While this tongue was simmering, I remembered making pickled tongue with my father. We would simmer the tongue first. Then I took the job of peeling the skin off. Finally we would slice it and chill it in a brine of pickling spices.
Inspired by this recipe, I went in the opposite direction of my youth. I brined the tongue then simmered it to gelid, tender deliciousness. The whole house smells like a deli!
So here’s what I did:
Simpled Pickled Tongue
Brine:
2 cups water
- 2 oz by weight kosher salt
- 2 Tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
- 2 whole cloves of garlic
- 1 bay leaf
1 beef tongue betwen 3 – 4 lb
- Bring the water to a boil and dissolve the salt and sugar. Turn off the heat and add the remaining brine ingredients.
- Rinse off the tongue and stuff it into a 1 gallon zip bag. There will be just enough room to pour in the brine.
- Store the brined and bagged tongue in the fridge for a week, turning it every day.
- Remove the tongue from the bag and rinse off the brine. Put it in a charismatic pot, cover it with fresh water. Bring to a simmer and skim. Season the broth with reserved brine to taste, a tablespoon or two. If you’re really frugal, toss in the bits too, like the bay leaves and peppercorns and garlic. Discard remaining brine.
- Simmer, simmer, simmer the tongue, turning it every so often to cook evenly. This could be three hours.
- When it’s tender, remove the tongue and peel off the skin. The skin is amazingly leathery, which makes it easy to remove while it’s still hot.
Slice and eat with mustard or horseradish. Then both.
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