La Lengua Recipes

EASY CREAMY LENGUA RECIPE (PORK TONGUE)

Steps:

• Place the pork tongue in a pressure cooker. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of salt and and fill with enough water just to cover the meat. Cook in pressure cooker for 25-30 minutes.
• Remove tongue from liquid and transfer to a work surface and cool slightly. Reserve a cup of the broth. Peel outer layer of skin from pork tongue. Cut the meat in thin slices about a quarter inch thick.
• Melt butter on a large skillet over medium heat. Saute garlic and onion until aromatic and tender.
• Add the pork tongue slices and season with soy sauce. Let it cook for 2-3 minutes turning the meat slices once or twice.
• Pour in evaporated milk and broth and add the corn kernels. Season with salt and pepper. Let it simmer for 5-7 minutes or until liquids starts to get thick.
• Add all-purpose cream and simmer for another minute. Add salt if needed.
• Transfer to a serving plate and serve with steamed rice or mashed potatoes.

SLOW COOKER LENGUA (BEEF TONGUE)

Steps:

• Place beef tongue, onion, garlic, and bay leaf in the crock of a slow cooker; generously season with salt. Pour in enough water to cover beef mixture.
• Cook on Low for 8 hours.
• Transfer beef tongue to a work surface and cool slightly. Peel outer layer of skin from beef tongue and remove rough end. Chop the meat into bite-size pieces.
• Heat butter in a skillet over medium heat; cook and stir beef tongue meat until tender, 5 to 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

LINGUE DI GATTO: CAT GOT YOUR TONGUE COOKIE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to about 350 degrees F.
• In a mixing bowl, add the butter, vanilla powder, and icing sugar. Whip the mixture to a creamy and fluffy consistency. Slowly add the egg whites and the whole egg to the mixture and continue mixing until fully combined. Then slowly add the flour and mix well until fluffy and uniform in texture.
• Place the mixture into a piping bag and squeeze out approximately 2 1/2-inch/6 cm long strips (about 2 1/2-inch/6 cm apart) onto a greased baking sheet. Strips will flatten and expand in the oven into the shape of a 'cat's tongue'. Bake for approximately 6 minutes, or until golden.

LENGUA (BEEF TONGUE)

Steps:

• Place the tongue, half of the chopped onion, garlic cloves, 3 tablespoons salt, and 1 jalapeno pepper into a large pot. Fill with water to cover the tongue by several inches, then bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover and simmer until very tender, 3 to 4 hours. Remove the tongue from the water and allow to cool. Reserve the liquid. Once the tongue has cooled, peel off the tough outer skin, then shred the meat using two forks.
• Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil over high heat. Add the whole tomatoes and 2 jalapeno peppers; boil until the vegetables are tender. Place the vegetables into a blender, and puree until smooth. Heat the vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Stir in the onion, and cook until the onion has softened and turned translucent, about 5 minutes.
• Once the onion has softened, stir in the shredded beef tongue and tomato salsa. Bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally, then pour in 2 cups of the reserved cooking liquid. Cook and stir until the liquid has evaporated, leaving moist, flavorful meat, about 20 minutes.

LA LENGUA

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325°F. In a large, heavy, ovenproof braising pan, heat the oil on medium heat. Sauté the onions, carrots, and celery until the onions are just translucent, about 7 minutes. Add all the remaining ingredients except tortillas and garnish, cover tightly with aluminum foil, and place in the oven. Braise the tongue until the meat is very tender and forms cracks in the surface, about 3 hours.
• Remove the tongue from the pan, discarding the other ingredients, and allow to cool. Using a paring knife, carefully peel off the skin (which should remove easily); try to leave the tongue intact. Cut the meat into 1/2-inch-thick slices and cut again into 1/3-inch-thick matchsticks (fine julienne) and place in a bowl. Serve right away or keep warm until ready to serve.
• To serve, lay the tortillas side by side, open face and overlapping on a platter. Divide the filling equally between the tortillas and top with garnish and salsa. Grab, fold, and eat right away. Or build your own taco: lay a tortilla, open face, in one hand. Spoon on some filling, top with garnish and salsa, fold, and eat right away.

LENGUA TACOS

Steps:

• Fill a large (12-quart if you have one) stock pot two-thirds full with water. Add the tongue, onions, crushed garlic cloves, bay leaves, peppercorns, and salt. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, cover, and cook for 3 hours, until the tongue is soft to the touch and tender.
• Remove tongue from water and let cool for a couple of minutes. Notice the light colored skin-like covering over most of the tongue. Using your fingers, and/or a sharp small knife, remove this covering and discard. Notice the rough patch of meat where the tongue would attach to the bottom of the mouth. Arturo removes this patch (as does his mother when she prepares tongue) because it is a little rough. It's perfectly edible though, so keep it attached if you want.
• Slice the tongue in 1/4-inch slices. (If you are not preparing the whole tongue for tacos, you can return whatever tongue you do not slice to the cooking water to soak.) Heat a little oil in a frying pan on medium high and sauté the slices on both sides until they are lightly browned. Remove from pan and slice first into strips, then crosswise again so that you end up with small cubes.
• Soften tortillas either by cooking on the stove-top until pockets of air appear in them, or in the microwave (about 10 seconds per tortilla). Place a large spoonful of meat in the center of a tortilla. Add a spoonful of salsa verde and some chopped avocado, chopped fresh cilantro.