# Smoked beef tongue



## smokie bill (Dec 12, 2010)

I know this may sound strange to all you guys out there who are into smoking ribs, brisket, hams, pork roasts, etc. (me too), but I'd like to know if anyone has ever smoked a beef tongue.  I have cooked them by boiling in spices & then pressure cooking.  They are delicious.  I read in a cookbook about smoking a tongue & it said to smoke it & then pressure cook it.  Was just wondering if anyone has ever done this & if so, how did you do it......times & temp?

Bill


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## roller (Dec 12, 2010)

You know I was thinking about doing a tongue the other day while buying ribeyes. I have never done one but have eaten many tongue sammies in years past..Looking forward to the info...nice post...thanks


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## smokinstevo27 (Dec 12, 2010)

I have no knowledge on the topic at all, but I sure would love to here from someone who does. I would also love to see pics of what you do with it Bill.


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## pops6927 (Dec 13, 2010)

My dad at his store would bring in beef tongue; whatever didn't sell fresh he'd pickle in ham brine and smoke and sell them smoked.  He would cook up one occasionally; as I remember he would roast it in the oven, peel the outer layer off and slice it and we'd eat it with beer and crackers up at camp; usually during some hotly contested penny pitch tournaments, lol.  I remember it as smokey and a little chewy, but sliced thin it was delicious!  Also served was smoked cheese (carefully put in and removed, put back in, etc so it wouldn't melt through the stockinette) and a local favorite called Croghan Bologna (made in Croghan, NY).


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## sausage joe (Dec 13, 2010)

Here is a picture of a tounge I smoked with some cottage hams. I just used the same brine. Came out great


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## smokie bill (Dec 13, 2010)

Okay, Sausage Joe, just how did you prep & smoke the tongue & how did it turn out?  I'd like to know:

1.  What was the brine

2.  How long did you brine it

3.  Did you skin it before brine or after the smoke

4.  How long did you smoke it & at what internal temperature did you go to for it to be done

5.  If you did not skin it, did the smoke penetrate the tongue really good

Bill


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## princess (Dec 13, 2010)

Tongue goes great in summer sausage, IMHO.


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## tigerregis (Dec 13, 2010)

Consult the original "Joy of Cooking" for tips. The one that has 'possum, squirrel etc. Good tips on cooking, skinning and curing.


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## sausage joe (Dec 14, 2010)

smokie bill said:


> Okay, Sausage Joe, just how did you prep & smoke the tongue & how did it turn out?  I'd like to know:
> 
> 1.  What was the brine
> 
> ...


I used a my standard maple brine for 2-3 days. I smoked the meat at 225 for 3-4 hours. The internal temp is really not important since you will be cooking it again but 160 f is a safe bet. I skinned the tounge after cooking . It turned out every bit as good as you can buy in the store.


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## mballi3011 (Dec 14, 2010)

Now I have eaten tongue like a few of you on sammies back in the dark ages. I have never smoked it or even cooked it but I'm interested in cooking some thou. It sounds pretty easy so maybe I can get the wife to let me buy some. I like to try new things as much as possible.


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## Bearcarver (Dec 14, 2010)

tigerregis said:


> Consult the original "Joy of Cooking" for tips. The one that has 'possum, squirrel etc. Good tips on cooking, skinning and curing.




Squirrel?

Don't say that too loud!

The Ninja Squirrels that haunt this forum will be on you in a flash! 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





Bear


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## raptor700 (Dec 14, 2010)

> The Ninja Squirrels that haunt this forum will be on you in a flash!


 There coming Bear, There coming!!


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## tigerregis (Dec 14, 2010)

She(squirrel) need not worry;I'm not a Bombeck. Haunting me with some of that grub she turns out, well that is a different story.


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## Dutch (Dec 14, 2010)

We used to cure and smoke beef tongue back when we ran the meat shop.  Like others here have commented, they make some great sammies. My favorite tongue sammies were made on whole wheat bread with german mustard (hot) slathered on both slices and a thick ol' slice of onion.


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## tony111 (Dec 16, 2010)

I do beef and pig tongue all the time and also the hearts the same way.  Morton sugar cure brine for 2 to 3 days [I inject the tongues because of the thickness] then pressure cooker for 45 to 50 min. Peel the skin then into the smoker for 1 1/2 to 2 hrs. I use hickory apple and sasafrass. I think it takes the smoke flavor better with the skin removed. I have had people eat it that did not know what it was as said it was some of the best roast beef they have ever had . I just grin from ear to ear. Hope this helps you out.


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## tony111 (Dec 16, 2010)

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/forum/thread/63691/smoked-beef-tongue-q-view    Here is a link to a Qview I did a few years ago. Not for the squeamish !!!


