In my last blog post, I talked all about one of my favourite cuts of meat: the tongue. I shared with you some facts as well as the ideal cooking methods to get perfectly tender tongue, with a recipe. Today, I’ll be showing you a detailed step-by-step along with some pictures of my mom’s recipe for lamb tongue. Let’s get started!

Last weekend, I told my mom that I would love to learn her recipe for lamb tongue. She was more than happy to make it for dinner that evening, because tongue meat is a rich, delicious meat that many Iranians grow up eating and enjoy. Despite it’s popularity, however, my mom told me that tongue was eaten only on special occasions. Meat, in general, was expensive, so it was only eaten a couple times a week. So, my mom and I headed to our trusty Iranian butcher at Khorak Supermarket, an Iranian supermarket located near Yonge and Finch in Toronto. If you’re in Toronto and have trouble finding lamb or beef tongue, rest assured you can always find it here!

Me at Super Khorak, pointing at the huge display of lamb tongue!

We purchased 6 lamb tongues to have with dinner that night. Lamb tongues are quite small, and a lot smaller than beef tongues, so I would recommend about 2 per person.

Once we arrived home, it was time to start prep for Khorak e Zaban, which translates into English as “meal of tongue”. As you can imagine from its very vague name, it’s one of those recipes that gives you freedom in terms of the flavours and ingredients you choose to include. Nevertheless, the cooking method is the same, and similar aromatics are used across the board.

The first thing my mom did was preheat the oven to 325F. She then cleaned and then soaked the lamb tongues in some water for about 20 minutes while she prepped the rest of the ingredients. Soaking the tongues in water just helps “freshen” and “perk” them up. The tongues we purchased were quite fresh, so they would have been fine with just a quick wash as well.

Here are the lamb tongues after being washed and soaked in cold water. *The key to indicate these photos are mine is the hamsa keychain at the top left of my photos.*

Next, my mom chopped up a large bunch of green onions, both green and white ends, as well as a large clove of garlic. You can also use a regular white onion.

 

She then melted about a tablespoon of ghee (clarified butter) into a sauteuse over medium heat. Ghee is a great cooking fat with because it has a much higher smoking point than butter, while still imparting the delicious butter flavour.

Once the pan and ghee was hot, we added the green onions and the garlic. You want to get just a bit of colour on these, a light golden brown. This should take 5-8 minutes.

To this mixture, we added about a teaspoon of turmeric, and 1/2 tsp of salt, and a pinch of black pepper. Turmeric gives a beautiful golden colour, and is very aromatic. It is used frequently in Iranian cuisine. We let it toast for a minute or two with the onions and garlic in the pan.

Then it was time to add the lamb into the pan. We added them all in, and spread them around in the pan. Give them a quick sear on each side, 1-2 minutes

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After searing the tongue, my mom added about 2 cups of water to the pan, just enough to immerse the lamb tongues in liquid without completely covering them. You could also use beef, veal, or chicken stock, water you have on hand.

After adding the water, my mom put a lid on the pan and placed it in the preheated oven at 325F for about 3 hours, until the lamber was very soft and tender. As a reminded about the cooking method for tongue, it must be low and slow! My mom chose to braise the meat, which is a combination cooking method using both dry (searing the meat on higher heat) and moist heat (adding the water and stewing the meat at a lower heat) because it works well with tough cuts of meat. The tongue is an active muscle in the body and for this reason is a tougher cut, so it needs time to break down and tenderize. If cooked too fast or at too high of a temperature, the lamb tongue could result in a tough, rubbery piece of meat that is very unpleasant to eat. This is why braising the tongue for a longer cooking time helps break it down and make it nice and tender.

After about 3 hours, we pulled the lamb tongue out of the oven. Here is the beautiful finished product, garnished with some fresh mint!

I mentioned in my last post that the tongue must be cooled a bit and then peeled before serving. In this case, the lamb tongue was so tender after cooking, skin included, that we didn’t find it necessary, it was perfectly edible! This probably wouldn’t have been the case with a much larger and tougher beef tongue. Nevertheless, if you’re eating lamb tongue or serving it for the first time to people who have never had lamb, it is a good idea to remove the skin, as it could be unappealing.

We served up the lamb tongue with some basmati rice, and a side salad. It was an absolutely delicious meal!

Here is my mom’s full recipe for lamb tongue below.

Khorak e Zaban
serves 3

Ingredients:

• 6 lamb tongues (approximately 150 grams each)
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp of ghee
• 1 large bunch of green onions, finely diced
• 1 tsp turmeric
• salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

Prep: Before beginning the cooking process, clean and then soak the lamb tongues in cold water for about 15-20 minutes, to help “freshen” the tongues. Dry on a paper towel before searing.

Method:

Preheat oven to 325F.

1- Heat 1 tbsp of ghee over medium heat
2- When ghee is hot, add in diced green onion and garlic. Cook until light golden brown, about 5-6 minutes.
3- Add 1 tsp of turmeric, 1/2 tsp of salt, and black pepper to taste. Toast turmeric for 1-2 mins.
5- Add in lamb tongue to the pan, and sear for 1-2 mins on each side.
6- Add 2 cups of water/stock to the pot, enough to immerse the lamb tongue but not cover completely.
7- Cover pan with a lid and braise lamb tongue in the oven for 2-3 hours until tender.
8 – Remove tongue, let cool to remove skin if needed, and serve with pan juices. Serve with rice and salad/vegetables.

I hope you were encouraged to try out lamb tongue. Let me know if you do!