Anyone cure and smoke tongue?


 
I had some in Mexico that was braised (probably for days) and was absolutely incredible....I don't think I would do it any other way personally.
 
I love tongue.
Simmer the tongue for an hour in seasoned water, (bay leaf, onion, carrot, celery). Let it cool down so it is warm. Remove all the skin.
Prep the tongue exactly how you would another cut of meat and leave it in the fridge overnight.
Smoke at around 225-250 for about 4-5 hours. 155IT.
Deelishus.
 
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Mom pickled tongue. That was some good stuff Maynard! The brine was about the same as in Lasco pickled herring. I've also seen recipes similar to what TonyUK describes too, but I'm among the majority that likes it stewed or braised.
 
I need to talk to my butcher! I remember tongue sandwiches on whole wheat bread, Boetje’s mustard, a little mayo. That’s a long term memory, to say the least! These were just simmered, not smoked.
Oh yeah, tongue sandwiches the next day! Mom made ours with mayo and a little ketchup (and of course wrapped in wax paper.) Absolutely delicious.

I'm getting seriously hungry now...
 
It is so expensive lately, I saw it on sale for $10.99 here in the Central Valley of CA
The last steer we had butchered I asked the slaughterhouse to save the tongue; unfortunately they didn't. They're so used to tossing them because no one wants tongue any more.

Back in high school, when I worked in a meat department, it was a regular item in the case. Today it's a speciality cut, and apparently commands speciality prices!
 
We do a split on a Moo every year and get the tongue and any others the meat locker want's to get rid of.
 
The majority of independent butchers here all stock tongue. The vast majority of which sell it already cooked, rolled & sliced. Many supermarkets too.
Getting hold of a pre-cooked tongue is no problem, and the butchers will have it in a day or two upon request.
A lot of people turn their nose up at tongue because of what it looks like in its raw state and it puts them off. (If only they knew the garbage that gets put into other processed meats they buy they wouldn't touch them with a barge-pole).

Who wouldn't like a slice or two of this on crusty loaf with horseradish & mayo. Mmmmm!!
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Oxtails, shanks , soup bones, neck bones you used to be able to get for next to nothing..
Not anymore.
Too true! Oxtails, liver, kidneys etc were a regular in our house growing up. Usually when the household budget was low and pay-day was a few days away.
TV chefs have ruined that with all their fancy shmancy dishes, and has driven prices through the roof.
 
Tongue is a search around here, fifty miles north? Much easier, I don’t get that.
When I was a kid we had a lot of offal I remember my grandmother making braised kidneys and thinking that they looked like piano hammers, delicious piano hammers! Liver never lived up to the smell, I had more of the bacon. Tongue, I liked quite a bit usually the next day as a sandwich. Didn’t do many oxtails.
Growing up the last of 6 kids on a priest and school teachers pay, we had a lot of “big pot” dinners! It was fun though.
 

 

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