preparing tongue [General]
2010 Jun 30
beef tongue is highly prized in asian cuisine, especially japanese. braise it for long periods of time in a slow cooker.
you can regularly find it offered as part of a multi-course kaiseki japanese dining for the elite and traditionally served to samurai and their entourage
the attached pic i enjoyed many times at
www.kaiseki.ca
where the braised beef tongue was the chef's signature dish and it was so good i had to ask him how it was done. he braised it for a week! initially beef tongue was steam braised for 4 days in vegetable stock then steam braised 3 days in hacho miso. hen various spices and chilies were added at the end. the beef was incredibly tender and intensely rich miso/bbq flavored...
it turns tongue into the most delicious tender piece of ultra lean beef.
i suggest for those opposed, beat out the redneck and get over the 'tongue' as it is just a name. cooked this way, it can prove to be the best part of beef.
you can regularly find it offered as part of a multi-course kaiseki japanese dining for the elite and traditionally served to samurai and their entourage
the attached pic i enjoyed many times at
www.kaiseki.ca
where the braised beef tongue was the chef's signature dish and it was so good i had to ask him how it was done. he braised it for a week! initially beef tongue was steam braised for 4 days in vegetable stock then steam braised 3 days in hacho miso. hen various spices and chilies were added at the end. the beef was incredibly tender and intensely rich miso/bbq flavored...
it turns tongue into the most delicious tender piece of ultra lean beef.
i suggest for those opposed, beat out the redneck and get over the 'tongue' as it is just a name. cooked this way, it can prove to be the best part of beef.
2010 Jun 30
I follow Au Pied de Cochon's recipe for venison tongue, but substitute easier to find veal or beef tongue:
Scrub well. Slice off the base (about 3/4"). Braise on stove top for about 3 hours with aromatics, lowest temperature possible. Slice in two lengthwise and PEEL OFF THE OUTER MEMBRANE (nobody mentioned that!!).
It is delicious as is, but I tend to pickle it in a garlic-rosemary brine, and then fry off slices in butter to eat with toast and dijon.
Scrub well. Slice off the base (about 3/4"). Braise on stove top for about 3 hours with aromatics, lowest temperature possible. Slice in two lengthwise and PEEL OFF THE OUTER MEMBRANE (nobody mentioned that!!).
It is delicious as is, but I tend to pickle it in a garlic-rosemary brine, and then fry off slices in butter to eat with toast and dijon.
2010 Jul 8
1) Coat it with coarse salt & pepper and leave in the fridge for a day or two (covered with plastic wrap). You can eliminate this step but if you cook the tongue several times different ways - you'll notice that's it's worth doing it.
2) Place in a pot, cover with cold water, boil (it would normally take a couple of hours or so to cook it through, depending on the size), you could also add any spices you like.
3) Pour some cold water over the boiled tongue and quickly peel off the skin (it should come off easily at that point).
4) The tongue is ready and there are several options what to do next.
a) Thinly sliced, served as an appetizer - part of the meat platter, perfectly matched with either horseradish or hot mustard (... and vodka of course).
b) Just cold in sandwiches.
c) Sliced thick, coated with egg&breadcrumbs and fried (I don't do much of that).
d) Just warmed a bit, with simply boiled potatoes, a bit of butter, fresh dill.
e) Works well in different salads.
f) ... you name it :)
There are different attitudes to the use of broth - to my taste it should be discarded since has kind of a harsh (unpleasant sometimes) flavor. But many of my friends use it as a base for complicated soups (the most typical would be "solyanka", a spicy meat soup). Hope that helps. Cheers!
PS I normally buy the tongue at Loblaws or the former Unifood (Chinese supermarket on Vanier, now called something like Green Fresh Supermarket). Nice and cheap.
2) Place in a pot, cover with cold water, boil (it would normally take a couple of hours or so to cook it through, depending on the size), you could also add any spices you like.
3) Pour some cold water over the boiled tongue and quickly peel off the skin (it should come off easily at that point).
4) The tongue is ready and there are several options what to do next.
a) Thinly sliced, served as an appetizer - part of the meat platter, perfectly matched with either horseradish or hot mustard (... and vodka of course).
b) Just cold in sandwiches.
c) Sliced thick, coated with egg&breadcrumbs and fried (I don't do much of that).
d) Just warmed a bit, with simply boiled potatoes, a bit of butter, fresh dill.
e) Works well in different salads.
f) ... you name it :)
There are different attitudes to the use of broth - to my taste it should be discarded since has kind of a harsh (unpleasant sometimes) flavor. But many of my friends use it as a base for complicated soups (the most typical would be "solyanka", a spicy meat soup). Hope that helps. Cheers!
PS I normally buy the tongue at Loblaws or the former Unifood (Chinese supermarket on Vanier, now called something like Green Fresh Supermarket). Nice and cheap.
zymurgist
Assuming I could get a beef or pork tongue ( which is a pretty safe assumption ), how would I go about preparing it?
I don't really recall much about the stuff I used to it in the USSR nor how it might have been prepared.