Why I love Beef Tongue

THAT is a cow's tongue. Otherwise known as beef tongue. Yes, the picture is a little gross. But don't let looks deceive you.

I love eating beef tongue. You think I'm kidding?! I'm not! I love beef tongue. I'm not ashamed to admit it. Here's why: it's nutrient dense, it's tasty and it's inexpensive.

We don't have it often... I mean, there is only ONE tongue per cow. But when we do have it, it last 3-4 meals. Pretty economical. And since not many people are scrambling to get the tongue, it's usually less expensive. We usually order part of a cow and ask for the organ meats, bones for making soup stock, the fat for making tallow... parts that most people wouldn't normally ask for. But don't let these parts go to waste! But I digress...

I got the recipe from Cheeseslave's blog. It's really quite easy to make. I'll let you visit her website to get the exact details but basically this is what you do.

1. Boil the tongue in water (preferably filtered). The water should just cover the tongue. I didn't cover the tongue, so it took longer to cook. Duh. But if you actually follow the directions, it should take 2-3 hours simmering on low to medium heat. It's done when the tongue skin peels off easily.

2. Take the tongue out and let it sit on a cutting board for 10-15 minutes. You need to to cool off so you can peel off the tastebuds. Then I chopped the meat up.

3. I put the meat back into a frying pan and seasoned with taco seasoning, cumin, some beef tallow... whatever seasoning I had handy to make it taste good in a tortilla. Serve with cheese, sour cream, avocado, lettuce, salsa, whatever you like in your tortilla!

And that's it. Oh, here's a link to a homemade tortilla recipe.