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## Bearcarver (Dec 17, 2010)

tony111 said:


> http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/forum/thread/63691/smoked-beef-tongue-q-view    Here is a link to a Qview I did a few years ago. Not for the squeamish !!!


Tony--That is a great thread!

The tongue you made looks great!

If anybody wants a chuckle, go to that post Tony linked above, and read the post "Pops" made on that thread over a year ago.

I almost laughed myself off my chair!

Good One Pops!

Bear


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## squirrel (Dec 17, 2010)

OMG Pops! I just went and read that Bear, jeez louise, I laughed so hard I scared my kitties! And if y'all keep talking about cooking the Squirrel, well see Meateaters post about the bone. Kickin' bootie and takin' names. Nuff said!


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## Bearcarver (Dec 17, 2010)

Squirrel said:


> OMG Pops! I just went and read that Bear, jeez louise, I laughed so hard I scared my kitties! And if y'all keep talking about cooking the Squirrel, well see Meateaters post about the bone. Kickin' bootie and takin' names. Nuff said!


That's alright---I'm still laughing about your "X".

Even Mrs Bear liked that one !

Bear


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## arnie (Dec 17, 2010)

Bearcarver said:


> tony111 said:
> 
> 
> > http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/forum/thread/63691/smoked-beef-tongue-q-view    Here is a link to a Qview I did a few years ago. Not for the squeamish !!!
> ...


GOOD ONE! Very well said Pops. It's all in what you call it


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## rio_grande (Dec 17, 2010)

Glad to see this post. Otter and I will both have our yearly beef and while I cook the tounge every year I have been contemplating smoking it. We always pressure cooked them in a sort of brine water. Pealed and sliced for a sandwich.

Remember the first time mom made it for me,,, or the first time I remember it. wow,,, never forget it.


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## meateater (Dec 17, 2010)

Pops post busted me up, LMAO. I grew up eating tongue, menudo, liver, and other ethnic foods. I've never tried it smoked so that's another for the list.


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## Bearcarver (Dec 18, 2010)

meateater said:


> Pops post busted me up, LMAO. I grew up eating tongue, menudo, liver, and other ethnic foods. I've never tried it smoked so that's another for the list.


Menudo !!!!!! 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





You are only the second person I ever heard say that word.

The other one is Redd Foxx on Sanford & Sons. He's always eating Menudo.

Note to self: Look up Menudo to finally find out what the heck it is!

Bear


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## meateater (Dec 19, 2010)

Bearcarver said:


> meateater said:
> 
> 
> > Pops post busted me up, LMAO. I grew up eating tongue, menudo, liver, and other ethnic foods. I've never tried it smoked so that's another for the list.
> ...


He had a place down the street from me on Eastern Ave. , now it haunted. They say there's a ghost with a attitude living there, imagine that maybe I should bring him a bowl. E S T E R !!! Lol. I actually smoked some menudo, great stuff.


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## smokie bill (Dec 19, 2010)

Okay, all of you who responded to my query about smoking a beef tongue, I finally did it.  Here’s the procedure I used:  In our 6-qt. pressure cooker, I added 2 cups water, 1 Tbs. salt, 2 bay leaves, 6 peppercorns, 6 cloves, 1 onion quartered, a 2.5# beef tongue which was cut in two pieces for easier handling.  Pressured for 45 minutes with the pressure regulator rocking slowly.  When time was up, I took the cooker off of the burner & let the pressure come down on its own accord without removing the regulator.  Removed the tongue pieces & immediately started to peel off the skin.  Surprisingly, very little cutting had to be done.  Once started, the skin peeled off nicely.  Because it was going to be a few hours until I smoked the tongue, I immersed the pieces in the liquid from the pressure cooker to keep them moist.

   Got the smoker up to a starting temp of 250 deg with good pecan wood smoke going.  I did apply a very light sprinkle of a rub on the tongue prior to smoking.  Put the tongue on the grate & laid a slice of bacon on top of each piece & closed the lid.  Start temp on the tongue was 76 deg.  Every 30 minutes I turned the pieces & replaced the bacon on top.  I maintained a smoker temp between 225 & 250.  After 2.5 hours, the internal meat temp was 150 deg. so I removed the meat.  I sliced the tongue & we ate it for dinner that evening.  It was so tender, moist, good smoke ring & flavor & very delicious.  Even my doubtful wife admitted several times how good it was.  The next day we made tongue sandwiches for lunch.  OMG!...what a delightful treat that was.  Will definitely be doing tongue again & again.  I think the key to this whole thing is to pressure the tongue prior to the cook/smoke.  May try a heart some time in the future & I’ll probably do it the same way.


