Beef tongue is an offal that is considered a delicacy due to its delicate taste. It can be served as an independent dish or included in sausages and canned meat. Most often, tongue is included in many diets; it is especially useful for children’s bodies.

Composition of beef tongue and its benefits

Tongue is a high-calorie food and is rich in fat, but despite this, it remains a dietary dish. It contains enough protein, which is indispensable for the growth of muscle tissue and hair. In addition, protein helps maintain skin elasticity.

Beef tongue is 70% water. It contains very little cholesterol, only 150 mg per 100 grams of product, which allows us to judge its dietary qualities. The calorie content of the tongue is 173 Kcal per 100 grams of product.

Energy value of beef tongue

Carbohydrates 2.2%

Fiber 0.1%

The benefit of beef tongue lies in its composition. It is rich in B vitamins, which are essential for the body. They help normalize metabolism and improve the functioning of the nervous system. It includes:

Vitamins B9, B12, B5, B2, B6, B1;

In addition, beef tongue meat contains enough iron. It is often included in the diet of patients with anemia. Tongue dishes help normalize blood pressure, increase hemoglobin levels in the blood, and cope with headaches.

The product contains no connective tissue, it is completely digestible and easily absorbed. Doctors recommend regularly consuming beef offal for pregnant women and children.

Minerals in the tongue:

Calcium;

Manganese.

Beef tongue: benefits for the body

Despite the calorie content of the dish, nutritionists recommend including it in the diet for weight loss. This delicious product is well absorbed by the body and helps cope with various diseases:

Gastritis;

Stomach ulcer;

Diabetes;

Headaches and migraines;

Insomnia.

In addition, the tongue is indicated for general strengthening of the body. The rich vitamin composition allows you to normalize weight, accelerates growth and development in children. Promotes the synthesis of amino acids and hormones, has a beneficial effect on the central nervous system.

It is impossible not to mention beef tongue and its benefits for the female body. By eating tongue dishes at least once a week, a woman prolongs her youth. The vitamins and minerals contained in the tongue have a positive effect on the condition of hair and facial skin, improving their color and structure, slowing down the aging process.

Beef tongue is indicated for the prevention of diabetes mellitus and for patients with type 2 diabetes. It promotes the production of insulin and allows the body to absorb glucose.

When to give up beef tongue

Despite all the benefits of beef tongue, it should be eaten with caution for certain ailments, after consulting a doctor.

1. It is worth limiting the frequent consumption of beef tongue by older people, it has a serious effect on the kidneys and liver.

3. It is worth completely eliminating the consumption of the product if you have allergic rhinitis.

In addition, a contraindication to the consumption of offal is individual intolerance.

How to choose the right beef tongue

Beef tongue will only be beneficial if the product is fresh and correctly selected. What you should pay attention to when choosing an offal.

1. Availability of a sanitary service stamp. This will protect yourself from various diseases. Unscrupulous suppliers add hormones, growth stimulants, antibiotics and various additives to animal feed that have a negative impact on health.

2. Color. The fresh natural product has a characteristic purple hue. If the tongue is pink, then it has been frozen several times. A grayish coating on the surface of the product is the first sign of staleness.

3. Smell. Fresh offal smells pleasantly like meat. The presence of other odors indicates its low quality. It is not worth buying such a product.

In addition, you can determine the freshness of the product by cutting it. If a watery liquid is released when the cut is made, then the product can be frozen. Cloudy ichor indicates damage to the goods due to improper storage.

Important! Drops of blood flow from a cut of fresh and high-quality offal.

How to properly store beef tongue

Beef tongue is a perishable product, so it is best to eat it immediately after purchase.

You can only store fresh tongue in the freezer, cutting it into small portions. However, when defrosting, valuable qualities are reduced. It is not recommended to re-freeze the offal.

Boiled tongue can be stored in the refrigerator, wrapped in foil. The shelf life of the tongue is no more than two days.

How to cook tongue

Undoubtedly, the benefits of beef tongue for the body are greater than the harm. But you need to know how to cook it. Incorrect cooking technology causes heaviness in the stomach, making it difficult for the body to digest the dense shell.

At home, the tongue is most often boiled and served chilled. When properly processed, the meat becomes very tender and tasty. Some housewives prefer aspic from the tongue. Stewed and baked dishes based on this offal are also popular.

