Sous Vide Beef Tongue Taco

Meat cooked low and slow for over 24 hours in its own juices. Chopped up and crisped to perfection on a griddle before being wrapped in a warm tortilla and topped with onions, cilantro and hot sauce. Sounds pretty magical, right? It is for me because its how I had my first beef tongue taco in the strip district of Pittsburgh Pennsylvania, when I was a teenager.

Sous Vide Beef Tongue Taco

Ingredients:

  • 1 Beef Tongue

  • ½ white onion

  • 2 Roma tomatoes

  • 5 cloves of garlic, peeled

  • handful of cilantro

  • Plenty of Salt & Pepper

Method:

  1. Prepare the beef tongue for the sous vide

  2. Heavily salt and pepper the beef tongue and add to a heavy duty ziploc bag (or vacuum sealed bag if using)

  3. Add the chopped onion, tomatoes, garlic, and cilantro to the bag.

  4. Heat the sous vide up to 170 degrees Fahrenheit (77 celsius).

  5. Keeping the Ziploc bag open, drop the bag into the water, letting the hot water drive the air out for an improvised vacuum seal. Close the bag

  6. Sous vide the beef tongue for 24 hours or up to 48.

  7. The next day, remove the beef tongue and save the juices and vegetables.

  8. Add the vegetables and juices to your favorite hot sauce for a quick beefy, umami salsa.

  9. Remove the outer skin of the beef tongue by sliding your finger underneath the lining and pulling. It should peel right off.

  10. Slice the beef tongue into thin slices and then cut into smaller pieces to crisp up on the griddle.

  11. Heat a griddle or cast iron to medium heat. Add the beef tongue and crisp it up until the fat renders and you are left with fat, crispy, goodness.

  12. Add to a warmed taco with pickled onions, cilantro, and the beefy hot sauce.

  13. It’s pretty darn good, isn't it?

Basic Pickled Onions

Ingredients:

  • 1 red onion

  • ¼ tsp cumin seeds

  • ¼ tsp black peppercorns

  • 2 cloves garlic, halved

  • ½ cup white vinegar

  • ½ tsp salt

  • ½ tsp sugar

  • Water to cover onions

Method:

  1. Add all of the ingredients to a sauce pan.

  2. Add enough water to just cover the onions.

  3. Bring to a boil over medium heat and let boil for 3 minutes.

  4. Remove from the heat and pour into a glass jar.

  5. Let stand in the fridge for several hours before serving to let the flavors get comfortable.

  6. These will store for weeks in the fridge in an airtight container.

Ethan Chlebowski