International Tacos Incident Party
Welcome to the tacos edition of the International Incident Party. We had noodles, we had dumplings, we had pizza pie, we had gnocchi, and now it’s time to taco it up.
On offer for the party today, I have tacos de lengua. They sound much more attractive in Spanish, since tacos de lengua means tongue tacos. And they are delicious – no really!
Tongue is one of my most favourite things to eat. I think many people have childhood memories of tongue being chewy and tough, but when it’s cooked properly tongue becomes tender and rich, with a wonderful buttery texture.
For these tacos, I cooked a whole tongue in water until it was soft. When it was tender, the diced meat was fried with onions, (rather a lot of) garlic, red and green capsicum, as well as cumin, paprika and cayenne pepper. After that I stirred through some chopped up coriander and served them in home made tortillas. The seasoned tongue was spicy and tender, and the home made tortillas were definitely worth the effort.
Although to tell the truth, there wasn’t that much effort in making the tortillas – they were easy! The dough was basically just masa harina (maize corn flour) and warm water. I don’t own a tortilla press, so I improvised by flattening golf ball sized balls of dough with a large cookbook (The Cook’s Companion!) and then thinning out the circles even further with a rolling pin. This helped keep the tortillas round(ish). Next time I’ll add a pinch of salt to the tortilla dough, but a warm tortilla straight out of the frying pan was bliss. And they taste like corn chips! Amazing.
After the tongue had been cooked and diced, it looked like any other meat – except more delicious! Alastair, who doesn’t really like tongue, tried a taco and he seemed to enjoy it (don’t worry, he didn’t miss out completely – I made a pork version for him to eat. What a good wife.). If you’re not a tongue lover, I hope that I may have inspired you to give it a go. And if not, well I guess that just means there’s more for me!
Check out the other attendees to the party below:
Tacos de lengua – tongue tacos
Makes rather a lot – serves 4-6?
1st step:
1 cow/ox tongue
1 onion, peeled and roughly chopped
4 garlic cloves, roughly crushed
10 peppercorns, roughly crushed
salt
2nd step:
1 onion, peeled and diced
3 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
1 red capsicum, diced
1 green capsicum, diced
1 chili, diced
2 teaspoons cumin
2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
salt and pepper
1 bunch coriander, well washed
A packet of tortillas – or make your own!
Lemon/lime juice
Place the tongue in a large pot and cover with water. Add the onion, garlic, pepper and salt. Cover the pot, bring the water to a boil, and then turn down to a simmer. Cook for the tongue for several hours, or until it is soft (I did mine in a thermal pot overnight, so am not sure how long it would take on the stove. You can tell when it’s soft if you can stick a chopstick into it easily!)
Remove the tongue from the liquid and set aside to cool. Peel the thick skin off the tongue, and dice the meat into cubes.
Heat some oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and onions, and cook until soft. Turn up the heat and add the diced capsicum, the diced tongue, and the spices. Season with salt and pepper and cook for another 5 to 6 minutes. Turn off the heat and stir through the chopped coriander.
Build the tacos by placing the meat mixture into a tortilla and serve with a squeeze of lemon/lime juice.
Jo - SecondHelping
July 18, 2010 @ 11:52 am
I think I would like to wrap my tongue around those tacos – yum!
penny aka jeroxie
July 18, 2010 @ 12:11 pm
Tongue! Awesome. I am picking up some tongue next week. Should we have a tongue party? LOVE!
Anh
July 18, 2010 @ 12:25 pm
I LOVE this version! I love the texture of tounge but always prepare the same French/Vietnamese way. You've inspired me!
Tangled Noodle
July 18, 2010 @ 12:30 pm
Tongue tacos are my absolute FAVORITE!! It's actually quite a feat to find restaurants that will serve them, perhaps because it does freak out some people. That just means more for me! 8-D
Emma @CakeMistress
July 18, 2010 @ 1:36 pm
Whoa, tongue tacos! Lovely work.
Iron Chef Shellie
July 18, 2010 @ 1:42 pm
wow.. i don't think I've had tongue… but then some part of me says I have… who knows!
They look amazing Agnes!!
Hannah
July 18, 2010 @ 3:22 pm
I've tried quite a few "odd" meats and proteins in my time, but tongue isn't one of them, sadly. I reckon I'd be happy to give anything spiced with cumin and paprika a go 😀
Christine@Christine's Recipes
July 18, 2010 @ 3:51 pm
Aw, haven't eaten ox tongue for ages. The ox tongue wrapped in tacos sounds great.
