Written by: Dr. Frannie Koe, MD
Has anyone ever eaten beef tongue?
Lately, I have been working on trying new foods, especially meat products. In the not too distant past, our family members and ancestors ate a lot more parts of the animals that we eat today. Their diets made the most of what they had, and as a result, were often healthier. Organ meats are still used all over the world, because not only does the broader use of the animal reduce food waste, these less commonplace cuts are highly nutritious. For example, my grandmother ate kidney pie. She also frequently fed me scrapple, also known as souse meat. I never knew what this was until I looked it up recently. I just knew I really liked it when she fixed it for me for breakfast.
Some of these more adventurous cuts of meat or other parts of the animal are much higher in healthy fats and other key nutrients than just plain steak or chicken breast. Because of this, one of my personal goals as I focus on my own nutrition will be to introduce fresh cuts, different animal products, and organ meats into my diet. I plan to try them first before blogging about them or recommending them to patients.
Today’s culinary adventure is beef tongue! I was delighted and surprised by how good it was after I prepared it in my pressure cooker yesterday. The tongue was exceptionally tender, and it also tasted delicious.
It was very easy to cook. I just put it in the cooker, added water to cover and cooked it about 1 1/2 hours. I may not have needed to cook it this long, but because it was my first time preparing it, I was unsure and wanted to cook it thoroughly. I did not even add any spices, and while I thought it was delicious plain, it would be easy to add herbs and spices, both for their flavor and benefits. There were about two cups of liquid left in the bottom of the pressure cooker with a layer of fat on top and that could have been skimmed and added to soups. We let the tongue cool, trimmed off any rough or gristly parts, and cut the meat into thick slices, simple!
When it was time to prepare dinner last night, I seared my leftover piece of tongue in a pan with some salt, pepper and garlic powder and ate it with some greens for an easy, quick supper. I knew I’d eaten tongue a few times as a child, but I didn’t really remember what it tasted like. I only recall how funny it looked in the pan! The other day, I asked my father how he prepared it, and although he couldn’t remember exactly, he was fairly certain he’d baked it in the oven. Preparing it in the pressure cooker made it much more tender and less tough than using the oven.
Although tongue may look a little grisly and intimidating, if you can get past its appearance before you cook it, I hope it will pleasantly surprise you when you eat it! If you have any tongue (or other organ meat recipes), please let us know!
