Sharron's Tacos de Lengua Recipe (Mexican-style beef tongue tacos)

OK Folks, here it is! My take on Tacos De Lengua:


Sharron's Tacos de Lengua
Makes about 12 servings

First, Cover an approximately 3 pound beef tongue with good water (filtered or purified in some way.) Add about 2 teaspoons salt, 1 teaspoon whole peppercorns, 2 bay leaves and 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar. Bring it to a boil, then reduce it to a simmer. Skim off any "floaties" that come to the surface of the broth and discard them.

Note: You'll probably accidentally skim off the peppercorns or maybe even the bay leaves. Put them back into the pot.

Cover the pot and allow it to simmer for about 3 hours. After that time, put the tongue into a 9"x13"x2" pan (or something similar) covered with about 1/2" of the cooking broth. The broth is to keep the meat from drying out. Allow the tongue to cool until it is easy to handle -- about 20 to 30 minutes, turning it once during the cooling time. Most sources say don't let it cool all the way until it is "cold" -- then it will be difficult to skin.

Skinning the tongue: What I did was slit the white "sandpaper" covering with a utility knife lengthwise along the whole tongue, all the way around. Then I just slipped my fingers under it and pulled it right off. It was that easy. Some sources warn to make sure to get any bones, fat or gristle off the tongue, but mine didn't have any of those, thankfully.

Chop the tongue into 1/2" pieces, putting them back into the pan with the reserved broth, again to keep them from drying out while working with the rest of the meat.

Cooking the meat -- the last stage:

Put about 1 tablespoon of lard, 1/2 cup diced white sweet onion, 1 teaspoon minced garlic, 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano leaves into a large frying pan. Cook, stirring often, over medium-high heat until the onion pieces are translucent, about 8 to 10 minutes. Add the chopped meat along with some of the reserved broth. (I basically just dumped the contents of the one pan into the other.)

Add about:
1/2 to 1 teaspoon lemon pepper
1 teaspoon seasoning salt (Adobo)
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 to 2 teaspoons cumin, ground
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon chili powder (I had roasted chipotle)
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
1/2 lime, juiced

Cook the meat, broth and seasonings over medium high heat until the broth has thickened, about 15 minutes. Taste the meat and adjust seasonings if desired.

Serve the prepared meat on corn tortillas with sliced radishes, cucumbers and chopped sweet onion (and cilantro.) Optional additional garnishes: Sour cream, salsa, guacamole (or just avacado), cheese, etc.

In my humble opinion, these tacos were every bit as good as the little taqueria's. I hope you enjoy them!

Blessings,
Sharron

(c2008 Sharron Long -- Author of Extreme Lo-Carb Cuisine published by Adams Media, Corp., All rights reserved. May be copied freely for personal use only.)