Traditional spices for tongue dishes are bay leaf, ground pepper and herbs.

Before preparing any dish, the product must be boiled, unless the recipe says otherwise. How to do this correctly in order to preserve all the benefits of beef tongue?

1. The tongue is dipped into boiling water.

2. The optimal cooking time is about 4 hours. It depends on the size of the product.

3. When the tongue boils and cooks for five minutes, take it out and remove the thick skin.

Ready boiled tongue can be served as an independent dietary dish or along with a side dish. It is better for children to boil their tongue without spices.

In order for beef tongue to bring maximum benefits, it is recommended to consume it no more than twice a week. The daily norm for a healthy person is 150 grams. For pregnant women and children, the norm should be halved; about 70-80 grams of the product is enough.

Regular consumption of beef tongue allows you to saturate the body with vitamins and minerals, strengthen its protective functions, restore the number of blood cells and improve your health. Thanks to all the beneficial properties and delicate taste, the tongue can be served at the holiday table.

At all times, the tongue was considered a delicacy. For example, in France, back in the Middle Ages, there was a law according to which peasants, when slaughtering livestock, did not have the right to keep their tongues, although, as a rule, they kept the heads of animals for their own needs. And tongues were intended exclusively for the master's table. Empress Catherine I's favorite dish was boiled tongue with cucumbers.

The French make it from tongue and stewed celery mile-fairy, that is, they are placed in layers and served hot. Aspic is prepared from the tongue, it is used in salads, and eaten boiled - cold, with various sauces.

Beef and pork tongues are usually sold separately, and lamb tongues are sometimes sold with the head. Servings of tongue dishes are calculated at 200 g per person. One beef tongue can feed five people, but there are two lamb tongues per serving.

To prepare a delicious dish from, let’s first get acquainted with some secrets of experts:

1. Fresh raw tongue can be stored for no more than a day.

2. If you decide to freeze your tongue, keep in mind that it freezes in 5-7 hours and can be stored for several weeks or even months. In any case, even before freezing it would be a good idea to soak it for 2-3 hours in cold water.

3. Boiled tongue is stored for three days.

4. Cooking tongue is not difficult. It needs to be washed, cleaned, immersed in boiling water for a couple of minutes and the skin removed.

5. It is easy to remove the skin from the tongue if, after cooking, the tongue is placed under running cold water for several minutes.

6. You need to boil the tongue for at least 2 hours in water or chicken broth, preferably aromatic, with spices, regularly skimming off the foam.

7. The degree of readiness is checked with a regular fork: if it easily enters the pulp, the tongue is ready.

8. If you bought salted tongue, you need to soak it thoroughly for 24 hours, regularly changing the water.

9. The tongue can be served with horseradish and mustard. Or pour over a sauce, for example, made from equal parts of sour cream and mustard, seasoned with sweet pepper and garlic. In general, there are a great variety of sauces for tongue, both cold and hot. They highlight the delicate taste of the tongue itself and therefore, as a rule, are quite sharp.

Of course, tongue delicacies are mainly used to prepare snack delicacies, but tongue soup also turns out to be very tasty and aromatic. By the way, the broth in which the tongue was boiled can be used to prepare first courses or various sauces.

Vegetable soup with beef tongue

For 4 servings you will need: 1 onion, 100 g carrots, 150 g each cauliflower and broccoli, 2 tbsp. spoons of butter or margarine, 1 glass of white wine, 1 bay leaf, 1 sprig of rosemary, 0.4 liters of white sauce, 250 ml of cream, 100 g of boiled tongue, salt, ground pepper to taste, 1-2 g of nutmeg powder, cayenne pepper, sugar, a little lemon juice and tomato sauce, 2-3 tbsp. spoons of chopped parsley.

Peel the onions and carrots and cut into small cubes. Peel the cabbage, rinse and dry. Place vegetables with margarine or butter and white wine in a heatproof bowl. Add bay leaf and rosemary sprig and cook for 12-15 minutes. Mix white sauce with cream and add to vegetables. Cut the beef tongue into small cubes and add to the soup. Season the soup with salt, pepper, nutmeg, cayenne pepper, sugar, lemon juice, tomato sauce and cook for 6-8 minutes until fully cooked.

The set of vegetables for soup can be different, it all depends on your taste and the availability of products in the house. from the tongue goes well with all types of cabbage, green beans and legumes, and peas. Potatoes and pasta do not spoil the broth.

