How to clean beef tongue?

Beef tongue is an exquisite delicacy with delicate taste and nutritional value. It contains a lot of protein, phosphorus, iron and zinc, perfectly absorbed by children and adults.Some housewives do not risk cooking this product, considering that it is very difficult and not worth the money spent. But cooking does not require much time and effort if you know how to properly clean the beef tongue and how to boil it.

When buying a product should pay attention to its appearance and size. A large tongue is an indication that the animal was adult or old. The last sign is determined by the color of the tongue, the presence of spots on its surface. Old beef has a dark red color with a slight bluish tinge. The young animal language has a pleasant light pink color. Stains on the tongue may indicate age or indicate that the cow was sick.

A more costly way is to: pierce the tongue with a needle or a needle heated on a fire. The smell of rot indicates that the product is not suitable for use.

The language of the old animal should be boiled for at least 3-4 hours. The more beef is subjected to heat treatment, the more valuable properties it loses, because the nutrients at the molecular level begin to break down. It is preferable to choose beef tongue of medium or small size - it cooks no more than 2 hours, it can be quickly peeled, and as a main course it looks much more appetizing and more attractive than dark and old meat.

Beef tongue has a rough rough surface with villi. At its root are the salivary glands. On this meat remains a secret, so the coarse skin is not suitable for use, because it contains food debris, mucus, dirt and saliva.

In stores, the language is sold frozen. After being brought home, the product is immersed in cold water or left in a plastic bag on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator for 30 minutes. When the tongue is thawed, it is thoroughly washed and carefully removed with a knife the salivary glands and the remains of meat left at the root.

For convenience, thawed tongue can scrape with a knife. Before preparing the raw product, it makes no sense to cleanse the skin, because along with it a decent proportion of tender pulp will be removed. For the same reason, chefs do not recommend removing the top layer when the meat is not cleaned and cools down on its own for more than 20-30 minutes. Then on the skin when it is removed, too, pieces of flesh remain. Boiled tongue is cleaned immediately after cooking: it is dipped in ice water, the rough layer is removed, and only then the meat is cut into beautiful slices or slices.

The taste and the appearance of the dish depend on how well the cooking is done. Housewives must remember that the first water in which the product is prepared, must be drained. It contains harmful substances, saliva, dirt. The product is immediately poured boiling water, and do not wait until the cold water is heated along with the meat.

Important! If the meat is placed in cold water and cooked, you get a tasty broth, but not meat, because the valuable components will go into liquid. When the tongue is poured immediately with boiling water, it allows you to keep its excellent taste.

There are 2 ways to cook beef tongue.

• The product is poured boiling water and put the pan on the fire. When the water boils, the tongue is boiled over low heat for another 15-20 minutes, removed from the heat and immediately immersed the meat in ice water. When the tongue cools down to a warm state, it is removed and immediately cleaned. At the root, a shallow transverse incision is made across the entire width, the skin is pinched by a sharp blade and the skin is pulled up and to the tip of the tongue. If in some places the upper layer is poorly separated from the pulp, it is slightly trimmed with a knife.Boiled and peeled tongue is again poured with boiling water and boiled until ready.
• Beef poured boiling water, put on the fire. When the water boils, the meat is cooked for another 20-25 minutes. The broth is drained and poured over with boiling water. Cook until full readiness. Immersed in cold water. When the tongue cools down to a warm state, it is cleaned. The disadvantage of this method is that seasonings, juice of greens and vegetables do not soak the pulp as well as it does when using the first method.

The end result depends on adhering to the exact sequence of actions. To make beef tongue easier to clean and prepare, steps are performed in stages.

• Thawed tongue is washed with plenty of cool water or left in it overnight.
• Remove salivary glands and other unsuitable segments for food.
• A sharp knife gently scraped dirt and mucus from the surface of the meat.
• Pour meat with boiling water so that it hides it completely. It is undesirable to cut the tongue into parts, but if it is very large, it can be divided into 2 pieces.
• Beef is tormented on low heat for 15-20 minutes and it is necessary to drain this water.
• The tongue is peeled and again poured boiling water. Either continue to cook without cleaning.
• 15-20 minutes before the end of cooking, add black pepper (peas), celery, onion, carrot, dill, bay leaf and salt to broth.

• If the tongue has not been cleaned at the beginning of cooking, it is released from the skin immediately after the pan is removed from the stove. The meat must be pulled out of the broth, freed from vegetables and seasonings, placed in cold water and cleaned as it cools.
• Purified tongue is again placed in broth, brought to a boil and removed from heat. While the broth is hot, it will soak the pulp.

The tongue can be served as a component of a salad or vegetable dish, as well as sliced. Tart horseradish sauce with mustard will add spice to the tongue, and if you dilute it with cream or mayonnaise - a delicate creamy taste. Next to the cutting lay out vegetables, green peas, sprigs of greens.

On compliance with these rules depends how quickly and competently beef tongue will be cleaned and cooked.

• The knife must be sharp. It is necessary to use a kitchen appliance intended for cutting meat. Then the tongue is easier to clean, the pulp is not torn off along with the skin, and the cutting or slices are smooth and beautiful.
• In the process of cooking it is necessary to monitor the formation of scale and remove it in time.
• The meat is immersed in ice water immediately after being removed from the pan. A sharp change in temperature contributes to the easy separation of the skin from the pulp.
• If the skin on the boiled tongue is separated poorly, make shallow transverse cuts in these places, and continue cleaning.

• The readiness of the cleaned beef is checked by the color of the juice it emits. If it is muddy, the meat continues to cook. Clear juice indicates that the language is ready.
• The meat of a young animal is much more tender and tastier than the old one, no matter how correctly the rules of cooking are observed.
• Cutting turns out beautiful, if you cut thin plates diagonally.
• Boiled beef can be stored in the refrigerator for 1-1.5 weeks, if you rub it with a mixture of garlic and seasonings or pickle. It will not lose its magnificent taste.

Beef is a dietary, nutritious meat, in which there is little cholesterol, and the tongue itself is a source of vital substances. They are the "building material" for muscle tissue, are involved in the function of blood, contribute to the early regeneration of cells.If the meat is cleaned and cooked properly, then it is completely absorbed by the body, and the person feels great at any age.

On the intricacies of cleaning beef tongue can be found in the video below.