Tongue Broth
January 4th, 2010 · 6 Comments · Posted in Recipes
Creating an incredible broth with beef tongue
I know, I am constantly singing the praises of the beef tongue we get from our dairy, South Mountain Creamery. Their beef herd is grassfed, and after brining the tongue for a week it is ridiculously delicious. But have I mentioned that we also love to drink the liquid we’ve cooked the tongue in?
Imagine a pot in which the brined tongue is nested in two chopped leeks, two quartered onions, two chopped stalks of celery, a dozen peppercorns and a fistful of fresh thyme. It is then covered with water and cooked slowly, just under a boil, for nearly 4 hours. You wouldn’t just flush that fine broth down the sink, would you? No, you will want to save what amounts to nearly a gallon of the most flavorful broth you can imagine.
It’s so good, my daughter, who can’t stand the sight of beef tongue, demands that I turn it into a noodle soup for her. She’s even suggested that we use it to make Vietnamese pho. Well, this is more French than Vietnamese. But with the right spices–a little star anise, some cinnamon, some cardamom–I could see this as an upscale version of the famous Vietnamese noodle soup.
But for now, I am just sipping this broth. I reheat it in a mug and drink it instead of tea. This is perfect for an especially cold, winter’s day, and so nutritious, you may never go back to tea again.
The stock tastes good alone but want to do more with it
Love your exposure of beef tongue goodness. My east european stomach craves it but my west coast canadian friends say “eeeeeew! tongue! Yuk!!!” At the till the cashier who announced herself to be vegan, had to put on blue rubber gloves and roll her eyes up and away to ring through my beef tongue packaged in ten layers of plastic.
I still love it!
Thank you for great idea of vietnamese style soup. I used to pour out the broth – never again:)
Have a fab week
Katia
Pity your friends. Tongue is the best.
How long will beef tongue broth last in the refrigerator?
I can’t tell you that definitively, Candace. I wouldn’t leave any soup or stock in the fridge for more than a few days. Or freeze it.
I’m just soooooo mad that with how many people have it, it still costs so much.