Here is another version of the first course, which includes tongue.

Solyanka in Kazakh

Required: 400 g of bones, 150 g of beef pulp and beef tongue, 100 g of lamb sausage, 100 g of kazy (horse sausage) or smoked lamb, 150 g of onions and pickled cucumbers, 100 g of tomato puree and sour cream, 60 g of butter oils, pepper, bay leaf, salt to taste.
For the dumplings: 100 g flour, 25 g butter, 1 egg, salt to taste.

Chop the onion, sauté in oil, add tomato puree and simmer for another 5-8 minutes. Peel the cucumbers and remove seeds, cut into slices, simmer and combine with sautéed onions. Prepare broth from the bones, boil beef and tongue. Cut the meat products into slices, combine with prepared cucumbers and onions, pour in bone broth, add pepper, bay leaf, salt and cook for 5-10 minutes.

Prepare the dumplings. Boil the flour in oil, cool to 50 degrees and beat in the egg. Using a spoon, drop the dumplings into boiling salted water and cook for 5-10 minutes, then drain the water. Serve solyanka with hot custard dumplings and sour cream.

This delicious stew is also perfect as a hot dish.

Tongue stew

Required: 110 g tongue, 10 g butter margarine, 35 g carrots, 25 g turnips, 10 g parsley, 35 g onions, 100 g potatoes, 100 g sauce, bay leaf, pepper, salt and herbs to taste.

Cut the boiled and peeled tongues into cubes weighing 15-20 g each. Cut carrots, turnips, parsley into slices. Also cut the onions into slices, and leave the small ones (seedlings) as whole heads. Cut the potatoes into small cubes. Lightly fry vegetables and potatoes with fat separately, place them in a deep saucepan or cauldron, add pieces of boiled tongue, pour in red sauce with or without wine, add bay leaves and peppercorns, simmer over low heat, covering the dish with a lid, until cooked vegetables, if necessary, add salt to taste. Serve the stew, sprinkled with chopped parsley or dill.

In the stew, in addition to roots and onions, you can add fresh tomatoes in slices, beans, green peas, eggplants, vegetable bell peppers during stewing, reducing the amount of carrots and turnips.

And now the recipes. There are many recipes for preparing boiled tongue alone.

Boiled tongue

For 6 servings you will need: 1 veal tongue weighing about 600 g, 1 onion, 1 carrot, bay leaf, 5 black peppercorns, salt to taste.

Rinse your tongue. Peel the onions and carrots, cut into large pieces. Place onion, carrots, bay leaf and black pepper in a large saucepan of boiling salted water. Let the water boil again, put in your tongue. Cook for 1.5–2 hours. Remove the skin from the finished tongue using a stocking, starting from the thin end. Allow to cool, and before serving, store in the same broth in which the tongue was boiled. Before serving, chop the tongue. Serve with cranberry jelly.

When the tongue is cooked, place it in cold water (or better yet, ice water) for a minute. In this case, the skin from the tongue will be removed much easier.

Boiled tongue in white sauce with raisins

Required: 1 beef tongue, 1 onion, 1 carrot, 1 tbsp. spoon of butter, 1 tbsp. spoon of flour, 3-4 tbsp. spoons of raisins, lemon juice, salt to taste.

Wash the tongue thoroughly, put it in a saucepan, add peeled and chopped carrots and onions, add hot water and cook for 2-3 hours until tender, add salt 15 minutes before the end of cooking. Then remove the tongue, wash it with cold water and immediately remove the skin. Place back into hot broth and bring to a boil.

Prepare the sauce. Lightly fry the flour in butter, pour in ¼ cup of strained broth, boil, add washed and sorted raisins, boil for 10 minutes, add salt, lemon juice and a piece of butter, mix everything. Before serving, cut the tongue into thin slices and pour over the prepared sauce.

Boiled tongue with rutabaga puree

Required: 4 pork tongues, 1 onion, 1 carrot, 2-3 rutabaga, 2 tbsp. tablespoons butter, 4 tbsp. spoons of cream or milk, 1 tbsp. a spoonful of ground white crackers, salt to taste.

