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Ox tongue, mainly known as beef tongue, is a piece of meat that is similar to pig’s trotters, lamb kidneys, and pig’s ear. They’re cuts of meat that we may be hesitant to taste, but once we do, we’ll realize what we’ve been missing out on.
It’s a staple of many Asian cuisines and may be found in a variety of recipes from throughout the world, including those from South Africa. And we believe it’s past time for us to embrace this delectable and simple-to-cook cut of beef.
Beef tongue is exported in great amounts by some countries, notably Canada and specifically Alberta. Ox tongue has significant fat content, accounting for up to 72 percent of its calories.
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What Does Ox Tongue Taste Like?
Because the beef tongue has a high-fat content, it has a strong flavor and a great texture. It’s also nutrient-dense, particularly in zinc and iron.
Health Benefits of Ox Tongue
There is a list of hygienic issues with organ meats, yet the benefits of ox tongue are highlighted below;
Ox tongue meat is high in calories, fatty acids, zinc, iron, choline, as well as zinc, iron, choline, and vitamin B12. This meat is thought to be especially useful to persons recovering from illness or pregnant ladies.
Folate is a nutrient found in organ meats that is thought to help with fertility and the prevention of fetal abnormalities such spina bifida and heart difficulties. Furthermore, vitamin B6 can aid with morning sickness during pregnancy.
How to prepare Ox Tongue
Boiling, pickling, roasting, braising in the sauce are all options for prepping this beef cut prepared from a cow’s tongue. It’s used in taco fillings in Mexico and open-faced sandwiches in the United States, and it’s present in many national cuisines.
Beef tongue is frequently seasoned with onion and other spices before being cooked in a pot. The skin is removed once it has cooked. Because the pickled tongue is already seasoned, it is frequently utilized. It can be used as a sauce for meatballs or any other food item.
Another method for cooking beef tongue is to scald it in boiling water and remove the skin before roasting it in the oven with the pan drippings used to make a gravy.
The following recipe is a step by step procedure on how to prep your ox tongue.
Ox Tongue
Ingredients
- 1 lamb's tongue, ox tongue, pig tongue or veal tongue
- 1 onion, peeled and quartered
- 1 carrot, washed and roughly chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, bashed
- 1 bunch of thyme
- 1 tsp black peppercorns
- Butter, for frying
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Scrub the tongue under cold water, then place in a large saucepan and cover with water. Bring to the boil, skimming off the scum that rises to the surface
- Once the water is boiling, add your onions, carrots, garlic, thyme and peppercorns.
- Continue to boil until tender. This takes about 3 hours for ox, pig and veal tongue, or 1–1.5 hours for lamb and smaller tongues.
- Once cooked, it will have turned white and the top of the tongue will start to blister.
- Remove the tongue from the liquor, and when cool enough to handle peel off and discard the rubbery skin.
- Make sure you do this whilst still warm as it’s near impossible to do cold. Remove the rough, bony end of the tongue and discard.
- At this stage, the tongue can be pressed with a little of the cooking liquor and some gelatine, left in the fridge overnight, then thinly sliced for sandwiches. Or, due to its rich, fatty texture, dice it up and fry in butter until crispy for a luxurious melt-in-the-mouth finish.
