Recipe

Late Night Tacos de Lengua

Recipe
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Photo by nannydeb

This recipe was entered in the contest for Your Best Street Food
Chef
nannydeb's Notes: I was born & raised in McAllen on the Texas/Mexico border. When I was in high school, the thing to do on Saturday night was to go to Reynosa to have drinks at Trevino's then dancing at Eddie...
I was born & raised in McAllen on the Texas/Mexico border. When I was in high school, the thing to do on Saturday night was to go to Reynosa to have drinks at Trevino's then dancing at Eddie's. They played Rock & Roll and never carded ANYBODY. Late night we would stumble out of the club where there was a strategically parked taqueria selling varios types of tacos. The most popular was "tacos de lengua" but in my youth there wasn't a chance in hell that I would eat that (though my father cooked tongue and I would often find one in the fridge just lying on a plate). I have expanded my horizons since then, but have never cooked tongue until now (thanks to the encouragement of a friend at work who's from Brownsville and the food52 recipe contests). I served this with a cilantro sour cream which is not at all what you'd get on the street in Reynosa. They might have offered grilled onions and some salsa-definitely no frills.

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Serves 4-6

Lengua:

1 1-2 pound beef tongue Ask a question about this ingredient

1/2 yellow onion, corsely chopped Ask a question about this ingredient

1 fresh jalapeno, cut in half Ask a question about this ingredient

3 cloves garlic, whole Ask a question about this ingredient

1 stalk celery, coarsely chopped Ask a question about this ingredient

1 teaspoon cumin seed, slightly crushed Ask a question about this ingredient

1 teaspoon salt Ask a question about this ingredient

1 bottle Negra Modelo Ask a question about this ingredient

sliced bell pepper and onions, optional Ask a question about this ingredient

corn and/or flour tortillas, warmed Ask a question about this ingredient

2 tablespoons olive oil Ask a question about this ingredient

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
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Place the tongue in a cast iron dutch oven with the rest of the ingredients. Add enough water to about the halfway point on the tongue. Bring it to a boil.
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Cover the pot and bake in the oven for about 3-3 1/2 hours or until fork tender. I flipped mine half way through. Set aside to cool a bit.
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Once cool enough to handle, remove the outer layer of skin and slice thinly.
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In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium high heat. Cook the sliced tongue with the peppers and onions until browned, about 3-5 minutes.
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Serve on hot tortillas with cilantro sour cream, salsa and the rest of the Negra Modelo.
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Cilantro Sour Cream :

3 tablespoons fresh cilantro, minced Ask a question about this ingredient

1 clove garlic, minced Ask a question about this ingredient

1 fresh jalapeno, minced Ask a question about this ingredient

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice Ask a question about this ingredient

3/4-1 cups sour cream (depending on how potent you want it) Ask a question about this ingredient

salt to taste Ask a question about this ingredient

Toss all ingredients in the food processor and blend.
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5 Comments on Late Night Tacos de Lengua

atlacm1 added about 1 month ago

We've been going to an authentic Mexican restaurant just so we could have Tacos de Lengua. I was tired of having to always go out to get them, so picked up some tongue today from my local grass fed beef supplier. This recipe sounds delicious -- can't wait to try it. Looks like we'll be having tacos sometime this weekend. I'll let you know how they come out. Thanks!

LornaFarris added 11 months ago

I LOVE tongue tacos and want to make them for my birthday fiesta in a couple of weeks :-) I've been searching for a good recipe... And this looks fabulous! Love the idea of the cilantro sour cream...