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More tongue

beef tongue

Check out my post over at Accidental Hedonist, it’s about beef tongue. That sandwich is a classic combination of beef and cheese. As I researched beef tongue I discovered that it’s used in cuisines all over the world, including asian cuisine. This sandwich wrap was supposed to be a riff on the classic Thai Vietnamese (duh!) sandwich, Banh Mi. But I was wretchedly lazy…too lazy to pickle the carrots, shred the daikon, or even go down to the freezer for a baguette. In the end it was just meh. I’m not a wrap person and about once a year I give it a try and I’m never impressed…they lack texture…there’s no crunch, no chewy bread. Its like a pitiful, tough, burrito. But then I was too lazy to make a good sandwich so I have no one to blame but myself.

beef tongue

The good thing about the wrap was that it was part of my nose-to-tail eating experience, it was not our typical fare, and it is always good to be an adventurous eater. As a girl I went to the sale barn with my grandfather a few times and they had a lunch counter that served calf brain sandwiches, tongue sandwiches, and the the like. My reaction then, typical for a child, was “you’re gonna eat that? Eewwww!”. Now I’d be happy to dig in, eager to give the offal a try. I admit I’m not planning on eating tongue often, it is heavily marbled with fat, especially near the end that connects to the head. But the tip is very lean, the flavor is beefy, the texture is different but not bad.It was really easy to prepare and I liked it, so did GH. Another plus…I can chase the boys around the house with it and make them scream like girly-girls!!!! Ha Ha!

beef tongue

Leena over at Leena Eats is getting her Masters in Gastronomy at the University of Adelaide in South Australia, she’s from Chicago…so obviously she knows good food. I love Leena because she has a deeply special relationship with bacon and a cool blog. As part of her masters work Leena is conducting a survey that explores how consumers use U.S. print food journalism and food blogs, and briefly touches on a few ethical issues in the world of food blogs. Please note this survey is only for people who live in the U.S. and is open until January 28th. Take a few minutes to help out a fellow foodie by completing her survey.

Here at the geek house we’ve switched out all our incandescent light bulbs with curly compact fluorescent bulbs. I even swapped out my incandescent spots in the kitchen and replaced them with CFL spots that are supposed to provide a natural light. I’m also trying to hunt down a new camera since my Kodak v530 is held together with duct tape and is pretty unreliable lately (flakey battery and flakey processor). All this change makes me cranky.

January 19, 2008 | Filed Under Offal, beef, fish, poultry, pork, bits and pieces, food, soup, salad, sandwich 

comments

9 Responses to “More tongue”

  1. kiki on January 19th, 2008

    It does look very good. Have to correct you on something, you mentioned banh mi, it is actually vietnamese, not Thai.

  2. vanessa on January 19th, 2008

    chiff0nade, I’m glad you’re a PROFESSIONAL CHEF, and you’re right, Big Bear does look like a huge version of Bobby Hill. Thanks for the comment.

    kiki…thanks for catching that…I actually do know better but I’ve got that seasonal disorder called fuzzy brain.

  3. Peter on January 19th, 2008

    Kudos for your adventure in food. I’m wary about eating beef tongue but you’ve presented it in your geeky and superior way. An appetizing pic, I’ll bite into that!

  4. evilqueensofia on January 19th, 2008

    I first ate tongue at a Jewish deli in NYC about 40 years ago. I enjoyed both the taste and the texture in a sandwich made with great rye bread (hard to find nowadays) with some other stuff that I don’t remember but I suspect it was cole slaw since that’s when I fell in love with pastrami and cole slaw sandwiches also. It’s no more gross than many of the things people eat like that raw fish stuff called ’sushi’ or those glands called ’sweet breads’ and I think that trained professionals should be more open to unusual tastes.

  5. MadLisa on January 19th, 2008

    Hi Vanessa,
    my husband loves the tongue huarache at Tacqueria Guadalahara on Park Street. Yes, the flavor is beefier than I had imagined, and very tender. I had seen my mother eat a tongue sandwich once as a kid, and had your same reaction. Of course, that wasn’t nearly as bad as the time my grandmother in Rome put the whole roasted baby lamb’s head in front of my father–eyeballs, brains, etc. Well, he grew up with it, so it was a princely treat which he ate with gusto…Aack….no eyeballs for me, thanks!

  6. Jef on January 19th, 2008

    Yikes! Tongue! I’d probably run screaming from you if you chased me with it, too.

    There’s a REASON that pastry was my chosen focus, it’s the scary things like this :)

    You did make it look nice and probably could have fooled me into eating it, so congrats! You really should have went with the pickled carrots and daikon though, even if you’re going to skip the Vietnamese baguette, they’re KEY for this sort of sandwich. I think a few jalapenos would have been in order, too!

    (I jumped on the CFL bandwagon when I moved. I now only have 4 incandescent bulbs left. Way to get your eco-geek on!)

  7. Heather on January 20th, 2008

    Funny, I thought the French were famous for their love of offal?

    I’d try the tongue – I’ve been eating plenty of mystery ham loaf, head cheese and pate on my banh mi for awhile, and I like it just fine as long as I chew fast and don’t think too hard. :)

  8. brilynn on January 21st, 2008

    I’ve never tried tongue before, but I’m not opposed to the experience! I love trying new things… I’m particularly partial to chasing people around with a giant cow tongue, making them squeal..

  9. Ray on November 8th, 2008

    I grew up on a 40 acre farm in Missouri. We ate lots of things most folks throw away today. Pork brains, liver, all chicken parts including the feet, cheek meat from the cows head, scrapple made from boiled hogs head and corn meal, a “hanging tender” piece of beef from the cows diaphragm, rabbit, squirrel, and yes, beef tongue. I really liked it all of this a lot except the chicken feet. My favorite is beef tongue. I even have one in the fridge right now.

    My two oldest kids wouldn’t eat tongue because they evidently tasted it with their ears and eyes. My youngest asked what I was giving him as I served him a tongue sandwich. Having learned what not to say from my older kids, I said “long steak”. He still loves it even after he learned what it really was!

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