CookEat Recipe
Cold Cured Beef Tongue
Professionally cured beef tongue slowly simmered with onion, cloves and herbs, peeled while hot and chilled for thin slicing.
Method
Steps
Step 1
Gather the ingredients: 1 professionally cured raw beef tongue, about 1 kg, supplied with storage, desalting and cooking instructions; Cold water to cover; ½ onion; 2 cloves; A small tied herb bundle, such as 2 parsley stalks and 1 small bay leaf.
Step 2
Buy a professionally cured raw tongue intended for cooking, and follow its label for refrigerated storage, any desalting or soaking, and cooking. This recipe starts with the cured product. Do not cure a fresh tongue with pure saltpeter or guess a curing-salt dose. Any soaking required by the supplier takes place in the refrigerator and adds to the stated preparation time.
Step 3
Put the prepared tongue in a pot with fresh cold water to cover, the half onion studded with the two cloves, and the tied herbs. Do not add discarded curing brine unless the manufacturer specifically instructs you to do so. Bring slowly to a simmer, skim and cook gently for about 3–4 hours, keeping covered with water, until very tender and at least 72°C in its thickest part; also satisfy any higher temperature or longer time specified by the supplier.
Step 4
Remove the tongue and peel off the tough outer skin while it is still hot enough to peel easily, using clean utensils. Remove any hard tissue at the base. For the cold version, cut into several thick sections if needed to speed cooling, spread in a shallow container and refrigerate promptly, within 2 hours, with the lid loose until cold. Keep at 4°C or colder. Allow about 3–4 hours for chilling, or until cold throughout.
Step 5
Slice the cold tongue thinly and arrange on a serving dish. Keep refrigerated until serving and eat within 2–3 days of cooking, or the shorter supplier storage limit. For a hot version, slice and serve immediately after peeling, plain or alongside separately prepared potatoes or spinach.
Step 6
For optional clear meat jelly, allow about 13 hours extra, including chilling, and prepare it in advance. You need 500 g boneless veal shank, 150 g professionally cleaned veal foot, professionally cleaned food-grade feet from 2 or 3 chickens, 2 professionally cleaned chicken heads with their necks, 2 litres cold water and salt. Cut the feet into pieces and simmer all these ingredients gently for 7–8 hours, skimming, to reduce the liquid to about half. Strain into shallow containers and refrigerate promptly, within 2 hours, at 4°C or colder until set; remove the solid fat. If a chilled sample will not set, boil to reduce further and retest. Mix another 70 g very finely minced lean veal with 1 egg and about 30 ml water, add the cold jelly and whisk over heat until boiling, then simmer for 20 minutes. Heat 2 pinches sugar with a few drops of water in a small saucepan to dark amber, dissolve carefully with a little hot broth and add sparingly for a pale amber colour. Strain hot through a clean damp fine cloth without squeezing, divide into small moulds and refrigerate promptly until softly set. Briefly warm the outside of each mould with a hot damp cloth to unmould. Serve small pieces alongside the cold meat. Keep at 4°C or colder and eat within 2–3 days of the first preparation. Discard sour jelly or anything left out more than 2 hours; never try to rescue it by boiling. This uses natural gelatin and the source reduction alternative, not an unspecified gelatin-sheet dose.
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