Melt-in-Your-Mouth Beef Tongue

Name: Melt-In-Your-Mouth Beef Tongue
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 280 min
Total time: 300 min
Ingredients: 1 beef tongue (2 or 3 pounds); 2 bay leaves; 1 teaspoon whole peppercorns; 1 teaspoon whole allspice; 2 tablespoons butter; 8 ounces onions (2 medium; chopped); 8 ounces mushrooms (sliced); 2 cups beef broth; 1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt; 1/2 teaspoon black pepper; 1 tablespoon cornstarch (to thicken the sauce); 2 tablespoons parsley (chopped, for garnish)

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This simple beef tongue recipe produces tender, melt-in-your-mouth meat. The mushroom-onion sauce is optional but greatly enhances the dish. The leftovers are excellent, too, whether gently reheated in the microwave or served cold.

Beef tongue slices are topped with onions and mushrooms.

Nose-to-tail eating is the ethical way for meat-eaters to consume meat, and cow tongue makes it very palatable indeed. It's wonderfully flavorful and tender, and surprisingly easy to make. I learned how to cook tongue from my Dad, and my friend Irina taught me to add a rich onion mushroom sauce. My entire family loves this recipe—yes, even the kids!

Ingredients

Here's a look at the ingredients needed to make this recipe. The exact measurements are included in the recipe card below.

For Cooking the Tongue:

The ingredients needed to cook beef tongue.

Beef tongue: It's not usually available in U.S. supermarkets, so I special-order it at Whole Foods Market (by the way, some of their stores carry frozen tongues). You can also order it online at Wild Fork Foods or U.S. Wellness Meats. If you're lucky enough to have a Hispanic market nearby, you should also be able to find it there.
To season: Kosher salt, black pepper, dried bay leaves, whole peppercorns, and whole allspice.

For the Sauce:

The ingredients needed to make the sauce for beef tongue.

Butter: I typically use unsalted butter, but it's fine to use salted butter.
Onions and mushrooms: To make life easy, you can buy pre-chopped onions and sliced mushrooms.
Beef broth: Store-bought is fine. I like the Kettle & Fire broth.
Cornstarch: A tablespoon to thicken the sauce.

Variations

You can add more spices or aromatics when cooking the tongue. I sometimes add a few garlic cloves to the cooking water.
You can use ghee instead of butter.
While beef broth is richer, using chicken broth is OK if that's all you have.

Instructions

Scroll down to the recipe card for detailed instructions. Here are the basic steps for making this recipe:

You start by simmering the tongue in water with spices until tender for 3-4 hours, depending on its size.

Allow it to slightly cool until it's easier to handle, then remove the skin.

Slice the tongue and serve with or without the sauce.

If making the sauce, cook the onions and mushrooms in butter, then add kosher salt, black pepper, and beef broth. Simmer the sauce for 20 minutes to allow the flavors to meld.

Thicken the sauce with a cornstarch slurry (cornstarch mixed with cold water).

Serve the tongue topped with the sauce.

Topping tongue slices with the sauce. They are served on a plate with broccoli.

Expert Tips

You'll want to let the cooked tongue cool a little before removing the skin. It's too hot to handle when you remove it from the stockpot. However, don't let it sit and cool for too long. Remove the skin as soon as you can. If it cools down too much, it will be very difficult to remove.
Start preparing the sauce 30 minutes before the tongue should be ready. When the sauce is ready, you can turn the heat off, cover the skillet, and keep the sauce on the still-hot burner while you tend to the tongue.
If not using the sauce, season the tongue slices with salt to taste. I don't salt the cooking water to ensure super tender meat, so the slices need salt when served.
The cooking liquid remaining in the stockpot when the tongue is ready is rich and delicious and can be strained and used as a drinking broth, as shown in the image below. Salt it to taste.

Recipe FAQs

Is beef tongue really the tongue of a cow?

Yes! I can see why some people find this difficult to accept. I suppose there is a certain reluctance unless you grew up eating internal organs.

But for someone who's used to eating the entire cow, not just steaks like New York Strip or ribeye steak, it's really no more problematic than a piece of steak. It's just meat. And it's wonderful!

In fact, as far as I know, our modern Western culture is the first human culture to shun organ meats. Eating just muscle meat is a wasteful way to consume animals.

What is the best way to cook this cut?

The tongue is a muscular organ that works hard, so it's very tough when uncooked. Much like beef heart, you have two options when cooking it: slice it thinly and cook it quickly, as done in Korean barbecue, or cook it low and slow, in a stockpot or in your slow cooker.

I like the second method better because it produces meat that literally melts in your mouth - so wonderfully tender!

Despite owning a slow cooker, I usually cook tongue on the stovetop because that's how my dad always did it.

Why are there black spots on the tongue I bought?

These black spots are common, and there's no need to worry about them. The photo below shows them on the skin, which you will remove after cooking so you won't eat them.

Can I make the sauce without cornstarch?

Yes. You will need to cook it down some more - try cooking it for 30 minutes. However, for a rich, thick, luxurious sauce, as shown in the photo below, I highly recommend adding a cornstarch slurry.

Serving Suggestions

You can serve this dish with anything you would serve with steaks or roasts. Here are a few of my favorite sides to pair with beef tongue:

Mashed cauliflower
Roasted carrots
Roasted asparagus
Cauliflower steak
Green beans almondine
Zucchini noodles
Steamed broccoli, as shown in the photo below.

Storing Leftovers

You can keep the leftovers in the fridge, in a sealed container (as shown in the photo below), for 3-4 days. Reheat them covered in the microwave at 50% power.

Beef tongue leftovers in a glass container.

You can also freeze the leftovers in a freezer bag for up to three months. Thaw them overnight in the fridge and reheat them covered in the microwave.

If you made the sauce, you can keep it in a sealed container in the fridge (as shown in the photo below) for up to 4 days. Reheat it gently, covered, in the microwave at 50% power. I don't recommend freezing the sauce.

Beef tongue sauce leftovers in a glass storage container.

While the leftovers taste great reheated (if you reheat them gently), my favorite way to enjoy them is cold, thinly sliced (like roast beef), with quick pickles (or pickled red onions), Dijon mustard, and veggies. Cold tongue is exceptionally creamy. See the photo below - this was a delicious lunch of cold tongue slices, mustard, cherry tomatoes, and cucumber pickles.