Tongue in Salsa Verde
EasyINGREDIENTS
for the boiled tongue
- 1.5 kgs of beef tongue
- 2 celery sticks
- 1 onion
- 2 carrots
- 1 clove of garlic
- 1 bay leaf
- Coarse salt and pepper, as required
for the brine
- 3L of water
- 150g of table sea salt
- 15 black peppercorns
- 1 bay leaf
for the Salsa Verde
- 4 chopped anchovy fillets in oil
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 120 g parsley leaves
- 1 spoonful of capers in vinegar
- 2 boiled egg yolks
- 50 g white wine vinegar
- 80 g stale bread (without crusts)
- 150 g Extra virgin olive oil
- Salt and black pepper
Preparation of the boiled tongue
Before cooking the tongue, wash it carefully under running water and brush it well to remove impurities.
(If you want to ensure a particularly succulent result, follow these steps for the brine, if instead you don’t have much time you can still have a tasty result by skipping the brining hours and cooking the tongue directly).
6 h before cooking, prepare the brine.
Immerse the tongue completely in the brine. If there is not enough liquid, prepare more ensuring to keep the salt percentage at 5%.
Let the tongue rest in the brine in the refrigerator.
Bring the tongue to room temperature before cooking.
While waiting for the tongue to reach room temperature, put the celery ribs, carrots, onion, garlic, bay leaf, a little coarse salt, and a few black peppercorns in a saucepan full of cold water.
Drain the tongue from the brine, rinse it well in cold water and dry it.
Place the tongue in the flavored water.
Turn on the heat and, from the moment the boil starts, lower the heat and cook the tongue for 1 to 2 hours (depending on the size).
You can check if the tongue is cooked by piercing it with a wooden skewer. When the tongue is tender, it means that it is cooked.
Drain the tongue and let it cool.
In the meantime, prepare the Salsa Verde.
To prepare it, start with the hard-boiled eggs. Peel and mash them through a sieve to obtain a fine and uniform consistency. Put them in a blender.
Remove the bread crusts and cut the soft inner part into small pieces. Put the crumbs in a bowl with the wine vinegar. Soak for about ten minutes.
Meanwhile, peel and chop the garlic.
Drain the capers and put them, together with the garlic and anchovies, into the blender with the eggs.
Now squeeze the bread and add some to the mixture.
Run the blender briefly, then add half of the oil and the parsley leaves.
Blend again.
Pour the remaining oil and finish blending until you get a creamy sauce.
Taste and season with salt and pepper.
Now peel the tongue and cut it into thin slices.
Serve the tongue with the Salsa Verde and, if you wish, with hard boiled egg slices as an excellent appetizer or combined with other cuts of boiled meat as a main dish.
Tips
The tongue must be purchased when very fresh. It is softer when well cooked.
Being a very fatty part with an intense flavor it is better to cook the tongue separately than together with other cuts of meat typical of mixed boiled meat.
There are three typical sauces that go perfectly and should always be served with boiled beef tongue: Veronese pearà, horseradish, or Salsa Verde.
