Curing Tongue
Ingredients
Directions
Cure
Drain the tongue for 6 to 8 hours.
Soak the tongue in brine overnight for 2 days, turning it frequently.
Drain the tongue on the evening of the second day.
Smoke and cook
Hang the tongue to dry in smoke for 2 days, wrapped in paper.
Soak the tongue in cold water before cooking.
If not smoked, cook the tongue after 2 days in brine without soaking.
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
- Tongue
- Main protein; its texture firms and its flavor deepens during curing and drying.
- Brine
- Salt penetrates the meat, seasoning it and helping preserve it during the long cure.
The step that matters
Soaking in cold water before cooking. Soaking draws out excess salt from the surface and inside the cured meat. Skipping it after smoking can leave the tongue too salty, while soaking an unsmoked tongue is not part of this method.
“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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