Braised Tongue

I have cooked this many times with the exception of the vinegar. It works well in a slow cooker in the summertime. To me tongue has the most intensely beefy flavor of any cut. I started eating tongue as a child on my grandparents farm. My wife (hispanic), because her father worked in a packing house and tongues (1960's) were discarded as they were felt to have no value and he brought them home for free.My family ate it as cold cuts on a sandwich, her family ate them as tacos.

Recover with lid after setting parchment round, or use the parchment alone as a lid? The latter would allow more evaporation, and a thicker braise liquid at the end.

Sounds like there's some confusion around the "parchment round." In a professional kitchen, it's called a "cartouche." If you google the term, you'll find some videos about how to make one (it's super easy). In a braise, the main food item isn't typically completely submerged and so the purpose of the cartouche is to retain some of the moisture coming off of the top to create a steamy environment so the thing you're cooking doesn't dry out.

Be still my heart! Tongue, my favorite, finally has a champion.

This article brings back great memories. I was introduced to offal when I was a child. My Alsacian grandmother Edna would prepare beef tongue at least once a month. She baked a type of rye bread heavy with caraway seed and we'd eat sandwiches slathered in coarse mustard and as a side small pickles she put up. They were like cornichons but a bit bigger. She also served warm sliced tongue with red cabbage and homemade dumplings, like Knoedel, that were topped with a light brown gravy. Her cooking, like her Alsacian roots was influenced by both French and German. She spoke both languages fluently. I have a book with all her hand written recipes on index cards, thankfully in English. If you like, the Town Hall deli in South Orange, N.J. still makes their original "Sloppy Joe" with sliced tongue, ham, Swiss and Russian dressing on thin sliced Pullman rye from a square loaf. I grew up on those sandwiches too.

I grew up with it and we loved it; mum made it with pickling spices, carrots, potatoes and cabbage. When I can find one in BC (not easy), I sear it quickly with plenty of cut-up onions and garlic and then pour over my favorite sauce...whether it's a mole' or a Asian take, it is always absolutely delicious. Usually braise for at least 2 hours. The plus is that it is pure muscle and therefore, a very nutritious meal. We have to educate the troops! :)

The way I was taught to prepare tongue is to blanch it in boiling water and then to peel off the white outer skin. It comes off more easily this way in large sheets. I cringe at the thought of boiling it with the outer skin and then using the broth later. Tongue can be prepared with a sauce of sour cream and mushrooms similar to stroganoff or Filipino style with calamansi or citrus juice, soy sauce and onions.

Tongue cooked in tomato sauce, was a regular meal in my house growing up. But better than that, were leftover tongue and cucumber sandwiches the next day; with mustard, just divine.

If you're eating ground beef,
you're probably already eating it - and every other tidbit.

I pressure cook the tongue (filled half-way with water, garlic, onion, bay leaf) to where the tough outer skin can be easily peeled. My dog loved the skin! I use half the broth for a vegetable soup and the remainder for braising/pot-roasting the meat til tender, along with garlic, onion, tomato sauce, potatoes, carrots. An added plus of tongue is its 'softness' making it ideal for feeding my babies as they transitioned to table food. (As adults they won't touch it!)

I'll never forget all the times walking into my grandmothers Brooklyn kitchen with a big tongue on the counter!! I love tongue and my young kids do too. They often take tongue sandwiches to school and try to gross out their friends. Ya want a little tongue?

Any meat that needs to be "peeled" is a non-starter for me.

Yet another piece by Gabrielle Hamilton that makes me wish I lived within walking distance of Prune. I agree: Tongue is one fine piece of meat.

like the pic, beef tongue thinly sliced and cooked on a Japanese hibachi or Korean BBQ then dipped in a suitable sauce - e.g. the Vietnamese catch-all salt/pepper/lemon juice - is totally delicious and feels like a total luxury food.

I grew up in a house where tongue was served on a regular basis and I loved it. But now, I get blank stares when I ask at my local stores if they have tongue. It is delicious and I would love to be able to have it again but I really have been unsuccessful in finding a source, alas.............