Friends often ask how my children are such adventurous eaters. I think it’s because they see me experimenting in the kitchen and often help with cooking, so they’re curious and willing to try new flavors. I’m grateful they’re open-minded about food.
My son has been asking for cow tongue for weeks and delights in telling his friends we eat tongue tacos. If you didn’t grow up with lengua, the idea might seem strange at first. But when prepared properly, beef tongue is mild, tender, and richly flavored.
When slow cooked, lengua becomes extremely tender and loses any gamey or off-putting taste. If you didn’t know you were eating tongue, you might think it was a particularly good cut of beef—rich, soft, and flavorful.
I know life gets busy. With kids in sports and a busy schedule, convenience matters. That’s why I like this slow-cooker method: it requires little hands-on time and yields a tender, versatile meat perfect for tacos, gorditas, sopes, or any tortilla-based dish.
After the tongue is cooked, peel off the outer skin while it’s still warm, dice the meat, then sauté it with onions, garlic, and tomatoes until the flavors meld and the lengua becomes melt-in-your-mouth tender.
This recipe is adapted from the Muy Bueno cookbook and works perfectly as a filling for gorditas, sopes, or tucked into warm corn tortillas and topped with chopped onion, cilantro, and your favorite salsa.
Beef Tongue with Tomato (LENGUA ENTOMATADA)
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 beef tongue, or up to 3 pounds
- 3 cups water
- 1 small onion, quartered
- 5 cloves garlic
- 2 teaspoons sea salt
SAUCE:
- 1 (14.5-ounce) can peeled or diced tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/3 cup chopped white onion
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
Tacos:
- corn tortillas
- chopped cilantro, optional
- chopped white onions, optional
- salsa of choice, optional
Instructions
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Place the beef tongue, water, quartered onion, garlic, and sea salt in a slow cooker. Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours, until the tongue is very tender.
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Remove the tongue from the cooking liquid and let it cool enough to handle. While still warm, peel off the outer skin. Dice the tongue into 1/2-inch cubes and set aside.
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Strain the cooking liquid and reserve the stock. For best results, refrigerate the stock and skim off any fat, or use a fat separator. Puree the canned tomatoes in a blender or food processor and set aside.
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In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the chopped onion and sauté until translucent, about 2 minutes. Sprinkle in the flour and stir for 2 minutes to cook the raw taste out.
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Add the pureed tomatoes and bring to a gentle boil while stirring. Add the diced tongue, 1/2 cup of the reserved stock, black pepper, and garlic powder. Lower the heat and simmer for about 5 minutes to thicken. Add more stock if the mixture seems too dry; the filling should be thick rather than runny.
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Warm corn tortillas, fill with the lengua mixture, and top with chopped cilantro, diced onion, and your favorite salsa.
Variation:
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To make a lengua chile stew, add more reserved stock and about 1/2 cup of your favorite salsa to create a heartier, saucier dish.
Notes
- The nutrition facts do not include tortillas or any optional toppings.
Nutrition
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Carbohydrates: 4.56g
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Protein: 0.64g
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Fat: 2.39g
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Sodium: 783.18mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated and should be used as an approximation.
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