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## smokie bill (Dec 20, 2010)

I forgot to attach a couple of pictures with my last post concerning the beef tongue, so here they are:


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## tony111 (Dec 20, 2010)

Looks great Bill ! I'm glad the hear the wife liked it also. Mine wont eat it but that just leaves more for me. [grin]


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## jirodriguez (Dec 20, 2010)

Ooohhhh, Aaaaahhh, Preaty! Man that looks awesome! Thank you soooo much for giving us a follow up..... all I can say is lengua tacos! Mmmmmmmm!


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## pops6927 (Dec 21, 2010)

Here's a re-post of what I said on that thread:

Tongue is very good any way it's fixed. So is the backbone of a heifer and it's ass too, plus I love shoving ground meat into intenstinal linings and seasoned with ground up plants, and cleaning the guts out of old sows and chopping their shoulders off and smoking, cooking or grinding them and cook the ass off one at Easter too, after getting it pickled-drunk and smoked with old tree chunks. I love yanking the tits off a clucker and chopping them up into chunks, throwing them into cackleberry soup then rubbing them with crushed up wheat gluten and charring them up in a swaddle of plant grease into 'nuggets', too!
Guess it's how you look at things...

Heh heh heh... guess I did wax prolific a bit in excess but it would never fail to amaze me how customers would forget exactly where cuts of meat actually came from; that s prime steak is gnawing on the backbone of a steer or that a rump roast at one time had poop running out of it.  Customers would ask why we couldn't make our bacon leaner, for example.  I'd tell them that was the way the hog grew it, they have as fat of stomachs as people do (while staring at their belly pointedly..)......  They would not relate the fact that bacon came from a hog's belly, it was like they thought we manufactured it that way.


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## Bearcarver (Dec 21, 2010)

Pops6927 said:


> Here's a re-post of what I said on that thread:
> 
> Tongue is very good any way it's fixed. So is the backbone of a heifer and it's ass too, plus I love shoving ground meat into intenstinal linings and seasoned with ground up plants, and cleaning the guts out of old sows and chopping their shoulders off and smoking, cooking or grinding them and cook the ass off one at Easter too, after getting it pickled-drunk and smoked with old tree chunks. I love yanking the tits off a clucker and chopping them up into chunks, throwing them into cackleberry soup then rubbing them with crushed up wheat gluten and charring them up in a swaddle of plant grease into 'nuggets', too!
> Guess it's how you look at things...
> ...


Yup---That's the one---I love it!

*Smokie Bill,*

*That looks AWESOME !*

*My mother used to make tongue when I was a kid---I loved it.*

*It was nice and tender---I guess because a cow doesn't talk a lot! **Maybe the cud is a tenderizer???*

*Your's looks about 10 times better, smoke ring & all !*

*The bark looks fabulous too.*

*This is a great thread!*

*Thanks,*

*Bear*


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## smokey mo (Jun 28, 2011)

OK.  That's it. It has officially been placed on the list of things to smoke.  I will even try it.  My wife and kids love the tacos form the local hurl wagon.  My problem is not the fact it is meat.  I just remember watching the cows stick the tongue so far into the nose the tail would straighten out.  It is a stupid prejudice that will be overcome as soon as I try it.  Like sushi and escargot (spelling). 

Well done.  I was talking about tongue with my boss and he wants me to smoke some up for him to have. Too funny.


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## moikel (Jul 26, 2011)

This has helped me a lot. I havent started smoking yet but when I  cook the shop bought ones I poach them in water GENTLY with carrot,onion,bay leaves & a splash of white wine vinegar for about an hour. I cook some small puy lentils in some of poaching liquid +garlic + onion + chicken stock.Serve it sliced(SKINNED ) on top of lentils with salsa verde on side(chopped parsley,capers,anchovies,lemon juice & zest)If you are colour conscious you can substitute white cannelli beans for lentils to give contrast. If you kill the whole animal eat/use the whole animal!


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## meateater (Jul 26, 2011)

Moikel said:


> This has helped me a lot. I havent started smoking yet but when I  cook the shop bought ones I poach them in water GENTLY with carrot,onion,bay leaves & a splash of white wine vinegar for about an hour. I cook some small puy lentils in some of poaching liquid +garlic + onion + chicken stock.Serve it sliced(SKINNED ) on top of lentils with salsa verde on side(chopped parsley,capers,anchovies,lemon juice & zest)If you are colour conscious you can substitute white cannelli beans for lentils to give contrast. If you kill the whole animal eat/use the whole animal!




I hear ya if I can use the oink or moo I will. Looking forward to the pics.


