Whatcha' got cookin?

Already feeling apprehensive that morning, I warned Matt of the evening's menu.  That long, skinny package of meat in the freezer needed to be dealt with sooner or later and today was the day!  When I agreed to have the organ meats included in the half side of beef, I expected liver and heart, but this?

I headed straight for an old cookbook on how one should approach the cooking of this innocent piece of meat.  Here is what I read:

Lucky indeed is the cook with the gift of tongues!  No matter from which source - beef, calf, lamb or pork - the smaller-sized tongues are usually preferable.  The most commonly used and best flavored, whether fresh, smoked or pickled, is beef tongue.  For prime texture, it should be under 3 pounds.

Glad somebody is excited about this.  I kept reading. . . 

Scrub the tongue well. . . 

Ok, that's it!  I have to . . . . . scrub it!!!!  My wise sister advised me that I need not actually touch it.  Yes, you're right!  Enter: rubber gloves.  I squeeled and eeewed my way through the rest of the prep and simmered it all day with spices and veggies.  I was relieved to note that the aroma was similar to chicken noodle soup.  Maybe?  I began to let my guard down.  Did they say something about serving it with a sauce?  By all means, a sauce!  Marilla wouldn't dream of serving it without the sauce!  

I chose a Horseradish White Sauce.  It. Was. Amazing.  I'm definitely adding that recipe to my standards. 

For the brave, there are pictures below.  If you're tummy is weak, just go back to YouTube.

Matt's response to this picture text:

 "Looks like a big slug, are you sure?"

  "Eeew, it's licking the pot!"   (insert slurpy sound) 

Much better.  I can't see it anymore. 

Once cooked, it stiffened like an old shoe and I might add . . . . looking all the more realistic. 

It was finally time to peel and "trim the tongue" as they said in the cookbook. 

So, here we are!  It smelled and tasted like beef from a pot roast.  Huh! Who knew?

Overall, it was not horrible.  It was, in fact, edible.  The meat itself is extremely tender, which might take some getting used to, if tongue was frequently on the menu, but have no fear!