Beef Tongue, a hobart slicer, and sous vide chocolate covered oreos

Thatgrimguy · December 2015

I bought a 3.3lb beef tongue to take to a party Sunday night. (I also got 4 racks of beef ribs) I plan to simmer it with some spices and onion and garlic for a couple hours Saturday night. Peel back the skin and fat and then smoke it till slicing tender the next day? Sounds about right? (I may keep the simmer liquid and wrap the tongue after a couple hours with it)

Image: http://i967.photobucket.com/albums/ae157/thatgrimguy/Grilling_Smoking_and_BBQ/D00BA7D7-F7B1-4B80-8474-78BCAF7F13D9_zpspeqygnd6.jpg

In other news. I found a great deal on a hobart mixer that's way farking bigger than I expected.

I need to get it sharpened and cleaned up. It's running well and everything slides great. But I'm clueless on working on these types of things.

Image: http://i967.photobucket.com/albums/ae157/thatgrimguy/Grilling_Smoking_and_BBQ/B159186F-268B-4748-BC37-B2D540060805_zpsjhoahiwe.jpg

Image: http://i967.photobucket.com/albums/ae157/thatgrimguy/Grilling_Smoking_and_BBQ/5580D3A3-A507-490F-8D90-F59CC85D8005_zpsy3ogwjhf.jpg

And lastly I found an amazing new use for my SV. I put melting chocolate in a thin aluminum bowl and put it in my SV at 105. Be patient and the chocolate melts perfectly allowing me to dredge double stuff oreos through like a pro!! NOM NOM NOM (the uglier ones at the front were because I didn't wait for the chocolate to totally melt. Rookie mistake.

Image: http://i967.photobucket.com/albums/ae157/thatgrimguy/Grilling_Smoking_and_BBQ/C32E3D22-DE72-482A-8CC5-9AA41E18D57B_zpsmnbej76l.jpg

Thatgrimguy · December 2015

Oh yeah. I cooked a pork roast the other day too.

Image: http://i967.photobucket.com/albums/ae157/thatgrimguy/Grilling_Smoking_and_BBQ/0E045CF3-4182-4624-AC90-FA7E79456BDE_zps79c1g5nl.jpg

Hi54putty · December 2015

I have tongues from my last 2 cows in my freezer. I really want to cook them but don't know the best method. I know you need to cut off the "outer layer." I will definitely keep an eye on this. Good luck.

HendersonTRKing · December 2015

I love tongue -- usually have it in deli sandwiches (either just tongue, with mustard on rye OR in a mix with pastrami and chopped liver), but only at the right kind of deli (and, when paired with pastrami and chopped liver, only if SWMBO and my cardiologist won't find out).

The Prince has taken a shine to tongue as well, and he asked the other night if I could make it. I rarely get stumped, but told him I'd have to look into it -- or better, yet, that we should look into it together. That's as far as we got. Soooo, I'm very interested in hearing how yours goes and will be following this intently as we wait for the pix and results!

SGH · December 2015

@Thatgrimguy
Congrats on the Hobart, nice score. The pork looks excellent buddy. And those cookies, I would put the F'ing hurt on them. Standing by to see what you do with the tounge. Just a tip, if the glands haven't been removed from the tounge, remove them. Most folks find the taste of the glands very unsettling. I will eat them, but I'm use to it. Grew up eating them. Most can't stand them.

Thatgrimguy · December 2015

I wonder if I could loosen the skin using SV. Maybe 170 for 3 hours. I think I'm going to try that and hope it works.

The Cen-Tex Smoker · December 2015

nice! Those big Hobart slicers are beasts. I bought one and resold it because I just didn't have anywhere to put it. Got the stink eye for the wife which never happens with kitchen gadgets so i knew it was time to get rid of it. Found a nice 10" globe that fits my appliance closet and I don't have to put a weight belt on to lift it. If i had room for a 12" slicer I would definitely get one though.

Thatgrimguy · December 2015

The Cen-Tex Smoker said:

nice! Those big Hobart slicers are beasts. I bought one and resold it because I just didn't have anywhere to put it. Got the stink eye for the wife which never happens with kitchen gadgets so i knew it was time to get rid of it. Found a nice 10" globe that fits my appliance closet and I don't have to put a weight belt on to lift it. If i had room for a 12" slicer I would definitely get one though.

My wife is in no way impressed with this thing. She told me I could keep it in my shed... Maybe keep it covered and then wipe it down before use...

The Cen-Tex Smoker · December 2015

Thatgrimguy said:

The Cen-Tex Smoker said:

nice! Those big Hobart slicers are beasts. I bought one and resold it because I just didn't have anywhere to put it. Got the stink eye for the wife which never happens with kitchen gadgets so i knew it was time to get rid of it. Found a nice 10" globe that fits my appliance closet and I don't have to put a weight belt on to lift it. If i had room for a 12" slicer I would definitely get one though.

