Lengua Entomatada (Beef Tongue with Tomato) and Giveaway!

Yes, you heard right. Beef Tongue. It's in there. It's good. I swear.

And you're talking to someone who went waaaaaaaaaay beyond hercomfort zone on this one.

Before we go there, let me say a few things here. And I think you'll wanna hear them.

First off, for the past 3 weeks, I've been participating in the Muy Bueno Cookbook Spotlight & Cook-Off sponsored by Hippocrene and hosted at girlichef  

This cookbook is truly Muy Bueno. Here's a list of the recipes I've cooked during these wonderful three weeks:

Mushroom, Jalapeno, and Cilantro Salsa

Prickly Pear Margarita

Capirotada - Mexican Bread Pudding

You can go to girlichef's site and see what everyone else made. After all, I'm not the only one reviewing it.

When the Muy Bueno Cookbook arrived, of course I instantly started browsing through the recipes. The first thing I thought was....wow, I've either made or eaten a lot of these recipes! Do you know why that is? No, not because I have a lot of Mexican friends. No, not because I live in Southern California where every other corner has a little Mexican joint or restaurant. (although those reasons do have a lot to do with it) but....the recipes in Muy Bueno are for authentic, Mexican home cooked meals.Ones we all know and love and wish we could make. They have been passed down from generation to generation to generation. The 3 women that make up Muy Bueno the cookbook and blog are a family team...a mother (Vangie) and her 2 daughters (Veronica and Yvette). All of whom have been greatly inspired by the grandmother, Jesusita. When you open this cookbook, you feel a sort of reverence. You can sense how important heritage is and how food really brings this family together.

Muy Bueno Cookbook has just about every Mexican dish you can think of (and more) and provides easy to follow directions, beautiful photographs and a touching story or memory that makes it all the more special. With all the cooking I do, and a lot of it is Mexican (because this white girl and her family loves Mexican food), this is the first true Mexican cookbook I've owned. And I cannot tell you how thrilled I am with it.

You have a chance to be thrilled to own your own copy of Muy Bueno Cookbook as well.

I'm giving a copy of Muy Bueno Cookbook away! 

I'll give you the details after we talk about beef tongue.

Beef tongue. I've seen it. I've ignored it with a shiver.
I never ever thought that my kitchen would see one of these on its counter.

Silly me asked one of my daughters to pick out a recipe from Muy Bueno for me to cook. A special recipe  just for this giveway.

Jacquie decides on beef tongue. "Mom, [with a grin on her face] this is really out of your comfort zone, isn't it?!"

"Um, ya. really?"

Jacquie: "Beef tongue is really good! I swear! I've had it before. You'll like it".

"Ya? [long pause] Ok. I guess."

So...I took the challenge. Off to the market I go. The butcher offered a 3 plus lb tongue. I opted for the much smaller 2.5 lb thing. And started my adventure the following morning. Way before anyone else in the house was awake.

I knew this baby needed to be in the crockpot before it was seen by the local population (ie: family, especially Sir Sportsalot).

Funny thing. I posted the above photo on Facebook and you should read the reactions! "WTH?!"
"OMG!! No Way!!!", "Gross that looks like a large finger", "I hope it looks better cooked", "I'll be there for dinner. So good!"

When I asked if anyone had eaten cow tongue, I received extreme responses from both ends of the spectrum: "Yes, very good sliced very thin...", "Makes yummy tacos!", "....it was like it was tasting me - while I was tasting it. ::shudder::", "Eating that will be like French kissing a cow! No thanks!!"

Well....I guess I had to just find out for myself.

Lengua Entomatada (Beef Tongue with Tomato)
Printable Version

2.5 - 3 lbs of beef tongue
3 cups water
1 small onion, quartered
5 cloves garlic
2 tsp sea salt
1 - 14.5 can peeled or diced tomatoes
1 TB olive oil
1/3 cup chopped white onion
1 TB all purpose flour
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder

Place the beef tongue, water, small quartered onion, and sea salt in a crock pot. Cook on low heat for 6 to 8 hours, until tender.

Once it's done, remove the tongue from the crockpot. Strain the stock and set it aside or refrigerate it if you have time so you can easily skim the fat.

While the tongue is still warm but not too hot to touch, peel off the outer layer of skin.

Under that skin, there was another layer....that was......nubbly. It kinda bugged me in a way that food shouldn't bug you....so I trimmed that off too.

Dice the tongue into 1/2" cubes and set aside.

In a food processor or blender, puree the tomatoes. Set aside

In a large skillet, over medium heat, heat up the oil. Add the diced onion and saute until translucent (about 2 minutes). Add the flour and stir for another 2 minutes. Add in the pureed tomatoes and let come to a boil.

Add the cubed tongue, 1/2 cup of the beef tongue stock, black pepper and garlic powder. Reduce the heat and simmer until the sauce thickens, about 5 minutes or so. You want the sauce to be thick, not runny.

Especially if you're going to do something fun with it....like....fill gorditas.

Well, let me tell you something.

YUM! Really. Honestly....beef tongue is good. As I diced it up, I picked up a cube and slowly brought it to my mouth. Paused....contemplated my action....nostrils were flared in anticipation of...I dunno...thinking it would taste like liver? (I'm not a liver fan). I then popped the cube into my mouth...tentatively chewed in slow motion...stopped. Waited for the negative, involuntary reflex. Nothing. Thought about it. Realized that it is indeed, very tasty. Tender. Not liver or organ like at all. Good beef flavor. Not stringy like roasts. Not fatty like ground beef. And best of all...it no longer resembled a tongue!!

I did it! I made it! I ate it! I loved it!

Now, if you want the recipe for the gorditas that I spooned the lenqua into, you'll either have to wait until I post it, search the various websites....

OR

Win yourself a copy of Muy Bueno Cookbook.  

Rules:

• Entries must be made by Monday October 8th (Happy Columbus Day) 12:00 PM, pacific standard time.
• Must be 18 or older to win
• Must reside in the continental U.S. to win 
• Must post comment on this blog (no facebook, twitter or email entries will be accepted)

Lots of ways to enter:

• Post a comment. (If you are posting anonymously, please include your email address.) If you do not wish to enter the contest, but would like to post a comment, just say you're opting out. 
• Follow me on Twitter (post a comment saying you are)
• Tweet about the giveaway (post a comment saying you did)
• Follow me on Facebook (post a comment saying you are)
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That's 8 ways to enter. Good luck!!