Ox Tongue

September 30, 2003

There’s the story about the man who dallied rather a long while at the pub one night and was a little apprehensive about the reception he would get from his wife, arriving so long after mealtime.

Next day his friends asked him if he had got any dinner.

“You could say that,” he replied. “Hot tongue and cold shoulder.”

This week I thought I would look at cooking an ox tongue.

Offal swings in and out of vogue. I’ve never been afraid of it myself, though I possibly don’t want to eat tripe again. Last time I had it I decided it was rather like warmed over wallpaper paste and maybe my family were right in declining the opportunity to eat it.

Ox tongue is a little reminiscent of corned beef, though the texture is different. Cold tongue is good with a salad on a hot day.

Lambs’ tongues can be prepared in much the same way, though they are a little fiddlier to deal with.

Ox tongues are usually “corned” or salted when you buy them so it’s a good idea to soak them in water for a little while before cooking them to remove any excess saltiness.

The first step is to simmer the tongue (or tongues) until tender. In the case of an ox tongue, this will take 2-3 hours. An indication of readiness is that the small bones at the root of the tongue can be easily removed. Lambs’ tongues take an hour to 90 minutes.

It’s worthwhile using a well-flavoured stock for cooking the tongues. I usually add an onion stuck with cloves to the water along with a stick or two of celery, a carrot, a dash or balsamic vinegar and two or three dried chillies.

When the tongue is tender, remove it from the cooking liquid (reserving the liquid) and let it cool a little before removing the skin. Trim the root, removing any small bones and fatty parts. I usually slice the tongue down the center from back to front at this stage.

Tightly curl the tongue into a round stainless steel bowl.

Strain the stock and measure out half a litre. Sprinkle in an envelope of gelatin and gently heat it, stirring until the gelatin is dissolved. Pour enough over the meat to cover the tongue.

Place a saucer or small plate on the tongue and weight down with a couple of cans. Refrigerate overnight.

Next day dip the bowl in hot water and unmould the tongue. Serve sliced with horseradish sauce or mustard.

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