue from a trusted butcher. Thaw frozen beef tongue in the refrigerator for maximum safety.

Some parts of the tongue have tendons, bones, and fat at the base of the tongue. This meat is edible if cooked, but not everyone enjoys its soft, fatty texture. ^{[1] X Source of Research} You can either cut the meat off when you take it home (before or after cooking) or buy a beef tongue that has been removed. ^{[2] X Research Source}
Salted beef tongue has a richer taste and can be processed in the same way as fresh beef tongue.

Clean beef tongue. Place the beef tongue in a clean sink and scrub it thoroughly under cold running water. Scrub until the surface of the tongue is free of stains and blood.

Many recipes instruct to soak beef tongue in cold water for 1-2 hours and change the water when the water turns cloudy. Store-bought beef tongue is usually clean enough that you can skip this step, but it will taste fresher if soaked. ^{[3] X Research Sources}

Prepare broth. Pour beef or chicken broth, or moderately salty brine into a large pot. Add your favorite vegetables and herbs. Add 1-2 onions, a few bay leaves, pepper, and carrots to the base broth. You can add other ingredients like oregano, rosemary, garlic, or chili peppers. Bring to a boil under high heat.

Use a pressure cooker or casserole to speed up the stew.
If you want a thicker sauce to serve with the beef tongue, you can add 4 cans of concentrated French onion soup.

Put the tongue in the pot. Put the beef tongue into the pot of broth and close the lid. Bring to a boil again and then lower the heat to a simmer.

Keep the beef tongue completely submerged in the water. You may need to add water or place the steamer basket in the pot to force the tongue down.

Simmer until beef tongue is tender. When the beef tongue turns white and can easily pierce the thickest part of the meat with a knife, it is cooked. Normally it takes about 50-60 minutes to cook 0.45 kg of beef tongue. ^{[4] X Research Sources}

Cooking too quickly or undercooked will make the beef tongue tough and taste bad. If you have time, you should carefully cook it for another 1-2 hours, it will be better.
If you’re using a pressure cooker, you’ll need to cook until steam comes out. Lower the heat and cook for another 10-15 minutes for 0.45 kg of meat. Wait for it to cool down until the steam in the pot comes out on its own.

Peel the beef tongue while it is still warm. Use tongs to transfer the beef tongue onto the plate. Wait a moment for the beef tongue to cool down and then use a sharp knife to slice through the white outer shell, along the body of the beef tongue. Use your fingers to peel off this skin and cut as needed. The crust is actually edible but has an unappetizing taste and texture. ^{[5] X Research Source} )

Beef tongue will be much harder to peel when it’s cooled. However, if the beef tongue cools to room temperature, you can soak it in ice water to make it easier to peel.
Save the boiling water for soups or sauces.

Cut the meat into 0.5 cm slices. Use a sharp knife to cut the meat diagonally to serve with Salsa verde, sandwich on bread with brown mustard and vegetables, or bake for an additional 30 minutes with baked potatoes. Beef tongue meat is plentiful, so you can save a large piece for the grill or try preparing it using the recipes below.

The tough meat is due to undercooked. At this point, you need to put the meat back into the pot of boiling water and simmer.
You can add more flour to turn the sauce into a gravy.

Tacos De Lengua

Clean and boil beef tongue. Beef tongue needs to be cooked long and slow to soften. Follow the instructions above to clean the beef tongue, then boil in hot salted water for at least 1 hour for 0.45 kg of meat.

For extra flavor, you can add onions, carrots, garlic, bay leaves, and/or chili peppers to the broth.
Check every 1 hour. You can add more water to cover the beef tongue.

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Make or buy Salsa Verde sauce. If you have time, you can make your own Salsa while waiting for the beef tongue to cook. Simply mix green Tomatillos with Serrano peppers, diced onion, garlic, coriander, lemon, and salt. Blend until a slightly thickened mixture is formed. You can read more detailed instructions on how to make a sauce.

Peel and cut beef tongue. When the meat is tender enough to pierce the thickest part of the meat with a knife, you can use tongs to remove the beef tongue from the broth. Wait for the beef tongue to cool down (still warm) and then use a knife to slice through the white outer layer, then peel off this layer with your hands. Cut the beef tongue into pieces about 1cm thick to prepare the tacos.

Fry or grill until the beef tongue is crispy. Beef tongue is the fatty part and its taste is better when it has a crispy outside. Pour oil or lard into the pan, about 3 tablespoons (45 ml) for 6 slices of meat and heat until the oil is slightly boiling. Fry the tongue meat until crispy and brown on both sides, flipping occasionally. ^{[7] X Research Sources}

If you want to grill, you can grease the slices of meat with olive oil and then bake on the griddle at 220ºC for about 10-15 minutes, flipping once while grilling.
To prepare a healthy tongue dish, simply pan-fry a slice of meat in a little oil, then simmer with Salsa Verde for a few minutes. ^{[8] X Research Sources}

Served with tortillas. Arrange beef tongue, tortillas on a plate and prepare Salsa Verde for everyone to make their own Tacos. You can add your favorite condiments to the tacos, such as lemon and cilantro.

Beef tongue cooked with raisin sauce

Clean and boil beef tongue. Clean the beef tongue as instructed in part 1. Next, place the beef tongue in a pot of hot water along with 1 onion, 2 carrots, 1 celery stalk and 1 clove of garlic. Simmer for about 1 hour for 0.45 kg of meat until the thickest part of the meat can be easily pierced with a knife.

Chop the vegetables, remove the celery leaves and mash the garlic.
This step is similar to the basic beef tongue boiling method above. You can read the boiling method again for more details.

Peel off the beef tongue. Use tongs to remove the boiled beef tongue. Peel off the white layer as soon as the meat cools down (still warm). When it’s warm, the white crust is easier to peel off. You just need to use a sharp knife to make a few cuts.

Fry the raisins, almonds and remaining onion. Melt 2 tablespoons (30 ml) butter in a saucepan. Cut and add the remaining onion to the same 1/3 cup (80 ml) raisins, 3 tablespoons (45 ml) chopped almonds. Stir while frying.

Add the remaining ingredients to the pan. When the almonds turn golden brown, you can pour another 1/3 cup (80 ml) of white apple cider vinegar, 1 tablespoon (15 ml) of ketchup into the pan. Next, pour in 1/3 cup (80 ml) of Madeira and 2/3 cup (160 ml) of beef tongue broth. Simmer for 3 minutes and then reduce heat to low.

Cut beef tongue into slices and serve with sauce. Cut beef tongue into thin slices and pour raisin sauce over. You can sprinkle more salt and pepper to enhance the taste.

Advice

As long as you make sure to buy beef tongue from a reputable butcher, all parts of the tongue are edible. If desired, you can excise the cartilage-like or viscous parts. However, you should try not to cut out too much of the tasty meat.
The meat on the base of the tongue is usually richer and fatter than the tip of the tongue.
Beef tongue broth can have a richer taste than regular meat broths because beef tongue is often high in fat. You can add some boiling water to other dishes. ^{[9] X Research Source}

Warning

Many people often do not like the feeling of eating beef tongue. Therefore, you should cut the beef tongue into slices before bringing it to the table instead of leaving the tongue shape.

Things you need

Oil brush
Kitchen knife or scissors
Pot with lid, casserole or pressure cooker large enough to hold all ingredients
Tongs