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Embracing my Mexican heritage and sharing all the wonderful flavors, colors and foods I grew up with. Join me on this journey as I also learn new foods and cooking techniques. Dedicated to my parents Ramiro and Blanca.

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Home » Beef~Res » How To Prepare Beef Tongue

How To Prepare Beef Tongue

July 22, 20232 Comments

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I’ve come a long way since I had to prepare beef tongue for the first time! I used to get squeamish at the thought of handling any raw meat when I was a new cook. But, that was long ago. After moving far away from home many years ago, there was no more barbacoa, menudo and many of the dishes I grew up with. How was I going to enjoy them again? Wait until I flew home? That’s how it was for many years because you could not find the ingredients to prepare these dishes where I lived. But when they did become available, watch out!

beef tongue served with consome

Does the thought of eating beef tongue scare you?

Beef cheek, beef tongue and other parts of the cow’s head is what I knew and came to love growing up. I was told that if it didn’t come from the cow’s head, then it wasn’t real barbacoa. Others will debate that it’s not real barbacoa if it is not cooked in a traditional pit underground. Not many of us have an underground in our backyards, lol! This is where you either adapt or go without! Mom, most likely, had to adapt many of the recipes she grew up with when she moved to the states. This is where the California and Texas influence comes into play in my cooking today.

https://animoto.com/play/hf1rsZllgotzgWN4s28A9g

Not just one video, but two!

I am so happy I remembered to record the beef tongue leftovers! And of course you know I always have homemade salsa in my refrigerator. You never know when you are going to need it. A popular way to prepare leftover barbacoa is to prepare a guisado with salsa. Guisos are traditional and can be prepared with all kinds of ingredients, such as nopales(cactus), chicharron, all kinds of meats and vegetables.

https://animoto.com/play/nSIfEt512tqcIqkcYFDGyg

What is your go to salsa recipe?

My go to salsa recipes will always be a simple tomatillo chile de arbol and tomato chile de arbol. A red and green salsa in my refrigerator at all times for enjoying with all my favorite Mexican dishes or to pour into a quick guisado like this one. You know how much I enjoy preparing salsa!

beef tongue in tomatillo salsa

Are you utilizing all of the spices in your cupboard?

I am guilty of purchasing spices and then forgetting to use them! For this reason, I take a quick inventory about once a month to make sure I will not buy more of the same spices. Besides salt and pepper, what do you reach for when it comes to seasoning your dishes? In the past, I did use a lot of garlic powder, even garlic salt, but not anymore. I prefer to minced fresh garlic, even though it can be tedious at times. Mom never, and when I say never I mean never, used garlic the way I do. She added whole bulbs of garlic when cooking big cuts of meat for caldo or tamales, but that was it. Granulated garlic or garlic salt was used for certain guisos.

dried chiles for recipe

Garbanzo beans and beef tongue? What’s that all about?

One never stops learning when it comes to cooking. I am fascinated and I absorb information when it comes to cooking because I love it so much! Most of you are probably asking, what do garbanzo beans have to do with this? Many traditional barbacoa recipes, there is a consommé. The consommé is the water combined with juices from the meat that accumulate at the bottom. Garbanzo beans along with carrots, onion, garlic, dried chiles and spices are added. A bowl of hot consommé is served alongside of most barbacoa.

ingredients for beef tongue listed

I love photographing the ingredients like this!

spices listed

Nowadays if you browsed through my spices, you would find, thryme, marjoram, oregano, all spice, peppercorns, coriander, cumin seeds, bay leaves, anise seeds, canela, cloves, crushed red pepper flakes, a variety of salts and ground chile powders. Not to mention all the dried chiles.

adding spices to spice bag

I finally remembered to use those spice bags!

spice bag
removing stems and seeds from dried chiles

Keep dried chiles stored in airtight containers or storage bags to maintain freshness. depending on the brand, the heat levels vary. If they look dirty, make sure to rinse them first.

beef tongue in vacuum sealed package

So far, this brand that sells beef tongue has been my favorite!

This is not a sponsored post! I have worked with Rumba Meats in the past and thanks to them I was able find beef cheek and tongue where I lived in New York. Their prices are less expensive then most and it’s excellent quality!

rinsing beef tongue in colander

If the pressure cooker is not your idea of fun, you have other options!

Mom prepared beef tongue in the slow cooker overnight. That’s as easy as it gets! You could easily prepare this same recipe in a large slow cooker for 8-9 hours on low heat setting.

beef tongue in pressure cooker

Thanks to my tia Minerva , from Monterrey, that I got over my fear of using a traditional pressure cooker!

pouring water into pressure cooker

If you want to skip the whole consommé thing, that ok too! Simple chop the beef tongue after removing the skin and serve it up for tacos with cilantro, onion and salsa.

beef tongue with aromatics in pressure cooker

Invest in a good quality pressure cooker. It should be heavy. I purchased two sizes. The smaller one mostly for cooking beans of all kinds. And the larger one for meats and soups.

beef tongue cooking in pressure cooker

Let’s Get To The Recipe Below!

