Tacos de lengua
Print Recipe
Veal tongue becomes simultaneously soft and crispy when cooked this way.
Course
Main Course
Cuisine 
Ingredients
- 1.3 kg veal tongue salted
- 1 onion
- 1 carrot
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tsp black peppercorns
- 2 tbsp lard
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp Mexican oregano
- 1 tsp chipotle chilli
Instructions
- Rinse the veal tongue and place it in a large saucepan. Add the onion, carrot, bay leaves and peppercorns. Cover generously with cold water. Do not add salt.
- Bring to the boil, skimming off any foam that rises to the surface. Reduce the heat and simmer very gently for about 3 hours, or until the tongue is completely tender. Start checking after about 2½ hours. A thin knife or skewer inserted into the thickest part should slide in with almost no resistance. If there is any significant resistance, continue cooking and check again after 20–30 minutes.
- Remove the tongue from the cooking liquid. As soon as it is cool enough to handle, peel off and discard the tough outer skin. Trim away any rough or fatty tissue from the root end.
- Leave the peeled tongue to cool slightly, preferably moistened with a little of the cooking liquid to prevent it drying out.
- Cut the tongue into 1–1.5 cm cubes.
- Heat the lard in a large frying pan over high heat. Add the tongue in a single layer, working in batches if necessary. Fry without disturbing it initially, then turn occasionally, until the cubes are deeply browned and crisp around the edges.
- Season with cumin, oregano and chilli towards the end.
- Serve immediately as a taco filling.
Notes
Serve with tacos / corn tortillas, salsa verde, pink pickled onion, coriander, lime slices, feta, sour cream, picked jalapeño and/or avocado.