Wash the tongues thoroughly, put them in a saucepan, add peeled carrots and onions, add hot water and cook for 1-2 hours until tender, add salt 15 minutes before the end of cooking. Remove the tongues from the broth, rinse with cold water and immediately remove the skins. Peel, cut into pieces, add water, cook until tender. Drain in a colander, then mash the hot rutabaga, add butter, boiling cream or milk, salt, crackers, mix thoroughly and bring to a boil. Cut the tongues into slices and garnish with rutabaga puree.

Beef tongue in apple sauce

Required: 1 beef tongue, 1 onion, 1 carrot, 1 parsley, 5 apples, ½ tbsp. spoons of red wine, salt, sugar and lemon zest to taste.

Rinse the tongue well, scald with boiling water, put in a saucepan, add roots, pour cold water so that it covers the tongue by three fingers. Place on high heat. When the water boils, reduce the heat and cook the tongue over low heat until cooked, adding salt at the end of cooking. Remove the skin from the finished tongue, cut it into wide thin slices, holding the knife at an angle, pour in a small amount of the broth in which it was boiled so that the slices do not dry out.

Prepare the sauce. Peel the apples from skin and seeds, cut into quarters, put in a saucepan, pour in ½ cup of water and boil until soft. Grate the apples through a colander, dilute with red wine, add salt and sugar to taste, add grated lemon zest. Boil it all. Before serving, pour the sauce over the tongue and warm it well.

The tongue can be served not only boiled with all kinds of sauces (which in itself is a very tasty dish), it can be fried, baked or stuffed.

Tongue baked in sour cream

Required: 4 pork tongues, 1 onion, 1 carrot, 2-3 tbsp. spoons of butter, 2 tbsp. spoons of tomato paste, 3-4 tbsp. spoons of sour cream, ground black pepper, salt to taste.

Simmer the tongues in boiling water for 5 minutes, remove them, place them in cold water and immediately remove the skins, then cut into small slices. Chop carrots and onions and fry in a heat-resistant bowl, place slices of tongue on top. Mix sour cream with tomato paste, add salt and pepper and pour this mixture over the meat and vegetables. Bake in the oven until done.

Tongue baked with cauliflower

Required: 1 veal tongue, 300 g cauliflower, 2-3 tomatoes, 1 tbsp. spoon of cream, 100 g of cheese, 1 teaspoon of grated nutmeg, parsley, ground black pepper, salt to taste.

Boil the tongue in salted water, cut into slices. Pour boiling water over the tomatoes, remove the skin, cut into four parts. Divide the cauliflower into florets, boil in salted water, place it in a mold along with the tomatoes and tongue, sprinkle with pepper on top. Mix cream and grated cheese, season with nutmeg and place this mixture on top of the vegetables with tongue. Place in the oven and bake. Sprinkle the finished dish with parsley and serve.

Tongue fried with mushrooms

Required: 4 pork tongues, 200 g mushrooms, 1 onion, 2-3 tbsp. tablespoons butter, 1 bunch of dill, ground black pepper, salt to taste.

Pour boiling water over the tongues and cook for 5 minutes, remove, place in cold water and immediately remove the skin, cut into small slices. Fry pre-cooked (for 10-15 minutes) and chopped mushrooms, add slices of tongue, chopped onion, salt, pepper and fry everything thoroughly. Sprinkle the finished dish with dill and serve.

To be continued…

Beef tongue belongs to the group of by-products of the first category. The nutritional value of beef tongue is much higher than that of lamb or pig tongue. The tongue has a muscular structure and is covered with a rather hard and rough membrane. The weight of the tongue usually ranges from 800 grams. up to 3 kg.

Tongues are freed of connective tissue, fat and lymph nodes before being offered for sale. When choosing a tongue on sales counters, pay attention to its color; it should be a uniform light pink shade. The product must have a label indicating that it has passed sanitary control. On sale you can find smoked, salted, frozen or fresh beef tongue. Fresh tongue, as a rule, is not transported over long distances, since its transportation time should not exceed 12 hours.

Methods for preparing tongue

It is recommended to boil the tongue before cooking. The pan should be spacious, since the volume of the tongue doubles during cooking. At the last stage of cooking, carrots, bay leaves and black peppercorns are added to the broth; the tongue will very quickly “take away” their flavor.

It is better to store boiled tongue in the refrigerator, wrapped in foil. Beef tongue is good not only as a cold appetizer; it is often added to salads, jellied dishes and julienne.

