Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume 2 (103 page)

NOTES ON FRESH TONGUE

Fresh beef tongue is perishable: it has a total refrigerated life of only about 8 days. Because it is already several days old when it reaches your market, you should plan to soak and salt it, or boil it, within a day of bringing it home. Because it is perishable, tongue is often smoked or pickled (corned) to preserve it longer, or it may be frozen. Although smoked and pickled tongue
may be cooked like fresh tongue, we prefer the taste of fresh tongue, and have so geared our recipes.

HOW TO PREPARE A BEEF TONGUE FOR COOKING—FRESH OR FROZEN

To freshen the tongue, first scrub it with a vegetable brush under warm running water, then let it soak for 2 to 3 hours in a sinkful of cold water. Drain and dry it. (If tongue has been frozen, let it thaw in the cold water, then scrub it, and soak it an hour more.)

Optional salting

To improve flavor and tenderness, as well as to preserve the tongue for several days before cooking, you may salt it. To do so, find an enameled bowl or casserole that will just hold the tongue comfortably, spread a ¼-inch layer of coarse (Kosher) salt in the bottom, and lay the soaked and dried tongue on top. Cover tongue with a ¼-inch layer of salt, and place waxed paper on top. Weight down with a plate and 5 pounds of canned food, for instance, or parts of a meat grinder. Refrigerate at least overnight, but 2 days will have more effect. When you are ready to cook the tongue, wash off the salt. (If you salt the tongue longer than 2 days, soak for 2 to 3 hours in cold water to remove excess salt.)

A NOTE ON COOKING METHODS

Tongue may be either boiled—meaning, of course, simmered slowly—or braised. When it is braised it receives a preliminary boiling until it is ⅔ cooked (2 hours for a 4-pound tongue); it is then peeled, and either braised whole or braised in slices. Whether the tongue is boiled until tender or boiled until ready to peel, the boiling method is the same and so is the peeling. We therefore give directions for each, and follow with recipes, sauces, and serving suggestions for both boiled and braised tongue.

BOILING THE TONGUE—A PRELIMINARY TO BRAISING OR A COMPLETE COOKING

When you are boiling the tongue until tender, you will need aromatic vegetables and herbs to flavor it. Even better would be your decision to make the simple meat stock in Volume I, page 107, or the
pot au feu
, and let the tongue simmer along in the same kettle, where it will pick up even finer flavor. Tongue that will finish its cooking in a braising stock needs only salted water for this preliminary boiling.

A fully trimmed fresh beef tongue weighing 3¼ to 4 lbs.

A kettle of cold water just large enough to hold tongue easily

If tongue was not macerated in salt: 1½ tsp salt per quart of water

If tongue is to be boiled until tender:

2 cups each of sliced carrots and onions

1 cup sliced celery

A large herb bouquet: 8 parsley sprigs, 1 tsp thyme, 2 imported bay leaves, 4 allspice berries, and 2 unpeeled cloves of garlic, all tied in washed cheesecloth

A cover for the kettle

Prepare the tongue for cooking as described in the preceding pages. Place in kettle, being sure that water covers tongue by 5 inches. (If tongue was not
salted, measure water in quarts, adding salt accordingly.) Bring to the simmer; skim off grayish scum for 5 minutes or more, until it ceases to rise. Add vegetables and herb bouquet if you are using them. Set cover askew over kettle, for slight air circulation, and maintain liquid at a slow simmer. If tongue is to be braised, simmer it for 2 hours only. If tongue is to be cooked completely, simmer 3 to 3½ hours or until meat is tender when pierced with a knife. Remove tongue from kettle and proceed immediately to the
peeling, next paragraph.

Peeling the tongue

Remove tongue from kettle and plunge it into a basin or sinkful of cold water. As soon as it is cool enough to handle (it should still be warm), slit the nubbly skin-covering all around the top circumference of the tongue. Using your fingers, and a knife if you need one, peel the top surface of the tongue; skin should come off quite easily. The skin on the underside will usually adhere to the meat; make lengthwise slits and remove strips of skin with a knife. Trim any fatty parts and loose bits off the thick underside of the tongue, and pull out any bones that may be buried in the butt end. The tongue is now ready either for braising, if it simmered only 2 hours, or for saucing and serving if it is fully cooked.

(*)
AHEAD-OF-TIME NOTE
: If you are not ready to serve a fully cooked tongue, return it to the kettle and remove kettle from heat; tongue will stay warm and retain its juiciness. For tongue that is to be braised, let it cool, then wrap airtight and refrigerate it; you may finish the cooking a day or two later.

LANGUE DE BOEUF, À L’AIGRE-DOUCE

[Boiled Beef Tongue with Sweet-and-Sour Sauce, Pearl Onions, and Raisins]

Because plain boiled tongue is so supremely easy to do, you owe something rather special in the way of a sauce both to the tongue and to those who
are about to eat it. Brown sweet-and-sour sauce with pearl onions and raisins is a delicious solution, and more than a dozen other possibilities are listed at the end of the recipe. Accompany the dish with buttered peas or asparagus tips, a purée of chestnuts or mashed potatoes, or French bread, and a red Bordeaux wine.

For 6 to 8 people

1)
Boiling the tongue—2 hours of soaking; 3 to 3⅓ hours of boiling

A fully trimmed fresh beef tongue weighing about 4 lbs.

Scrub, soak, and, if you wish, salt the tongue; simmer 3 to 3½ hours until tender, and peel it, as described in the preceding pages. While tongue is cooking, or at any other convenient time beforehand, prepare the following sauce and garniture.

(*)
AHEAD-OF-TIME NOTE
: If you are not ready to serve the tongue, keep it warm, reheating it if necessary, in its cooking liquid.

2)
Brown mustard sauce with pearl onions and raisins—for 2 cups mirepoix:
For ⅔ cup

3 Tb finely minced onions

3 Tb finely minced carrots

2 Tb finely minced celery

1 Tb finely minced boiled ham

2 Tb butter

A heavy-bottomed 2-quart saucepan with cover

3 cups (10 ounces; 40 to 50) small white pearl onions about ¾ inch in diameter

A pan of boiling water

Cook the diced vegetables and ham slowly in the butter for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring frequently, until tender and just starting to brown. While
mirepoix
is cooking, drop onions into boiling water, and boil 1 minute to loosen skins; drain, shave off 2 ends, slip off peel, and pierce a cross in the root end of each; set aside.