One of the most expensive foods you can buy in Russia are cow tongues. What I use to get for free in America (no one eats them,) are sought after and used for special occasions in Russia. Never found a cheap cow Tongue yet in the stores. Cheap beef, cheap pork and very cheap chicken, but that cow tongue is gold in price…

In Russia: Beef and pork tongue are considered delicacies due to a gentle soft texture, exquisite taste, vitamin and nutritional value. The makeup of its structure is a simple solid muscle, therefore it contains lots of proteins, some fat and is practically devoid of carbohydrates. As Beef Tongue is rich in zinc, which helps produces insulin in the body of a diabetic, which is good for it helps people like me. The absence of connective tissue in the tongue ensures its excellent digestibility, so you can definitely call it a dietary product. It remains for us to learn how to properly prepare the beef tongue…

You will need:

One beef tongue (bigger the better in Russia)
One large onion
Two large carrots
Five sticks of celery
Salt, garlic and pepper to taste

1. Wash the beef tongue in hot water (Hot? A Russian thing to do, not cold! Other words rinse the cow tongue…)
2. Cut off excess fat…
3. If you can peal off the skin at this point, okay get peeling, peel that tongue…
4. Oops, you cannot do it? If it does not peel easily, don’t worry you can skin the tongue once it is cooked… (Sorry, but I think they taste much better peeled to start with…)
5. If you are not planning on serving the whole beef tongue at the dinner table and carve it, as the family delicacy that it is, you can cut it in half on the long side and or big chunks however you want…
6. Put the beef tongue into a large pot and add boiling water just enough to cover the tongue…
7. Add diced onion, carrot, celery sticks. Then season to taste (be careful here, some tongues come pre-brined,) go ahead and give it some garlic…
8. Bring to boil 5 minutes hard boil, then turn down the heat and simmer…
9. Then skim the nasty looking foam from the surface of the water…
10. Let the cow tongue simmer slowly for about an hour… (I simmer for two hours many times, the longer the more tender it becomes…)

Now get ready for a licking good time. It makes great sandwiches (sliced with ketchup) and if the family does not gross out, you can carve it (skinned of course or not! ) right in front of them, like a turkey…

Oh, I love cow tongue…add mashed potatoes, greenbeans and what ever…

Leftovers? What leftovers? Dice it and make a cow tongue salad to spread on a piece of bread…

WtR