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## marco007 (Dec 12, 2012)

Hey Bill,

I'm from Texas, and yes I have smoked beef tongue.  Just use salt/pepper, maybe whole cloves of garlic, cilantro, and onions, but keep it simple.  We have smoked the whole Beef head, which back home in TX, is known as Barbacoa. Season it, and wrap it, set it and forget over night, wake up, spread it open on the table, let steam out.  Grab some cilantro, salsa, and some corn/flour tortillas.  If you are really adventurous, fry and egg, sunny side, or where the yoke is still runny, make the taco, and place the egg over the meat, bite down, and pure heaven. 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





  
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





  The head has the cheek, tongue, brains, and whatever else you can muster out.   And is usually cooked in underground, but a smoker works just as well.    We don't brine it, we use that simple rub, and herbs, and those veggies mentioned.  But know I'm interested in brining it now, see how it comes.

You can smoke it open for like 2-3 hours, then add everything listed above, or to your taste, and then depending how big the tongue is, another 4-5hrs wrapped.  Cut down top of tongue, scrape out meat.  To me, it is the most flavorful meat on the cow, it is the meat that tastes you back!LOL.  If cooked right, it is the most tenderest meat you will eat!

Marco

Tex-A-Lina Cookers

Charlotte, NC


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## venture (Dec 12, 2012)

The only problem with beef tongue is the skin and bad cooks.

With lamb tongue, even the skin is not that much problem.

I love my lengua!

Good luck and good smoking.


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## bgosnell151 (Sep 18, 2013)

So one of my friends just went to a butcher and purchased a whole "cow".  He said they were probably going to just throw out the tongue... I told him I would be willing to take it off his hands.  I have never cooked/smoked a tongue, so thought the adventure would be fun.  I was planning on brining this, boiling for 1 1/2 hours to remove the skin with an onion, minimal salt and a couple pepercorns, then smoke with salt and pepper on it.  What temp should I smoke this to?  I would like to pickle some of it and slice some others.


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## bgosnell151 (Sep 18, 2013)

hmmmm... guess I resurrected an old thread.  Have read about 5 threads on this, took some pointers from each and probably picked the wrong one to ask on.


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## moikel (Sep 18, 2013)

bgosnell151 said:


> hmmmm... guess I resurrected an old thread.  Have read about 5 threads on this, took some pointers from each and probably picked the wrong one to ask on.


 Check out nose to tail section,Clarissa & I have both done a few.There are a couple of different options.


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## cruiserborealis (Apr 4, 2015)

I brine beef tongue, depending on its size, for 3 to 5 days, then hang it in a cool environment for several hours or over night to dry. The next morning I hot smoke the tongue at temperatures between 240 and 280 Fahrenheit on my gas grill over chunks of seasoned maple and/or beech wood for 6 -8 hours. After hanging it to cool I boil it for 3 hours and peel off all skin while still hot. Serve cold or warm, thinnly sliced with grated fresh horse radish. A traditional Easter treat from Southern Austria.


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## Bearcarver (Apr 4, 2015)

Cruiserborealis said:


> I brine beef tongue, depending on its size, for 3 to 5 days, then hang it in a cool environment for several hours or over night to dry. The next morning I hot smoke the tongue at temperatures between 240 and 280 Fahrenheit on my gas grill over chunks of seasoned maple and/or beech wood for 6 -8 hours. After hanging it to cool I boil it for 3 hours and peel off all skin while still hot. Serve cold or warm, thinnly sliced with grated fresh horse radish. A traditional Easter treat from Southern Austria.


You are talking about using cure in that brine, right?

Bear


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## cruiserborealis (Apr 4, 2015)

No chemicals, just salt, some brown sugar or maple syrup and a shot of rum for good luck. That's all I use.


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## Bearcarver (Apr 4, 2015)

Cruiserborealis said:


> *I brine beef tongue, depending on its size, for 3 to 5 days, then hang it in a cool environment for several hours or over night to dry.* The next morning I hot smoke the tongue at temperatures between 240 and 280 Fahrenheit on my gas grill over chunks of seasoned maple and/or beech wood for 6 -8 hours. After hanging it to cool I boil it for 3 hours and peel off all skin while still hot. Serve cold or warm, thinnly sliced with grated fresh horse radish. A traditional Easter treat from Southern Austria.





Cruiserborealis said:


> No chemicals, just salt, some brown sugar or maple syrup and a shot of rum for good luck. That's all I use.


Without cure, you shouldn't hang the tongue, or any other uncured meats in just a cool environment for several hours or over night, unless that cool environment is consistently below 40° F.

Bear


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## cruiserborealis (Apr 4, 2015)

Sorry, that's what I meant by "cool" environment, around 40 F but not freezing. I live in Canada. We hardly ever hit 40 without turning on the heat.


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## Bearcarver (Apr 4, 2015)

Cruiserborealis said:


> Sorry, that's what I meant by "cool" environment, around 40 F but not freezing. I live in Canada. We hardly ever hit 40 without turning on the heat.


OK, Great---Under 40° is fine!! You're good to go then.

Just checking.

Bear


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