If you are the only one who eats beef tongue in your family store leftovers in airtight freezer bags. There are many vacuum seal options out there these days. Freeze in smaller portions for when that craving strikes!

fresh cilantro
beef tongue sliced

If you have never enjoyed this type of beef, go for it! Try it! It is the most tender and delicious beef, along with the beef cheek meat. My two favorite traditional tacos.

beef tongue plated with consome

What do I do with all that consommé?

I get that question a lot. The next day you could add vegetables like potatoes, carrots, zucchini, corn, green beans, chayotes, cabbage and more! That would be the ultimate caldo de res if you think about it.

beef tongue plated with consome

All my thoughts lead me back to her and to him when I prepare recipes like this.

To mom and dad, thank you for being the best parents and for loving us. Thank you for introducing us to all these wonderful traditional foods. Thank you for knowing how important it was to teach us the culture, for speaking to us in Spanish so we learned. For all those cross country trips to Monterrey twice a year when we were growing up. Those were magical times and I am thankful for every moment. You continue to inspire me even though you are not physically here with me today.

beef tongue in salsa plated

How To Prepare Beef Tongue

I have come a long way since the first time I had to prepare beef tongue on my own! Lol! My favorite way to prepare it is in my pressure cooker.
5 from 2 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Brunch, Main Course
Cuisine: Mexican
Prep Time: 25 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes
Resting time for pressure cooker: 30 minutes minutes
Total Time: 2 hours hours 25 minutes minutes
Servings: 6 Servings

Ingredients

  • 1 med onion sliced in half
  • 6 large cloves of garlic
  • 4-5 bay leaves
  • 6 dried Chile de Arbol
  • 2 dried guajillo peppers
  • 1-2 dried pasilla peppers
  • 3/4 c dried garbanzos
  • 1/2 tsp Pepper
  • 1/2 tsp Oregano
  • 1/2 tsp Cumin seeds
  • 1/2 tsp Marjoram
  • 1/2 tsp Thyme
  • 1 inch cinnamon stick
  • Salt to taste
  • 3 1/2 lbs beef tongue excess fat trimmed
  • 10 c water

Instructions

  • Add spices, minus salt to spice bag. Add spice bag, garbanzos, onion, garlic, bay leaves, dried chiles and beef tongue to the pressure cooker. Pour in the water and salt, to taste. Lock pressure cooker lid in place. Heat on high.
  • Once it comes up to pressure rapidly, reduce heat to below medium. Set timer for 90 minutes. Once timer goes off let it sit until safety valve releases.
  • Place tongue on cutting board and remove the skin and any excess fat. Slice or chop. Cover to keep warm.
  • Using tongs, transfer Chiles from the pot to the blender. Remove stems from Chile de Arbol. At this time, you can also add some of the onions and garlic that cooked in the pressure cooker. Pour in just enough water to blend chiles into a smooth purée. Remove bay leaves and spice bag from consome. Pour Chile sauce in to consome. Stir to combine. Taste for salt.
  • Add some beef tongue to a shallow bowl. Ladle over some of the consome with garbanzo. Garnish with onion, cilantro, lime and spicy salsa! Serve with warm corn tortillas.

Notes

I typically will store the leftover beef tongue separate from the consome. The next day or two if I still have beef tongue I enjoy preparing it in a spicy salsa verde as in the video. 
Tried this recipe?Mention @pinaenlacocina or tag #pinaenlacocina!

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Filed Under: Beef~Res, Brunch/Breakfast, Desayuno~Breakfast, Traditional Mexican Recipes Tagged With: Barbacoa, Beef Tongue, Lengua de Res, Pressure Cooker

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Bebe

    July 28, 2023 at 2:23 pm

    can i use an instant pot? off topic but how do i use the hojas de aquacate that i bought? 🤔😂

    Reply
    • Sonia

      July 28, 2023 at 2:25 pm

      Yes, of course you can use an instant pot. I personally don’t own one, but I would cook it for the same time. The hojas de aguacate can be used in this recipes or any barbacoa recipes cooked low and slow

      Reply

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Welcome!

Hi, my name is Sonia Mendez Garcia. My parents Ramiro and Blanca Mendez moved to the United States from Monterrey, Mexico in 1963. I am first generation Mexican American born in Los Angeles, California. Cooking has always been one of my passions in life. This is my journey and I can't wait to see what the future holds. Read More…

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