Make Ahead

Sweet and Sour Tongue

by:
January 23, 2010
5
1 Ratings
  • Serves 8?
Author Notes

When I was growing up, my grandmother made this for every holiday. (It's taken me all week to find the recipe in the huge pile of recipe cards I have!) I loved it even when I was very young, even after I realized it really was tongue. I would have made it this week - for the contest - if my mostly-vegetarian husband hadn't said "I must draw the line." So, here is a transcription of my Grandmother's recipe card, on which she wrote "a dish that will turn any day into a holiday." I realize I've posted this without a modern day test. If you make it, let me know how you like it. —MrsWheelbarrow

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 1 veal or beef tongue
  • 1 onion, large
  • 3 tomatoes
  • 1 lemon, juiced and zested
  • 2 tablespoons honey
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • salt, to taste
  • 2 allspice berries, crushed
  • 1 clove
  • 1/2 bay leaf
  • 1 small garlic clove
  • 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 cup raisins, golden or Muscat
  • 1/2 cup dried apricots, chopped rough
Directions
  1. Cover the tongue with boiling water and parboil for ten minutes.
  2. Remove from the water and scrape off the tough skin.
  3. Chop the onion and tomatoes and place in a heavy pot with the tongue and 3 cups of water.
  4. Add the lemon juice and zest and honey. Cook the tongue for an hour.
  5. Add the sugar, garlic and spices. Cook until tender.
  6. Remove the tongue and let it cool. Strain the sauce, pressing through the onion and tomatoes. (She probably used a food mill.)
  7. Rinse the dried fruit (isn't that an interesting direction?) and cook in the sauce until soft.
  8. Peel off any skin that may have remained on the tongue, slice it and return to the raisin sauce.
  9. Taste and correct for sugar or salt. When ready to serve, heat thoroughly.
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MrsWheelbarrow
Four cookbooks. 100s of recipes online. It all started with Food52

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1 Review

sdale80
sdale80 November 14, 2013
terrific recipe. I combined some of the steps and put the apricots with the onions and tomatoes. i used a pressure cooker at the beginning for twenty five minutes, peeled the tongue, added the other ingredients besides the fruit, returned all to pressure for another fifteen minutes, added apricots,cooked another five minutes, strained all sauce, added raisins and sliced the tongue, cooked it another ten minutes. it was delicious.