Lengua Estofada con Cetas

Some weeks ago, I found whole ox tongues in the local Asian market. I was getting sick of all the chicken and burgers I've

been eating, so I thought 'Why not?' It was getting close to winter time, and I thought I wanted a mild tasting, beefy, warming stew. What better to stew than tongues? What a marvelous idea! Why not, indeed? Well, the bloody, yucky hairy tongues and the green fluid collecting in the packets they came in, is why not. But! Ox tongues are not easily found and this could very well be my last chance of cooking them, so I manned up and took those to the counter. (Figured since they needed a a lot of stove time, might as well hit two tongues with one stove)

I've never actually cooked tongue before, so the first challenge was cleaning and trimming the tongues. I thought I might need industrial cleaner seeing what they looked like ; but since I will have to eat the final product, I decided to go halfway and scrubbed the hell out of the tongues with water, plenty of salt and baking soda. Rinse well, people.

The second challenge was trying to determine which parts to trim and which parts to retain. Some bits were a no-brainer. I trimmed off the greenish parts and went on trimming the meaty parts that do not look like the rest of the (tongue) flesh. Most of these would be at the cut end of the tongue. The key was to achieve some form of uniformity.

At some points, you might, like me, feel some sort of self-doubt. Persevere. After you slip the tongues into the slowly simmering stock, you know your pain is almost over (and the dish will be worth it!).

Every once in a while, I'd poke the tongues with the dull end of a chopstick. After it went through the thickest parts with very little resistance, I knew they were done.

I used a knife to loosen the skin initially, but after I've gained a grip on the skin, it came off quite easily without the further aid of a knife.

If you have some time and crave a little sense of culinary adventure, do try this dish. You can serve it with a different sauce. Ox tongue is succulent and tender and simply yummy. Plus they freeze very well. I saved one of the cooked tongues with sauce and all in the freezer for two weeks before reheating it in a pot (refreshed with a little beef stock) and it turned out even better. Serve with rice or pasta or a green salad.

Lengua Estofada con Cetas

2 pcs Ox tongues
4 cloves Garlic
1 head Onion
2 stalks Leek
1 pc Carrot
1 pc Bay leaf
2 t Oregano
1.5 L Beef stock
1 c Red wine
2 t Soy sauce
0.5 c cream
125 g Butter
500 g Champignon mushrooms, sliced
Parsley, finely shredded
Salt and Pepper, to taste

1. Clean and trim ox tongues. Place in a large pot with enough water to cover them. Bring to a boil and lower heat. Simmer until tender, about 2 hours.

2. Once tender, remove the tongues from the water. They will look like the picture below.

Let rest until cool enough to handle. Peel off the skin. They will look like this after peeling.

3. While the tongues are cooling, roughly chop the vegetables and place in a large pot with the stock, wine, bay leaf, and oregano. Season with soy sauce, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Simmer for 30 min.

4, Place the peeled tongues into the simmering stock mixture and simmer for a further hour. Once the stock has reduced below the level of the tongues, turn over the tongues so that both sides receive equal contact with the stock.

5. While the tongue is cooking, heat the butter in a skillet and pan fry the mushrooms one layer at a time. Turn over each slice carefully until both sides of each slice of mushroom is nice and golden. Set aside.

6. Remove the tongues from the stock. When cool enough to handle, slice into 0.5 inch slices.

7. When the stock has reduced to half of its original volume, add the cream. Adjust seasoning. Stir to warm through, but be careful not to boil the mixture. Add the sliced tongue and mushrooms. Warm through. Serve topped with parsley.