Admittedly, eating a tongue sounds strange. However, it is said to be a very delicious piece of meat. Here are a few tips to ensure that cooking a beef tongue is a success:
Peeling and preparing tongue
Buying tongue
When buying a beef tongue, make sure it is as small as possible, ideally less than 1.3 kg. 400 g of tongue is enough for 4 people.
Preparation
Rinse the tongue well with water and scrub it with a kitchen brush. Now fill a pot with cold water and soak the tongue for a few hours. Change the water repeatedly to keep it nice and cold and hygienic.
Cooking
For cooking, replace the soaking water with fresh cold water. Add peppercorns and bay leaves. Sage and rosemary also taste very good, giving it a more intense herbal flavor. Another idea is cloves, green bell pepper pieces, and dried onion pieces.
Cook the tongue at a low temperature for about 2 hours with the lid closed. In any case, do not cook it too quickly, as this makes muscle meat hard and tough. A guideline is that you should cook the meat for about one hour per 450 g. Once the tongue is done, you can easily pierce it with a knife.
Once the tongue is cooked, take it out of the pot with tongs and immediately place it in another pot with cold water. The skin can now be removed with a knife or kitchen shears. Because of the cold water, this should be quite easy. Some spots might not be as easy to remove, so just apply more pressure with the knife.
Once the tongue is cold enough to handle comfortably, remove the attachments at the back with a knife.
Now slice the meat lengthwise and serve. The tongue can be used cold in sandwiches or reheated in the oven or in the same cooking pot. Tongue also tastes very good with potatoes and sauce.
By the way: The trick with the cold water after cooking also helps to peel veal or pork tongue more easily.
Read also: Beef roulade recipe
