Tacos de Lengua with Salsa Verde

Tacos de Lengua with Salsa Verde

(Cow tongue tacos with a green tomatillo salsa)

These tacos are fairly easy to make and I assure you, they're out-of-this-country delicious.  Don't be freaked out by the fact that it's cow tongue!  People in Mexico eat cow tongue all the time, slow-cooked in all kinds of deliciousness until it's tender and flavorful. At the end, you chop it up so it doesn't even LOOK like cow tongue anymore.

First go buy a cow tongue.  If you go to a Mexican market, you'll not only save money, but usually have the option of getting only part of the tongue (in case you're not feeding 4-5 people). Another plus is that the cow tongue in the good Mexican grocery stores is usually much more fresh,  because they go through more tongue than they do at the big chain stores.  So, have you gotten your cow tongue yet?  Now, clean it well and I would recommend chopping it into a few large pieces.  This will help the meat to cook faster and get very tender.  Plus, it looks pretty weird in one huge piece. Very....tongue-like.

Here's what you will need:

1 3-4 lb. cow tongue

Roma tomatoes (2, cut in half)

Large jalapeno (1, cut in half) *plus 2 for salsa verde, recipe to follow*

Large sweet onion (1, quartered)

Garlic cloves, smashed (8-10)

Bay leaves (6-8)

salt and pepper (1 Tbsp. each)

Salsa Verde:

Large Tomatillos (3, or 6 small tomatillos)

Large jalapenos (2)

1/2 Red onion, (finely chopped)

1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves (finely chopped)

juice of one lime

salt and pepper to taste

You will also need:

Corn tortillas (or flour tortillas, if you prefer, *keep in mind that if you use corn tortillas, you should use 2 per taco---these tacos are so juicy that if you don't the tortillas can get really soggy really fast.)

And for garnish: any of the following can be added, but are not necessary: sliced avocado, a squeeze of fresh lime, crumbled queso fresco, fresh sprigs of cilantro, thinly-sliced white or red cabbage, and Mexican sour cream)

Put the cow tongue (cut into 3 or 4 big pieces) into a large pot and cover with warm water, bring to a boil and add the next 6 ingredients.  Reduce to medium-low, partially cover and cook for 3 hours at a good simmer.

For salsa verde:

In a small pot, add the tomatillos and 2 large jalapenos and cover with water, bring to a boil and cook for 5-8 minutes, until tender.  Transfer the whole tomatillos to a blender, *cut the jalapenos in half and remove the seeds, unless you want it to be realllly hot* and add those to the blender as well, cover and pulse until liquefied into a salsa-like consistency.  Pour into a mixing bowl and add the chopped onion, chopped cilantro, lime juice and salt and pepper to taste.  This salsa can be served warm or prepared ahead of time and chilled, either way it's easy and flavorful, and mild or spicy depending on if you leave or discard the seeds in the jalapenos.  You could even create half a batch of mild and half a batch of spicy so everyone's happy...it's up to you!

So, when the meat is done cooking (3 hours. Don't take it out too early!), transfer the pieces to a cutting board.  Don't pour out the cooking liquid!  It should be a delicious and flavorful soup by now.  Cut away the white parts on the outside of the tongue and I personally like to cut away anything that looks remotely tongue-like...I pretty much just cut off all of the outside layer of the tongue.  Then I chop it into quarter or even dime-size pieces, depending on how patient I am feeling.  Discard the scraps and return the chopped meat to the cooking liquid.  Now fill a tortilla with a  scoop of the chopped tongue, and garnish with salsa verde, a squeeze of fresh lime and any of the other optional garnish ingredients mentioned above.  Pair with a Mexican cerveza or margarita!