My wife is in no way impressed with this thing. She told me I could keep it in my shed... Maybe keep it covered and then wipe it down before use...

I knew I was not going to win that one. She loves gadgets more than me so when she was out, I knew I was out. It was gone in 24 hrs. Call me what you want but I know when to cut my losses. I really like the 10" i got. It works fine for what I ask of it. Wish it had a longer throw but I would just wish the 12" had a longer through too. You can never have enough.

texaswig · December 2015

This is how they do beef tongue around here.
Lengua tacos are my favorite. http://www.mexicoinmykitchen.com/2011/10/beef-tongue-barbacoa-tacos-recipe.html?m=1

HendersonTRKing · December 2015

I can't stop thinking about this. All day long I think about tongue. Must be bc it's Friday.

Image: http://www.tastyretreat.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Tongue-sandwich2.jpg

Found a recipe that looks promising and egg-adaptable. Now I need to go out and get me some tongue. After the New Year.

Pickled Beef Tongue

For the brine:

A full beef tongue, 2-3 lbs

1 gallon of water

1 lb kosher salt

1/4 cup sugar

1 oz pink salt (aka DQ curing salt #1)

2 garlic cloves

1 tb pickling spice

Place half the water in the freezer. Take all brine ingredients except meat and place in small stock pot with half the water, bring to a boil and lower to a simmer for 10 min. Turn off heat and allow to cool to room temperature. When the brine is cool, rinse tongue and set aside. Take a container that will hold the brine and tongue fill with brine and cold water from the freezer. Put the tongue in (best to do this in the sink in case of overflow) and seal container. If you cannot force all the air out of the container use a plate to weight the tongue down so it stays submerged. Stash in the back of your fridge for at least a week.

For the braise:

1 tb toasted and cracked pepper corns

2 bay leaves

24 oz of good lager (no light beer please, PBR is a nice choice)

1 dash pepper flakes

1 dash ground ginger

1 clove

1 tsp mustard seed

Rinse tongue and dispose of brine. Place tongue and all braise ingredients in a dutch oven or other heavy closed vessel and put in a 250F oven for 5-6 hours or until the meat falls apart with a little prodding. Once the meat is done allow it to cool and then peel the skin off. If the meat is cooked all the way through the skin will just come up with a gentle tug. Otherwise put in back in the braise and let it go longer. You cannot overcook this, its like a pot-roast.

At Katz’s they serve it cold, but I like it hot like a corned beef.

gdenby · December 2015

I've found a brief period, 10 - 15 min, in a pressure cooker is enough to get the skin to where it can be easily peeled or sliced away. Then brine equal volume pieces for a day or two.

The last few, I've done SV on the tip portion. There is a lot of connective tissue there, and it needs to melt some.

The middle and root portions go into the Egg for lo-slo and smoke after coming out of the brine. The tip onto the Egg for a bit of smoke after SV.

The slicer is grand, but tongue well done should be easily sliced very thin w. just a good knife. Texture is much like bologna, but a little stiffer.

Thatgrimguy · December 2015

Thanks guys. I'm definitely going to get a 2nd one and cure it. Sounds great.

I don't have a pressure cooker. And I've already told people I'm bringing it. So I have 2 days to prep it. Maybe I'll boil it tonight in a brine to get the skin off then let it sit till I smoke it sunday. Then just smoke it till it's probing like butter. (worse case scenario I'm still bringing 3 or 4 racks of beef ribs and a bacon explosion)

gdenby · December 2015

Given a good knife, you can slice the skin away uncooked w/o loosing much meat. Given a poor knife, major PITA.

Plain boiling works to loosen the skin, but it seems to remove more flavor than PC cooking. PC cooking gets hot enough to form some Maillard flavors.

caliking · December 2015

Oh man those oreos look good. Rack o' pork is my favorite holiday cut, since Costco only carries them around the holidays.

I did this a while back, and it was good. You could take your portable griddle alongwith and make tacos.
http://eggheadforum.com/discussion/1157047/lengua-de-res

I don't remember if I had the SV back them, but I'd like to try it. With the crockpot, I ended up with this awesome beefy broth that I used as a base in stews a couple of times.

smak · December 2015

Chocolate covered Oreos are a staple in our house. I would recommend a sprinkle of coarse kosher salt before the chocolate sets.

