Tacos de Lengua

I love Mexican cuisine! I don't know if it is the spicy flavors, the fresh ingredients or the fact you can roll it up in a tortilla and eat it easily. I went to a Mexican restaurant near my house a few months back and tried their Tacos de Lengua. After that, I wanted to try and make it myself. I had never cooked tongue, however, I have eaten it on a couple occasions. I started researching the proper ways to cook tongue. Being that it is a large muscle, braising is the way to go.

 I went to Compare Foods to get my beef tongue (you want one under 3 lbs).

To start this dish, you want to scrub the tongue down and then soak it in cold water. I did this for about an hour, changing the water 3 times. After the soak, clean out the pot, add cold water and transfer to the stove. For my application, I added white onion, celery, chipotle peppers, black pepper corns and a few bay leaves to the stock pot. I turned the burner on, added the cleaned tongue and started the braise. I cooked mine for 3 hours. After cooking, remove the tongue and shock it (add it to cold water) for about 20-30 seconds. This cools it down enough for you to handle then tongue without burning your hands. Do not cool the tongue completely as this will make it harder to remove the skin.

The next step is peeling the tongue. There is a leathery like outer coating that peels right off. After removing the outer skin, you are left with the edible meat. On the underside of the tongue, there is some fatty tissue that needs to be removed. After removing this, slice the tongue across the grain and then dice.

After dicing the tongue, add it to a smoking hot pan for a quick saute. This caramelizes the outside to give it a little more texture. Season the meat with a little salt and pepper while sauteing. I topped my with a little chimichurri. I made it with cilantro, lemon juice, olive oil, cumin, wine vinegar, salt and pepper. I also added diced tomatoes and white onions to my taco.