Here is another recipe from my grandfather and it is one of my most favorite dishes besides the duck with the raisin bread dressing he made.
I would classify this is a German dish because it is hearty enough.
This is hard for the novice cook to make, this is made by someone more advanced. I am not saying you have to be a trained chef who went to culinary school. I am one of these more or less kind of self taught. I learned by watching and this is how I managed to learn this valuable art of cooking. I have cooked for my family in my home for many years and really enjoy it.
Ingredients: 1 whole cow’s tongue
3 potatoes quartered
1 onion sliced
4 stalks of celery cut in 3 sections that is celery stick size
4 carrots pealed cleaned and cut in 4 sections
2 bay leaves
a pinch of seasoned salt
1 pinch of peppercorns ground crushed
1 tsp dry thyme or 1 sprig of fresh thyme
a pinch of tarragon
4 cloves of chopped garlic
a pinch of marjoram
2 dashes of Maggi or knorr aroma
2 dashes of worcestershire sauce (please read the labels because some contain beef extract. I am passing this bit of info on to other Muslims. I myself do this a lot is label read and it is a big help)
2 dashes of balsamic vinegar
2 cups of water
Method: Since tongue comes with a tough outer skin you have to remove it and here’s how. Preheat the oven to 375ºF= 191ºC. Wash the tongue and put two cups of water in a roasting pan. Do not season or add anything yet this is to take the skin off the tongue.
Put in the roaster in to the water. Put it in the oven to cook for 60 minutes. After 60 minutes check the tongue to see if it is tender or getting there. It should be. Take it out of the oven and let it cool this would take about 30 to 35 minutes, then it could be handled safely to take the skin off and it comes off very easy without a problem. There is the juice left over from cooking the tongue.
DON’T THROW IT OUT BECAUSE ALL OF THE TASTE IS THERE!!!!!!!!!!!
After pealing the skin from the tongue put it back in the roasting pan and do more prep work. Peel and wash all of the veggies, only the celery doesn’t need peeling. My grandfather didn’t have teeth and used to remove the ribs from the celery because it choked him, this part is optional. I don’t remove at all this is fiber and is very vital to healthy digestive system. Add chopped garlic, celery carrots potatoes, onions
Add all of the herbs listed, tarragon, thyme, marjoram, bay leaves. Crush the pepper corns in a mortar and pestle. Stir, add Maggi aroma, worcestershire sauce, seasoned salt, balsamic vinegar, stir again, put the cover over the cow’s tongue roast and put it back in the oven for 60 minutes, check again to see if the veggies and meat are done, if not put it back in the oven and let it cook for another 30 minutes.
This recipe was in my family for years I made a tiny bit of changes but it still is tasty as ever and I hope you will enjoy this like I do.
P.S. Sometimes the kitchen is a very hot place and this addendum I am adding on to tell you that you can slow cook this in your instant pot or another multi functional cooker on a very hot day. Press the slow cook button and add the required amount of water in there. Wash and place a whole cow’s tongue and place it in the in the cooker. Make sure the inner lining is inside first. Leave this unseasoned.
Make sure your condensation collector is in place before starting. Put foil over the top for a tight seal and place a lid on top. turn the cooker on by selecting slow cook setting for 3 1/2 hours. After time is done and shuts off, check the tongue and make sure the skin is ready to be peeled away from the tongue itself.
It should come off easily. If not then again repeat at slow cook function this time for an hour. This should do the trick and let the tongue cool a little and peel the skin away add your seasonings and vegetables and again let it slow cook for 1 1/2 hours. Then you can take your air fry lid and select roast setting at 400F or 200C for 30 minutes or 1/2 hour.
