Beef tongue

Raw beef tongue.

"Lengua" redirects here. For the ethnic group, see Enxet people. For the language, see Enxet language.

Beef tongue is the tongue of a cow. The human consumption of beef tongue dates back to the days of Paleolithic hunters, who preferred the fatty portions of the carcass including tongues, as well as organs, brains, feet, and marrow.^{[citation needed]} Beef tongue is very high in fat, at almost 75% of its calories derived. Some countries, such as Canada, and specifically the province of Alberta which have a large beef export industry, export large quantities of beef tongue.

Preparation

Kare-kare, lengua with white sauce and pancit canton-bihon (Filipino catering)[1].

Tongue and pancetta with mâche

Beef tongue is often seasoned with onion and other spices, and then placed in a pot to boil. After it has cooked, the skin is often removed, and the rest of the tongue is served. Pickled tongue is often used by the preparer because it is already spiced. If cooked in a sauce, it can then later be reused as a sauce for meatballs or any other food item.

Another way of preparing beef tongue is to scald the tongue in hot water and remove the skin. Then roast the tongue in an oven similar to a roast beef, including using the pan drippings to prepare a gravy.

In Belgium, beef tongue will usually be prepared with mushrooms in a Madeira sauce.

In cuisines

Tongue is widely used in Mexican cuisine, and often seen in tacos and burritos (lengua). Also, beef tongue is a part of Bulgarian cuisine (tongue with butter), Romanian cuisine, German cuisine, Portuguese cuisine, Persian cuisine, Indonesian cuisine (semur lidah or beef tongue stew), Philippine cuisine, Albanian cuisine, English cuisine, Russian cuisine, Korean cuisine (hyeomit gui) and Japanese cuisine (the dish gyutan originating in the city of Sendai).

Beef tongue is also used in North America as a major ingredient of tongue toast, an open face sandwich prepared for breakfast, lunch, or dinner and sometimes offered as an hors-d'oeuvre.