If you decide to serve the tongue as an independent snack, then you can add pickled mushrooms, asparagus, artichokes, green peas, canned pineapples or salted watermelons. You can use nut, berry or apple sauces.

Beef tongue also has excellent taste when stewed. You can stew the tongue in cream, sour cream or wine. Stewed vegetables or mashed potatoes are suitable as a side dish. Beef tongue can also be baked, fried, breaded or battered, or stuffed. The tongue is widely used in the preparation of ham, smoked meats, sausages and canned food.

Properties and nutrients

Beef tongue is a source of large amounts of iron and protein, which are so necessary for the treatment of anemia; in addition, nutritionists recommend it for children for normal development, pregnant women, as well as people who have experienced injury, surgery or serious illness.

The offal contains almost all groups of vitamins. The tongue contains vitamin B12 in high concentrations. Just 100 grams of tongue per day replenishes the body's daily need for this vitamin, which regulates fat and carbon dioxide metabolism. 100 g of tongue also contains 40% of the daily requirement of the human body for zinc, which reduces the risk of diseases and lowers cholesterol levels.

How to cook beef tongue

Cook the tongue over moderate heat in a large saucepan, covered, for about 3-4 hours. Salt the tongue only once 30 minutes before it is fully cooked. After cooking, be sure to remove the film from the water.

Nutritional and energy value

100 g of beef tongue contains 16 g of protein, 12.1 g of fat and 2.2 g of carbohydrates and only 173 kcal.

Beef tongue is a universal product; you can prepare a lot of different dishes from it. Appetizers, salads, hot dishes, you can even eat it instead of sausage with sandwiches. To make delicious beef tongue dishes delight you and your family, we will tell you about the intricacies and nuances of its preparation.

Not every housewife takes up the task of preparing beef tongue, and all because the process of preparing it at first glance may seem very complicated. You shouldn’t be afraid - even a novice cook can cook beef tongue deliciously, and we’ll tell you how it’s done.

For, as well as many other dishes - aspic, soups, pies, the tongue must first be boiled. Therefore, first of all, you should master the science of properly cooking beef tongue.

So, before cooking, it is better to soak the tongue in water for at least half an hour to make it easier to clean it of contaminants. After soaking, use a knife to scrape off mucus, fat, dirt, and blood from your tongue, leaving the skin clean, then rinse well under cold water.

Next, you need to pour cold water into the pan, bring it to a boil and put the tongue. When cooked, the tongue increases in size, so if it is large, it is better to cut it in half. Boil the tongue until the water begins to boil again, skim off the foam, cook for 15 minutes, then drain the water. Next, you need to put the tongue back into boiling water and let it boil, then cook the tongue until tender. Immersing your tongue in boiling water rather than cold water will make it more juicy and tender.

The answer to the question of how long to cook beef tongue depends on the weight, size, and age of the cow; as a rule, it is no less than 2 and no more than 4 hours. You can check readiness like this: after 2 hours of cooking, pierce the tongue with a fork - if clear juice comes out, it’s ready, and if it’s cloudy, boil the tongue some more until the juice becomes clear. To prevent the boiled tongue from being tough, salt it only at the end of cooking; along with salt, you can add bay leaves, peppercorns and peeled carrots to the water - this will make the tongue more flavorful.

After cooking, the finished tongue is removed from the liquid and placed in a container with cold water for 2-3 minutes. A very important step is removing the skin from the tongue; immersion in cold water will make this task easier to cope with.

Some housewives prefer to salt the tongue only after cleansing: to do this, the finished cleaned tongue is put back into the broth where it was boiled, everything is salted and seasoned, the tongue is cooked for about another 15 minutes. The resulting broth can be used for aspic. By the way, carrots, onions, spices and herbs are added to the broth, peeled, but not chopped - whole, so the broth and tongue will be more aromatic. If you cook soup with this broth, then you need to use new, fresh roots for it, and those on which the broth was cooked should be thrown away.

You can prepare a lot of dishes with boiled beef tongue. By the way, this is a very healthy, dietary and light product - it is recommended to be eaten by pregnant and lactating women, patients with anemia, after operations, and also given to small children. A lot of snacks, salads, hot dishes are made from the tongue, and they simply eat it as cold cuts (cut the boiled tongue like sausage, wrap it in foil and store it in the refrigerator).

Bon appetit!