Pickled Beef Tongue
When I was a kid, my parents always encouraged me to try many different types of food. I think the only food I didn’t like was onion and green peppers. When my mom made stuffed green peppers, she always made me a separate pot of the stuffing with the green pepper left out. I still do not like green pepper today. Dad was quite the outdoorsman. He loved fishing and hunting. One day he came home with a live baby squirrel. I don’t remember what happen that he had to save it by bringing it home, but he did. I think he let it go once it was old enough to take care of itself. I didn’t mind the squirrel in its cage, but I hated its sharp toenails when they put it on my back! Yes, we had squirrel for dinner many times too, just not that one. Dad even had a large bathtub size tank in our basement. I remember he tried keeping fish, like perch, alive in the tank. I don’t recall his success, but as a kid, I thought it was pretty cool. We went almost every weekend on a car ride. We went looking in Dads special locations and hunted wild mushrooms. I think my excitement stopped when my parents told my brother and me that they saw road apples on the side of the road. I was so excited and remember my parents laughing. As much as I hated that, I did the same thing to my kids. If you don’t know what road apples are, it has to do with horses. Because of my upbringing, I will try most any type of food. Bringing me back to this Pickled Tongue recipe. I tried Pickled Tongue years ago from my son’s Uncle Bill. It was so tender and delicious. I wish he was still alive so I could have his recipe. This recipe turned out pretty darn tasty too.
Before you get grossed out, the skin of the tongue gets peeled off after simmering for 3 hours, it is pickled after that. Keep in mind, the tongue is a muscle making it very tender and I love it. So don’t judge me, it’s my parents fault!
Pickled Beef Tongue
http://www.InDianesKitchen.com
Ingredients
- 1 beef tongue
- 4 cups water
- 2 Tbsp salt (added to water)
- 3 cups vinegar
- 1 cup sugar (more or less to taste)
- 2/3 cup dehydrated onions
- 1 tsp pickling spices
- 1 tsp mustard seeds
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 – 1/2 tsp dehydrated garlic
Directions
- In a large pan, boil tongue in salted water for 3 hours.
- Drain and let cool until you can handle it without getting burnt.
- Peel the skin from the tongue.
- Cut the tongue into bite size pieces. If you don’t want it tasting quite so pickled, leave the tongue whole or in larger pieces. I personally love the stronger pickled taste which is why I cut it into bite size pieces.
- Mix the remaining ingredients in a nonreactive pan like stainless steel. Bring it to a boil, add meat and boil for 10 minutes.
- Cool and store in the refrigerator.
Categories: Pickled
Thank you, this was a great guide! Just for reference- I thought a cup of sugar seemed a bit much (I like my pickled things with more of a vinegar bite, than sweet) , so I used half a cup, and it turned out great! I am making my second batch this evening.
Great I’m glad you were able to adapt it to your liking! Thank you for letting me know I appreciate it!