Ox Tongue, Boiled
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
If using a dry tongue, soak it in water for 12 hours.
Wash the tongue well to remove salt and trim off any objectionable parts.
Cook
Place the tongue in a stewpan and cover with plenty of water.
Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer gently for 4 to 4.5 hours for a large tongue, or 3 to 3.5 hours for a small one.
Shape and serve
Once cooked, remove the skin and shape the tongue by pressing it with a weight or securing it to a board.
Allow to cool in the cooking liquid.
Once cooled, glaze the tongue and garnish with parsley.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Explore the science
What each ingredient does
- Ox tongue
- Is the main cut; long simmering breaks down connective tissue to make it tender.
- Coarse sea salt
- Cured or salted tongue draws out moisture and seasons the meat before cooking.
The step that matters
Simmering gently. A rolling boil toughens the meat and can break it apart, while a gentle simmer slowly converts connective tissue into gelatin, giving a tender, moist result.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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