How to Cook Beef Tongue and Three Serving Suggestions

As I mentioned in my previous post, I tasted beef tongue tacos for the first time, not in Mexico, but at a Mexican taquería in Leamington, Ontario, in Canada.  The experience was positive, so I decided to buy the cut at a Mexican butcher’s store, and try to cook it at home. I must confess that the sight and smell of raw beef tongue might be discouraging, but the final result is very tasty, and well worth the effort. 

To skip the prepping of the beef tongue, click here to jump down to recipes.

How to prepare and Cook Beef Tongue

Printable directions: How to prepare and cook beef tongue

Ingredients

1 (3-4 lb) beef tongue (fresh or thawed in the fridge overnight, if from frozen)
½ onion; peeled and cut into two chunks
3 bay leaves
½ tsp whole black peppercorns
1 tsp salt
Water, as needed

Remove and discard packaging from tongue (photo below, left).  Place on paper towels (photo below, right) and pat to absorb any liquid from the surface:

Place whole tongue in a large pot, along with the onion, salt, peppercorns and bay leaves (photo below, left).  Fill with water, to completely cover the tongue; bring to boil over high heat, then reduce heat to medium, and cover pot (photo below, right):

Allow to cook for three hours, checking halfway to add hot water, if needed, to keep tongue covered.  

Remove tongue from pot onto a cutting board.  The outer membrane should be loose and peeling:

Pull off and discard all the outer membrane from around the tongue:

The cooked and peeled beef tongue should be tender and falling apart inside, but the remaining thin layer outside will still have a certain chewy texture:

In the photo below, left, the beef tongue is cut into thin slices, like a roast, or to use as deli slices for a torta (Mexican sandwich); in the photo below, right, pounding with a very sharp knife produces chopped tongue, to use in tacos:

In the photo below, sliced, diced, and chopped beef tongue:

Beef Tongue Tacos – Tacos de lengua

Ingredients

Beef tongue; cooked (click here for printable directions), and chopped or diced
Corn tortillas; freshly made or warmed
Onion; peeled and chopped finely
Cilantro; washed and chopped
Salsas, such as green tomatillo (click here for printable recipe, or from jar) or guacamole (click here for printable recipe)
Limes; washed and cut into wedges

To serve, the tongue must be warm.  The best method is to steam it.  Place in a colander over a pot with boiling water for a couple of minutes. I still had the liquid from cooking the tongue:

NOTE: The corn tortillas may be warmed on top of the tongue.

Place tortillas on a plate, fill with a generous amount of tongue, top with onion and cilantro, and serve immediately with salsas (in the photo at the top of this post, and below, green salsa on the tacos, guacamole on the side), and lime wedges on the side:

The taste of the tongue is very neutral, not gamey or strong at all, so the toppings and sides enhance and round up the flavour of the tacos. They were a very close reproduction of the tacos I had in Leamington.

Beef Tongue Skewers – Alambres de lengua

Ingredients

Beef tongue; cooked (click here for printable directions), and sliced thinly
Green bell pepper; washed, seeds and stem removed, and sliced into 1-inch pieces
Onion; peeled and sliced into 1-inch pieces
Bacon; sliced into 1-inch pieces
Salt and pepper, to taste
Limes; washed and cut into wedges

Take a wooden or metal skewer and pierce pieces of bell pepper, onion, and bacon onto it; fold one tongue slice and pierce onto the skewer.  repeat until the skewer is full. Continue with more skewers and ingredients. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, to taste: 

Cook on the grill, or under the broiler for twenty minutes, turning halfway to crisp bacon and tongue on all sides:

Serve hot with lime wedges on the side:

The veggies and tongue get a smoky and delicious finish from the crisped bacon:

Ramen is, of course, not traditionally Mexican, but very popular worldwide nowadays, and it also serves as a good way to use the broth that is left behind from cooking the tongue.

Beef Tongue Ramen – Ramen de lengua

Ingredients

Beef tongue; cooked in water (click here for printable directions), and sliced thinly
Green onions; washed, roots removed, and sliced into 1-inch pieces
Shiitake mushrooms; brushed cleaned, stems removed, and sliced into quarters
Bacon; sliced into 1-inch pieces, and fried
Instant Ramen packages, with oriental condiment
Water, as needed
Optional: soy sauce, one piece of combu seaweed

Pour liquid from cooking tongue through a mesh, into a large pot; add water, if needed.  Add seaweed, if using. Bring to boil over high heat. Add white part of onions, soy sauce, and some of the packaged condiment, to taste, and allow to cook for one or two minutes.  Add mushrooms and Ramen, separating noodles as they cook, until just tender. Remove and discard seaweed (if using).  In large soup bowls, place portions of noodles, mushrooms, tongue slices, bacon, and green part of onions, then fill with hot broth:

A sprinkle of Japanese hot chili mix (Shichimi Togarashi) or hot Mexican ground chili (such as comapeño) may be added to enhance the flavours in this delicious bowl.

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Summarizing the experience, when raw, a whole piece of beef tongue might bring doubts that it would be fit for human consumption, but proper preparation renders a tender meat with a light touch of chewiness, with a very neutral flavour, offering a delightful variety of ways to enhance its flavour profile, either by adding toppings, or stealing from other ingredients, such as smoky bacon. The cooking liquid may be used as broth in any dish, such as stews or soups. 

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