[Sca-cooks] Tongue, was Organ meats

[lilinah at earthlink.net]

Ana wrote:
>I ate tongue in Montevideo as well, Fabulous, cooked, cold and 
>soaked in milk, oil, vinegar and garlic.

Angharad replied:
>Tongue was very common in the UK when I was a child. We used to eat it cold
>and sliced like ham. In fact you bought it from the deli counter the same
>way. I have the impression it was supposed to be ox tongue, but it occurs to
>me that oxen were probably not so common in the 70's so it was probably
>beef.

And Randell added:
>We had tongue when I was a child as well.
SNIP

Beef tongue was pretty common in the Jewish delis my family 
frequented when i was little (Ruby's in Highland Park; Ruby was no 
woman, his family name was Rubenstein). I think only my dad ordered 
it, but i ate some, and liked it!

I served a very tasty German tongue recipe (1 tongue for about 80 
diners) at the third feast i ever cooked, my German based feast. 
Cooking and prepping the tongue took hours (i did it at home before 
the feast).

Tongue
Marx Rumpolt, Ein New Kochbuch

19. Put the tongue into a water/ and let it simmer till done/ clean 
it out/ and pull the skin off/ peel apple and onion thereto/ and chop 
them small. Take clarified butter in a kettle/ and make it warm/ and 
put the apple and onion therein/ sweat them rather/ and take a little 
flour/ crushed pepper/ rubbed saffron/ small and large raisins 
thereto. Take beef broth and vinegar/ so it becomes nice and tart/ 
Cut the Tongue apart/ lay it on a rack/ and brown it on both sides/ 
Put that into the mixture/ and let it simmer therewith/ so it becomes 
good and Well tasting.

Preparing Tongues
(did at home)

one 8-lb cow tongue
water to cover

1. Rinse tongue and cut off any obvious bits of fat and gristle.
2. Put it in pot with water to cover and simmer 3-4 hours, or until a 
sharp knife can be inserted easily.
3. Pull off the tough skin while tongue is still very hot. It will 
peel off fairly easily while hot, but not at all once it cools. When 
the tongue gets too cool, put it back into simmering broth for a 
while to warm it up. This peeling and re-warming step took a long 
time and my poor little fingertips were rather sore :)
4. Let peeled tongue cool.

Making the Dish
(did on site)

20 apples, peeled and diced
10 onions, peeled and diced
2 sticks butter, clarified
white wheat flour as needed - begin with 1/2 cup.
1 TB. pepper
1/2 tsp. saffron, crumbled
2 cups white raisins
2 cups Zante currants
water left from boiling tongue with scum removed, supplement with 
beef broth, as needed
2-1/2 cups vinegar

1. In deep heavy pan melt butter, add apples and onion, and cook 
until onions are translucent but not brown.
2. Mix flour, pepper, and saffron.
3. Add flour to apples and onions, stirring to prevent lumps.
4. Let cook for a few moments to remove raw taste from flour.
5. Add raisins, currants, broth and vinegar: flavor should be tart 
and a little sweet.
6. Simmer briefly to blend.
7. We cut tongue into 1/4" slices, trimming gristle and fat as 
necessary. I would have liked it better thinner, but this was what 
was practicable.
8. Brown tongue slices on grill. (the stove at that site has a flat 
grilling surface)
9. Return tongue to sauce and let simmer until sauce reduced by half.

Note: i used white raisins for visual interest and to differentiate 
them from the dark little raisins of Corinth/currants.

The course the tongue was in consisted of:

* Pork Loins roasted with garlic, and served with an array of SAUCES:
..... Swallenberg Sauce - white wine, honey, ginger, pepper, garlic - 
Ein Buch von Guter Spise, circa 1350 c.
..... Bitter Seville Orange Sauce with cinnamon, sugar, rosewater - 
Marx Rumpolt, Ein Neu Kochbuch, German, 1581
..... Horseradish Sauce with ground almonds and white wine - Das 
Kochbuch des Meisters Eberhard, 15th C.
..... A Sauce for Venison or Pig - white wine, cherry syrup, 
Lebkuchen, apples, almonds, cloves, cinnamon, ginger, pepper, 
currants, raisins, vinegar - Ein Kochbuch von Sabina Welserin, c. 1553

* Spinach with bacon, sugar, currants, pepper, ginger - Marx Rumpolt, 
Ein Neu Kochbuch, German, 1581
* Beef Tongue - sliced and simmered in a sauce of apples, onion, 
pepper, saffron, raisins, beef broth, vinegar - Marx Rumpolt, Ein Neu 
Kochbuch, German, 1581
* Char de Wardon - Pears (wardons) cooked in white wine, pureed with 
sugar, honey, cinnamon, egg yolks, ginger - 15th C. English
* Lentils - cooked with broth, onion, garlic, green herbs, bacon - 
Marx Rumpolt, Ein Neu Kochbuch, German, 1581

-- 
Urtatim [that's err-tah-TEEM]
the persona formerly known as Anahita