Anyone have advice for beef tongue?

[_John_]

I haven't had it in years (like 25) and figured I'd give smoking one a shot, but there isn't a whole lot of info out there about smoking them. If you have, what external and internal temps?

[johnsteen]

like any tough meat...low and slow. read it is suppose to be wonderful

[Jerod Broussard]

I would skin it first. My dad always did pot roast so they get a good gravy, and of course tenderness. I hated that stuff.

[_John_]

Did you hate it because of the flavor or just knowing what it was?

[Jerod Broussard]

Flavor. There is a lot I don't care for. Liver in a gravy is another. I distinctly remember that day (liver). I was in the 6th grade. That was ALL there was, and I was looking at about 10 hours on a tractor till my next meal. One hungry white boy when I got off that tractor.

[_John_]

I couldn't find any methods other than boiling, though a lot of people are asking for more. I have heard rare mention of being able to pull it like pulled beef so I think I am going to try 2 methods to start, trim and smoke to med rare and sear, and cook to tenderness. If those fail I will try the boil method.
It's not like I have to do this, or that many people will eat it once they no what it is, but it is supposedly really good and at least a challenge.

And I figure between the foreign folks we have, Ernest and Henrik somebody has cooked with it quite a bit.

[Strat50]

Tongue is very lean, so for bbq, I would inject with a mixture of beef stock(from bullion as this is your salt source) and butter or bacon fat. Spice the way you like, then use your brisket method with an early crutch. Bacon wrapping will help too. My maternal grandmother used to just roast hers with bacon wrapping for hours at low temps. This was when she wasn't braising it for sandwiches. Oh, I almost forgot, peel them first if you like, as the smoke flavor won't penetrate the tongue surface much unless you peel it. A very underrated piece of beef. I use the above method for moose which is also a lean piece of meat, so this should get you started.

[_John_]

Thanks, seems a lot of Japanese will blanch it to get the skin off, but this first time I think I will just cut it. So much bad info out there, half say it is lean, half say it is fatty, common sense says it is lean, just weird that there is so much misinformation. I think I will inject as you mention.

[(mr.brisket)]

I love Beef tongue, we have a market that sells them regularly, my wife and kids don't even want to be around when I cook it so it is my thing to do when they are going out for the day. As some of the others have stated you need to peel the tongue, the easiest way I have found is to place it in a pot of cold water and gradually bring it to a simmer, I do this for about two hours them you let it rest on a cutting board to cool a little before peeling it. Once you have this part done you can either put a rub on it and smoke it low and slow or you can braise it, which is my favorite way. I place my cast iron pan on the stove and add some oil to cover the bottom of the pan and heat it to medium. I put chopped onions, garlic, whole peppercorns and fresh thyme and cook these until the onions just start to get some color then I add my tongue and just enough beef stock to cover the tongue 3/4 up, I also like to add a little red wine. cover the pan with foil and braise for about 3-4 hours at low heat and the end result is just great. I have never done it but you could braise it in your smoker as well. It goes great with risotto or roasted potatoes. Enjoy.

[JayZ]

(mr.brisket), thanks for wonderful, detailedpost & instructions. Will smoke my beef tongue and post results.

[(mr.brisket)]

Speaking of tongue does anyone out there like Penrose pickled lamb tongues? I think they are great snacks when you are tossing down a few cold ones and to me they taste like corned beef with just a bit more of a mineral finish.

[JayZ]

This is my 2nd post (1st was in "Introduce Yourself"), so I hope I'm not interrupting or re-opening a closed topic.

From my childhood, I have memories of my mother salting and boiling beef tongue for holidays. Wonderfully tender. My wife would like to try smoked tongue and I'm looking for recipes and advice. On the Pit, this is the only post I found about the topic.

I Googled "smoking beef tongue recipes", and came up with the following:

the best one, IMHO, other than the Pit, is:
https://www.kamadoguru.com/topic/140...d-beef-tongue/
Great photos, before & after, and detailed instructions. Approach very similar to the Pit.

and one very similar to the Pit approach:
http://davescupboard.blogspot.com/20...orned-and.html

The others are:

from Bradley Smoker:
https://www.north-america.bradleysmo...d-beef-tongue/

from Epicurious, one of my favorite cuisine sites, but this is not a smoked recipe, it's boiled, so no go:
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/me...ongue-50022489

from the New York Times, but like epicurious, this never hits a smoker, it's boiled:
https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/...seradish-sauce

from other forums:
http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogs...ed-tongue.html
http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/1...ed-beef-tongue

does anyone have experience with any of these other recipes? Any comments? Any advice?

Thanks in advance for any help or comments ...

JayZ

[JayZ]

BTW, if you're looking for an interesting non-smoked tongue recipe, this is an interesting one. It follows my mom's procedure pretty closely:

http://kitchen-tested.com/2011/05/25/savtas-famous-beef-tongue/

[Oakgrovebacon]

It makes the family dogs very happy!

[Ernest]

I sous vide beef tongue, 145 degrees for 48 hours, peel and slice into steaks.. Some good eats.

[Dr ROK]

I was wondering about sous vide. Thanks for the info Ernest!

[JCBBQ]

My advice is to give it another 25 years.

[FireMan]

Awe c'mon JCBBQ. Don't ya think that's a little harsh. Mebbe 10 will do.

[Willy]

Mexicans use tongue in tacos. They are flavored nicely and typically cut in small cubes. I have no recipes, but maybe Google "tacos de lengua". I suspect they are usually braised.

[bardsleyque]

and they are usually good!

[Thunder77]

Yes. Don't eat it.

[swong13]

My mom used to make beef tongue when I was a kid. Loved it. My wife won't eat it so I haven't had tongue at home for many years. Do get lengua tacos at the taqueria. I have also had it at Korean BBQs. Might have to try smoking one just for myself.

Reminds me of a joke...A guy is sitting in a diner and can't decided what to have for lunch. The waitress suggested a tongue sandwich. The guy replied, "That's disgusting! I could never eat something that came out of some animals mouth!". So the waitress replied, "OK. How about an egg sandwich?".