Tamar1973
July 18, 2010 @ 5:57 pm
Using tongue is a unique spin. At least you knew that no one else would come up with that! 🙂
Cherrie Pie
July 18, 2010 @ 8:55 pm
awesome! Your tongue tacos looks and sounds so delish.
Spicie Foodie
July 19, 2010 @ 1:53 am
As a Mexican I can tell you that you would make Mom proud 🙂 She would force us to eat tongue tacos, I hated them and she never succeeded with me. That been said I have to admit that your recipe, spices and photos look delicious, good job. I also participated in the IIP 🙂
Trix
July 19, 2010 @ 3:06 am
You are SO right, there is nothing like a warm tortilla right off the skillet!
girlichef
July 19, 2010 @ 3:19 am
Oh, these sound amazing…we love Lengua in our casa!! Great flavors =)
Evelyne@CheapEthnicEatz
July 19, 2010 @ 3:57 am
I tried again tongue twice recently…not for me. But great idea fro tongue lovers in this presentation
Sefie
July 19, 2010 @ 7:05 am
Oooooh, where did you get the masa harina? After having corn tortillas for the first time, I simply can't go back to flour ones!
Adrian @ Food Rehab
July 19, 2010 @ 1:00 pm
Love soft shell tacos and toungue- haven't had that in ages. Thanks!
agrigirl
July 19, 2010 @ 11:58 pm
Your photos are gorgeous. I can honestly say that I've never eaten tongue and probably won't but am certain that I could do a variation on the theme. Love the incident party idea also.
Juliana
July 20, 2010 @ 7:08 am
Wow, the tacos look so yummie….great pictures as well 🙂
Lisa (bakebikeblog)
July 20, 2010 @ 8:47 am
oh my – what wonderful photos! I dont think that I have ever eaten tongue though – too chicken me thinks 🙂
Maria@TheGourmetChallenge
July 20, 2010 @ 5:40 pm
hmmmm tongue tacos huh? Sound interesting. Not sure if I'd give it a go myself, but it does sound appetizing
Agnes
July 20, 2010 @ 9:31 pm
Jo: 😀
Penny: I love tongue – good luck making your dish! Have you decided what you're doing?
Anh: Yay! I have to say – it was SO delicious prepared this way. I would definitely do it again 😀
Tangled Noodle: It's such a shame it freaks people out – but like you said, more for you! 😉
Emma: Hehee, thanks 🙂
Shellie: Surely you know would if you have eaten it? 😉 Go buy one and cook it!
Hannah: Should I cook it for you when you come and visit? Hehee.
Agnes
July 20, 2010 @ 9:39 pm
Christine: I've really gotten into tongue again this year – I love it. 🙂
Tamar: Yes, I was pretty confident no one else would be doing tongue tacos! 😉
Cherrie: They were so delicious. I'm definitely going to have to make them again!
Spicie Foodie: Hehee, YAY! So glad to hear I would make your mum proud!
Trix: Fresh homemade tortillas = awesome.
girlichef: I'm determined to cook more lengua in my casa because I love it too. Hehee.
Evelyne: Well at least you tried it 🙂 We all have different tastes, but I'm always happy when people keep an open mind and are willing to try new things.
Sefie: I got it at Casa Iberica on Johnson St. They had some very cool stuff for sale.
Agnes
July 20, 2010 @ 9:43 pm
Adrian: I'm a huge fan of soft tacos. Yum.
agrigirl: Thanks! And yes, you could do a variation with a normal cut of meat 🙂
Juliana: Thank you – and they were sooo tasty.
Lisa: You just have to think of it as any other meat – though it does look pretty confronting if you're cooking it (it's a massive tongue).
Maria: Trust me, it's delicious – I dare you to try it 😉
Rochelle
July 21, 2010 @ 12:13 am
I've never had tongue but this looks good enough to get me to try it 😀
Conor @ Hold the Beef
July 31, 2010 @ 1:00 am
Funnily enough, I was only this morning watching Anthony Bourdain getting stuck into some tongue tacos (sadly, on TV and not in person) and they looked really good. He was pretty impressed by them too. If he likes them, and you like them, then I would like to like them too.