Sweet and Sour Tongue Recipe -- Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Allergy Friendly

Growing up, my mother would occasionally make cow tongue. It was so delicious, succulent, and soft. As an adult, I tried to make tongue one time, but it didn't come out as special as I remembered. Once I peeled off the taste buds, it just ended up pulling apart like well cooked beef, and while it was moist, it wasn't anything to write home about.

But then a local store had a sale. They were selling cow tongue for $2.59 a pound, when the cheapest I can ever get a hunk of meat for (and that is not high-quality meat whatsoever) is $3.89. So I bought 10 tongues because that was all I could fit into my freezer and spare freezer, and even if I couldn't get it to be the "special tongue" growing up, it is still delicious beef and at an amazing price.

Since I had tongue on hand, I decided to see if I could actually make tongue from my childhood, and upon searching for recipes, I remembered that the tongue I wanted to make was sweet and sour, and then found some sweet and sour tongue recipes using tomato sauce as the base.

I played around with ingredients, and came up with this final recipe. It is just as delicious as what I grew up with. It still isn't what I remember, but since I don't talk to my mother I can't find out more, but if this is all the tongue I can eat for the rest of my life, I would still be a happy girl, since it is some of the best meat out there.

Sweet and Sour Tongue Recipe -- Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Allergy Friendly

Ingredients:
2 beef tongues

Water as needed
2 cups tomato paste
5 additional cups of water
1 cup sugar (or to taste)
2/3-1 cup lemon juice
1 tablespoon molasses (optional but much better with)
2 teaspoons salt (or to taste)
1 tablespoon mustard (ideally dijon mustard)

Instructions:

1. Put the tongues to boil in a large pot, covered well with water (the aforementioned water as needed). If you have a pressure cooker this is better, but if you don't, you can use a regular pot.

2. Simmer until completely soft. Fall apart soft. If using a pressure cooker, this is about an hour and a half to two. If using a regular pot, cook for at least four to six hours. Make sure that there is always enough water to cover the tongue. You know it is ready when you are able to easily tear a piece of meat off the exposed part with a fork.

3. Strain the tongues from the pot and let chill completely in the refrigerator. You can save the water to use it for other recipes such as gravy, but I never did because the water, in my opinion, smells like a barn. But I've seen recipes calling to save this, so I guess people do it. Just sharing my opinion.

4. Once cooled, peel the taste bud layer off the tongues. This is a thick layer that is often whitish and separates easily from the tongue, as long as it is cooled first.

5. Slice your tongue (while still cold) attempting slices as thin as you can manage (if you can do thinner than pictured above, even better) and put in a baking dish.

6. Mix the rest of the ingredients together (that is the second 5 cups of water), taste it and adjust it as needed, then pour over the sliced tongue.

7. Bake covered for approximately an hour.

8. Serve hot.

Enjoy!

Have you ever had tongue? Are you a fan? What is your favorite way to eat tongue?

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