Definitely try chocolate on the "Oreo thins" mint flavor. good stuff

Also Milton has a chocolate melting pot that makes things easy.

blind99 · December 2015

last/only tongue I cut off the tip and sliced off the outer layer, then cut the muscle into filets and grilled them quickly on the egg. Came out chewy, but honestly the flavor rivaled a ribeye.

I think smoking low and slow or a braise will turn it nice and tender but it may shred rather than slice on that awesome new Hobart! can't wait to see what you do with the beef tongue.

@nphuskerfl 's awesome shiny refrigerated micron thing, a beef tongue, a new old Hobart.... this Friday is turning out great. wish I weren't working!

NPHuskerFL · December 2015

Hobart slicers & stand mixers are legit.

blind99 · December 2015

NPHuskerFL said:

Hobart slicers & stand mixers are legit.

no kidding. my old Italian relatives all seemed to have one in their basement or garage kitchen. and if you made a comment about how nice it was they eyed you suspiciously. pretty sure they were all buried with their slicers.

Thatgrimguy · December 2015

Ok, I think I got my game plan together for the beef tongue. I'm going to smoke it in a pan under the beef ribs. That way the beef ribs will drip into the pan and help baste it. I'm going to cut some slits in it so the smoke can get to it, but not checker it because I want to make darn good and sure I get all the skin off after it's done cooking. Sound good? @SGH @gdenby

SGH · December 2015

Thatgrimguy said:

Ok, I think I got my game plan together for the beef tongue. I'm going to smoke it in a pan under the beef ribs. That way the beef ribs will drip into the pan and help baste it. I'm going to cut some slits in it so the smoke can get to it, but not checker it because I want to make darn good and sure I get all the skin off after it's done cooking. Sound good? @SGH @gdenby

Brother Grim it sounds solid. The only thing that I would recommend is don't start with a dry pan. Add a little melted butter to the pan at the start of the cook. It will be quite some time before the renderings from the beef ribs have built up sufficiently. Tongue simmered in butter is simply outstanding. Plus you will have the rib renderings along with the butter in due time. Best of both worlds of you will.

DMW · December 2015

Those Oreos; I'm almost ready to drive over there now. Everything else, c'mon man, nice.

Thatgrimguy · December 2015

Thanks @DMW they will definitely be a staple around here. Going to have to make myself only make them on birthdays or something because they are too good.

gdenby · December 2015

You won't get near as much smoke w. just slits. Maybe make two long cuts on the top and bottom.

Another alternative would be to foil it for an hour, then peel and finish the cook.

I usually cut them into at least 2 or 3 sections. The tip, middle and root are somewhat different in composition, and the whole tongue doesn't cook evenly.

Good luck. Even the 1st one I did had some exceptional bits. The best has been as soft as bologna, but way way richer. I rarely eat more than an ounce at a time.

Thatgrimguy · December 2015

@gdenby do you brine yours? I have found a couple of your older threads. What's your process these days?

gdenby · December 2015

I tweak my method almost every time. Just this thread has me wanting to find a tongue and try a few things that came to mind.

Basically, get the skin off. It is tough and harsh enough I think you could sand wood with it. Then section the tongue so that the pieces can either cook thru and be finished at the same time, or pulled off the grill when each is done. Its beef, doesn't need much beyond S&P, but will carry any number of other flavors.

While the tongue isn't organ meat, the root portion can have some off flavors. Brining helps wash those out. The brining doesn't add much in the way of moisture. Tongues have so much collagen that turns to gel, and some fat near the root that they turn out very succulent. For some people, it is a strange texture. The gel on the outside can get crisp, but the rest of the tissue sort of pops. Itas a little like short ribs after a 72 hour SV, then a sear.

I've never tried to do them "turbo." I think the tips are mostly collagen, and I'm afraid they would just burn when the moisture from the muscle is driven out.

I've been happy with a few attempts where I marinaded the chunks. Basically, oil, vinegar, salt, pepper, some fresh garlic and onions. Adds a bit of flavor, and it seems to me to help the smoke to stick.

Currently, I've been working on sauces, which are not too different from marinades. That way, I can concentrate on smoking the tongue (or whatever), and add whatever flavor that goes with the other things I might put in a sandwich.

Thatgrimguy · December 2015

Well I ruined the tip. I tried to just skin the bad boy. Got the base well skinned and started to tackle the tip. Ended up butchering it so bad I don't think I could have saved it. So, I injected the base with my brisket injection and rubbed it and threw it on the smoker with no skin. I have 4 racks of beef ribs, a brisket point and that tongue. No matter what we are eating good tonight!

gdenby · December 2015

Yup, that is some massively tough skin, or whatever it is.

And, yes, you will be eating good tonight

Beef Tongue, a hobart slicer, and sous vide chocolate covered oreos

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Pickled Beef Tongue

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