Beef tongue? Beef tongue! (ewwwwww.....)

Ahh c'mon, part of the fun of being primal is the culinary adventure. Plus pickeling is a great way to preserve food. I eat what I can then preserve the rest for later, then enjoy it all over again!

[QUOTE=Diana Renata;151512]I cook mine in the crockpot like a roast. When it's done, or near done, I take it out and slice it into 1/2-inch slices, and sear it on a hot pan. Gives the outside a nice crisp. :)[/QUOTE]

I agree for the most part. I've only had buffalo tongue but I'm sure it is very similar. I cook mine overnight in the crockpot on low. Take it out in the morning and peel off the outer membrane. Go to work and let it sit all day in the fridge to cool, then slice it thin. I'll enjoy it over a few days, sauteeing a few pieces at a time in coconut oil with some pepper, garlic powder, or whatever strikes me.

I've learned that the odd, non-intuitive thing about it is that the membrane blocks any herbs/spices from permeating the meat so when you cook in the crockpot adding any spices does nothing to it. You have to cook it to basically kill any bad things in it and get the membrane to a point you can peel it off and then you have to cook it to get the herbs/spices you want into it.

I'd just cook the whole thing. You'll lose some weight when it cooks and when you peel it. I have no problem eating what amounts to 2 lbs raw in 3-4 days. Slice it cross wise, that is perpendicular to the tongue, not lengthwise, the pieces would be way too long that way. I give some of the inner membrane scraps to my dog, he loves it. I just bought a 2lb buffalo tongue this weekend, I'll probably make it this week.

I posted something a few days ago in the research forum that the buffalo tongue was considered the best part of the animal.

I really appreciate everyone's advice. Jeff- your hints definitely help. I hadn't really thought about just frying up the pieces I need as I eat them; I was kind of thinking that I'd need to prepare the whole thing the entire way.

Well, tomorrow is the day. I'm gonna do it! I'm gonna start it in the AM, run around all day and then prep it for dinner.

All right- I've got updates. Well I made it, and I ate some of it.

My prep went like this: low boil for 3 hours, 'skin' it, put it on a bed of chopped celery, carrots, parsley and onions, douse it with 3/4 cup of butter and lard (total), then bake at 350 for 1 hour, basting every 10 minutes [add stock if needed]. Removed the tongue, sliced it. Thickened the veggies and fat/juice with potato starch. Incidentally, potato starch is extremely good at thickening- recommend using half what you'd use of regular flour.

My verdict: while very tender and juicy, it still creeped me out. Perhaps too tender? And the slight chewiness of the outer layer (which is still an inner layer because I took off the outer-outer layer) had a creep factor. I tried a cut from the back part of the tongue and thought it was a lot softer (not my cup of tea), but the front had a little more bite and was more palatable. Either way, I think this is my first and last foray into tongue as a meal.

Some pics along the way.

After it was boiled, before it was skinned. I had to cut it in half to get it to fit in my stock pot.
[IMG]http://i46.tinypic.com/erboy1.jpg[/IMG]

Showing how easy the 'skin' layer is to remove. Almost like taking off an onion layer.
[IMG]http://i49.tinypic.com/2lksly0.jpg[/IMG]

Here it's sliced up.
[IMG]http://i47.tinypic.com/jue71y.jpg[/IMG]

The final dish.
[IMG]http://i50.tinypic.com/wiq5hi.jpg[/IMG]

Haha! I love that pic with it laying, all tongue-like, on the cutting board!

The final dish looks lovely! It really grows on you. I have several in the freezer still. You've got me wanting to make it again. :)

Epic!

The only meat I ate for 2 months once was beef tongue. When people are prissy about their cuts, we benefit. Of course I can't understand why beef tongue isn't as popular as steak, it's delicious. Especially when cooked in a crock pot with spices and onions.

I've got one hanging out in the freezer currently...I think you've inspired me to cook it! Crock pot sounds easy enough...the main thing I was worried about was how to "peel" it LOL, but from your pics it doesn't look too hard :) yum yum! I am all about the weird food...hehe

I'm kinda bummed that I didn't like it. I love 'weird' food too- every organ I've ever tried, I've liked. Hell, I've eaten balut almost a dozen times (I started with the younger ones and moved onto the older ones). Glad I inspired you Ika! The prep was actually not gross at all- but looking at it, mehhhhh.

Hugh Fearnley-Whitingstall on last week's River Cottage showed him slow cooking in the same pot; beef tongue, beef heart and oxtail, well all three parts were from one of the River Cottage bulls he had been fattening up. After he slow cooked them with veges herbs etc he sliced them up and put them in a big soup with more veges for a big gathering of people I think. I am hoping to get all three from my butcher shortly. We are lucky here as all our cows and sheep are grass fed and outside. That's what happens in a medium sized country with a small population (4.2million I think we are now). We are overrun with possums though but haven't ever tried one. They do carry TB I think and are a bit tough but you see plenty of them on the roads here, kind of dead!

Possums are eaten in the US- mostly by people on the lower end of the socio-economic scale. They're only in the souther half of the US, I believe. I recall seeing them a lot as a kid; they are sooo ugly. Never ate one.