Lengua Ranchera - Beef Tongue in Spicy Tomato Sauce

I've been meaning to write about preparing beef tongue for a few months now.  Since the process of preparing it is not for the squeamish, Halloween seems like a perfect time for the post.

For those who haven't tried it, it may sound gross, but it's actually quite tasty.  I am not huge on offal, but tongue is on my good offal list.  When properly prepared it is tender and beefy, sort of like a really well cooked pot roast, only finer textured.  Which makes sense, since it's really just another muscle, glands and taste buds aside.

Whatever you want to make with your tongue, 9 times out of 10, the first step is to simmer it in water to tenderize it, and to make it easier to clean.  What I normally do, is take a good sized tongue, simmer it, clean it, divide it up in to several portions, then stash them in the freezer for quick meals.   Here's the basic process.

Rinse the tongue thoroughly under cold running water to remove any excess blood.  Place the tongue in a large stock pot with an onion quartered, a few cloves of peeled garlic, a couple of bay leaves, a tablespoon of kosher salt, a half dozen pepper corns, and enough water to cover the tongue by about an inch or so.  bring to a boil, then reduce to low, and simmer, adding water as necessary to keep the tongue covered, until the tongue is quite tender, but not falling apart.  This will take anywhere from 2 - 3 hours.

Once the tongue is tender remove it from the stock and set it on a cutting board to cool for about 10 minutes.

Now you need to peel the skin from the tongue.  This is really pretty simple to do, just grab a corner and start peeling.

Once peeled, you need to do a little trimming,  The underside of the tongue has a lot of fat, and what I'll call plumbing, that has to be removed.  Just start cutting it away.  Don't remove more meat than you have to, it's all tasty stuff.

The tongue is now ready to go.  Next what I do, is slice it into half inch thick slabs, and store it in vacuum bags in the freezer.

You may be thinking that's all well and good, but how do you use it.  Well you could just cut some up into bite sized pieces, and saute it up in a little oil, or better yet bacon fat, until hot and a little crispy around the edges, and make tacos.

My favorite way to use it is to simmer it in tomato sauce with a few peas the way my momma used to.  I have replaced the mild tomato sauce she used for a spicy jalapeno sauce, and like to refer to my version as Lengua Ranchera.

Quick Jalapeno Sauce

1 15 oz can diced tomatoes, fire roasted if possible
1 clove of minced garlic
1/4 cup pickled jalapeno slices
2 tablespoons jalapeno pickle juice
1/4 cup cilantro stems and all
1/2 tsp kosher salt
juice of 1 lime.

Put all the ingredients into a blender, and puree until blended but not completely smooth, just about 10 seconds or so.  A stick blender works great for this and is my personal weapon of choice.  Taste and adjust the seasoning adding a bit more lime juice or salt if needed.

Lengua Ranchera

1 tbsp bacon fat or vegetable oil
1 cup quick Jalapeno sauce
12 oz pre-cooked tongue cut into 2 inch pieces
1 cup frozen peas
water or chicken broth as needed

Heat the fat in a medium sauce pan over medium-high heat for about 30 seconds.  Pour in the jalapeno sauce.  Cook stirring almost constantly for about 1 minute.  Add the tongue, and if necessary a bit of water or chicken broth to barely cover the meat.  Reduce to a simmer, cover, and simmer for about 5 minutes.  Add the peas, stir, adding a little more water or broth if the mixture seems a little dry, cover again, and simmer until the peas are tender, about 5 minutes more.  Serve with hot tortillas and a bit of sliced avocado or guacamole.