Ox Tongues Recipes

BRAISED TONGUE

Steps:

• Pour the neutral oil into a large, heavy-bottomed Dutch oven set over medium heat. Sweat onion 5 minutes, stirring constantly so no color develops.
• Add the celery and carrot and 3 tablespoons of water. Cover with a tightfitting lid, and let the vegetables steam for a few minutes, being careful not to scorch. Add more water if necessary.
• Arrange the tongue in the pot, and add the parsley stems, bay leaves, peppercorns, red-wine vinegar and salt. Pour in enough water to just barely cover the tongue. Cover with a lid, and bring to a boil.
• Once the tongue braise has come to a boil, remove the lid, and reduce to a simmer. Cut a round of parchment the diameter of the pot and set it directly on top of the braising liquid. Simmer the tongue 4 hours, adding more water if needed to keep the tongue just covered. The tongue tends to suck up a lot of water quite quickly.
• Remove the tongue from the braising liquid. Strain the braising liquid (discard the solids), and return liquid to the pot. Peel the thick outer skin off the tongue while it is still warm. Trim off any fat or gristle, then return the tongue to the braising liquid and let cool completely.
• To serve, cut the tongue crosswise into thin slices, and arrange on a platter in a single layer. Drizzle with a few drops of the braising liquid. Spoon the gribiche over the tongue, and top with some fresh-picked parsley leaves and a generous glug of olive oil.

MELT-IN-YOUR-MOUTH BEEF TONGUE

Steps:

• Rinse the tongue and place it in a large stockpot. Add enough water to cover - I use 14 cups of water.
• Bring to a boil. This will likely take 20-30 minutes. Skim the foam off from the top.
• Lower the heat to a simmer. Add the bay leaves, peppercorns and allspice, and cook, partially covered, turning the tongue every hour to ensure even cooking on all sides. Cook 3 hours for a 2-lb. tongue, 4 hours for a 3-lb. tongue.
• Remove the cooked tongue to a cutting board. Allow it to cool until easier to handle, then remove the skin, as shown in the video, slice and serve, with or without sauce.
• To make the sauce, heat a large, deep skillet over medium heat. Add the butter and swirl to coat. Add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until caramelized, 10 minutes.
• Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring, until soft.
• Add broth, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil over high heat. Add the sliced tongue, cover it with the sauce, lower heat to a simmer, and cook, uncovered, for about 30 minutes.
• If you wish to thicken the sauce, 5 minutes before it's done, mix 1 teaspoon cornstarch with 2 teaspoons of cold water and stir the mixture into the sauce.
• Arrange tongue slices on plates and top them with the dsauce. Serve immediately.

HOW TO COOK THE OX TONGUE WITH MUSHROOMS

Steps:

• Clean the tongue by blanching about 5 minutes. Remove coarse outer layer.
• Fry the tongue to seal the meat.
• In a large pan, cook the tongue with the peppercorns, bay leaf, salt, vinegar, gin and onion.
• Bring to a boil then simmer covered. As the liquid reduces, add water until the tongue is cooked.
• Remove the tongue and strain the remaining stock back into the pan. Reserve the stock.
• Slice the tongue diagonally into 1/4-inch portions and set aside.
• Make a blond roux lay lightly toasting flour in a saucepan until flour is creamy in color.
• Add butter and cook into a fine paste. Add stock, wine and mushrooms. Simmer until thick.
• Add cream, if desired. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add sliced tongue and garnish with olives.

OX TONGUES

Steps:

• Place dough on a lightly floured work surface; lightly flour dough. Using a rolling pin, press the dough firmly in parallel strokes close to one another. Continue pressing with rolling pin, adding a pinch of flour to dough between strokes, until dough becomes more malleable.
• Continue rolling dough back and forth without rolling over the ends (which may make ends thinner and stick to surface). Turn dough 90 degrees, and continue rolling in the other direction; roll dough, changing directions as necessary, into an 8-by-12-inch rectangle. If dough gets soft, slide it onto a baking sheet and refrigerate for 15 minutes.
• Using a 2-inch round cutter, cut dough into 24 disks. Wrap and refrigerate the scraps and use them for another pastry.
• Sprinkle work surface with half of the sugar. Place one circle of dough on work surface and sprinkle with some of the remaining sugar. Using a rolling pin, roll over disk to create a 3-to-3 1/2-inch oval. Transfer to a parchment-paper-lined baking sheet. Repeat process with remaining dough circles and sugar.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees with a rack set in the center of the oven.
• Pierce chilled dough ovals all over with a fork and sprinkle with additional sugar. Bake, one pan at a time, until sugar is caramelized to a deep golden color, 10 to 15 minutes, keeping in mind that some of the ox tongues may cook faster than others. Using a wide spatula, carefully transfer ox tongues to a wire rack, as necessary.
• Let ox tongues cool on a wire rack. Ox tongues are best eaten the day they are made, but can be stored in an airtight container, between sheets of wax paper.

BOILED TONGUE

Steps:

• Place the tongue in a soup pot with the salt, and add enough water to cover. Bring to a boil, and cook until the outer skin begins to peel off, about 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Peel off the thick outer skin, and serve.