Pickled Beef Tongue, 3rd time's the charm!

Chef JimmyJ said:

That Heart Recipe sounds Great! I don't know if it will fly with my family but the marinade and sauce would be good on Grill strips of Flank Steak or Skirt Steak as a Soft Taco...JJ

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Bearcarver said:

Gotta agree with JJ on that Heart recipe.

Gotta try that with my next Deer Heart!!!

Bear

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DiggingDogFarm said:

Looks great, Clarissa!!!!
I love pickled heart and tongue.



~Martin

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Thank you so much for the compliments, guys!!

The balsamic reduction is yummy....I can eat the leftovers with a spoon. It is best if you use a sweeter/less-acidic balsamic vinegar, although you could add a pinch of sugar and/or a bit more butter if the reduction initially comes out too tart for your taste.  If you have a Trader Joe's in your area, the TJ's house brand of balsamic vinegar works great in this.

Have a great weekend guys, and thanks again for looking!

Clarissa

I'm pleased that the beef heart recipe has garnered some interest. I've got a heart in the freezer, so will plan on making the recipe sometime in the next week so that I can show some pics. For clarity, I'll post it in it's own thread.

Thanks again for the interest!!

Also, beef tongue pastrami is finished. I'm giving the pastrami a day to mellow before I serve it, so I'll edit this thread with the pastrami pictures tomorrow.

Hope everyone has a great night!

Clarissa

I finished up Part 2 of this project by curing, cooking, peeling, and then finally cold smoking my second tongue.

It was cured for 7 days using the cure recipe I discussed in the original post. I did NOT inject or remove any of the tongue peel before curing it, as the Bruce Aidells' recipe hadn't specified to do that (the tongue did have a puncture in it from the butchering process). The recipe called for 6 days of cure, but at the last minute I decided to go for an extra day just for extra margin on cure penetration. In compensation, I then rinsed and soaked the tongue in cold water for 30 minutes. I then covered it in fresh water, brought the water to a boil, dropped to a simmer, and simmered for 3 1/2 hours. I pulled the tongue out after 3 1/2 hours, let it cool for 15 minutes, then peeled it and removed the obvious fat and glands from the base of the tongue.

Here is a picture of the tongue after it has been peeled and cleaned up a little.


While the tongue was still warm, I then gave it a black pepper and coriander rub. I was afraid the rub wouldn't stick to the cooked tongue, so I ground the pepper and coriander rather than leaving them cracked. I also went kind of light on the rub. As it turned out, the rub held on just fine. Next time I would go heavier on the rub.


After the rub was applied I put the tongue in the refrigerator for a couple of hours to dry off and cool down. After it felt dry to the touch, I covered it in saran wrap and let it stay in the refrigerator overnight. The next morning, I put the cold tongue in the smoker and cold-smoked for 6 hours using my AMNS filled with 1/3 hickory, 1/3 cherry, and 1/3 maple dust (homemade pitmaster blend). I cold smoked the tongue for 6 hours, and the smoker chamber temp started at around 64 deg and ended up around 78 deg.


After pulling the tongue out of the smoker, I covered it in saran wrap and let it rest in the refrigerator for a couple of hours. Then I sliced the tongue in half through the thickest part to check on how the cure penetration looked.  Looks good!  Evenly pink throughout!  The white areas in this picture are just the fat in the tongue.


And here we are all sliced up thinly. I sliced off the base of the tongue, but didn't use my special "de-nerving" method because the nerves changed to a pink color with the cure, and it was harder to see them. So I left them in. To be honest, they aren't noticeable at all when you eat the tongue.

The smoke taste was a little strong the day I smoked the tongue, so I just covered the sliced tongue in saran wrap and let it rest in the refrigerator for a day. I've just tried them this evening, and the smoke has mellowed out nicely. The tongue has a nice mild pastrami taste. It is very tasty, but might benefit from using additional pickling spice when you boil it.  The salt level is good, maybe even a touch on the low side. So next time, I won't bother to soak the tongue before boiling it. Also, 7 day cure worked fine.  I'd definitely go with a heavier coating of the black pepper/coriander rub, but do put on the rub immediately after peeling the tongue so that the rub will stick on. I also might just stick with straight apple or cherry next time I smoke.


I'm really pleased with how the tongue pastrami turned out, and I think this method of curing-cooking-peeling-coldsmoking worked well. I'd definitely do it again. 

Thanks for following this thread!

Clarissa

OK!  Here is the absolutely last picture I'll subject you all too.

This is a great way to finish the tongue pastrami. I brought 1/2 cup of dark beer and 1 Tbsp ground mustard to a simmer in a small saucepan, then added in slices of the tongue pastrami. I stirred it around a bit, then covered the pan and let the pastrami steam for about 3 minutes. This added in just the right amount of zip to the pastrami, and also got it back to that soft tongue texture that we all love. I served it with braised cabbage and dill pickles for dinner, but it would have been amazing in a sammy with toasted rye bread, sauerkraut, and melted swiss cheese.

Moikel said:

Love it,looks brilliant.Colour is perfect.Nice work tweaking the spice rub. Great post.I will do mine this way from now on.Love your work

Late breaking news Turkish restaurant near me doing "earthy claypot of roasted deboned sheeps head,tongue & brains..a guaranteed  hardcore foody magnet!". According to todays paper. They got me! Butchers daughter not so sure

.She has us on paleo diet figured its a fit.
 

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Hey Mick,

Thanks so much for the compliments!  DaveOmak moved your tongue posts over to the Nose to Tail forum....sorry I didn't see those earlier!  They looked great; beautiful pictures, as always.

You totally cannot pass up the opportunity to try the Turkish special. Post a pic if you can get one.

Show Butcher's Daughter this paleo post on offal if she needs a little extra encouragement....

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/tail...de-to-discovering-the-odd-bits/#axzz2RFPcorx7

Clarissa

Bearcarver said:

Awesome Job, Clarissa!!!---Over the top----Great Tutorial !!!

The only things I would change are very minor:

After drying for a couple hours in the fridge, instead of wrapping in plastic wrap & putting in fridge overnight, I'd leave it unwrapped this whole time, like I do my Bacon.

After smoking, I'd wrap it in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 24 to 48 hours, before slicing. Of course this would be after the initial sampling of fresh smoked tongue from the smoker.

Thanks for the Awesome Post!!!

Bear

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Thank you so much, Bear!!  Your advice sounds great; I'll make those changes next time I do this.

Thank you again and have a great day!

Clarissa

DaveOmak said:

Holey Krap Clarissa....  You have convinced me to pickle the tongue I have in the freezer....  That is so beautiful.....  Tongue Strami is at the top of the bucket now..... 

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Thank you very much, Dave!!  Hope you have a great day!

Clarissa

ifitsdeadsmokeit said:

Awesome...love the color...well done....I'm getting mine out of the freezer to be ready to start brining this weekend...

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Excellent!  Have fun!  And thanks so much for the compliments!

Clarissa