The high taste and dietary value of the tongue is beyond doubt. Not so long ago, dishes from this product were considered delicious and decorated the table only on holidays, but now it is available to everyone. However, in inept hands, the tongue can turn into a dry, tough dish. Everything from the fact that the language needs to be prepared correctly.
The virtues of language
Belonging to the by-products of the first category, the tongue has not only an excellent taste, but also a high nutritional value. Its combination of high protein content with low calorie content makes it an indispensable product in a wide variety of diets. The high content of iron allows it to be used in the diet of people suffering from anemia, pregnant women and children. Also, the tongue is rich in B vitamins, zinc and magnesium.
Dishes from the tongue, which can be cooked in a huge amount, are distinguished by their special juiciness, delicate and delicate taste. It is boiled, fried, stewed and baked. It offers excellent salads, excellent soups, delicate jellied dishes, spicy hot and light cold snacks. The special tenderness of the taste of the tongue makes it possible to combine it with any meat products, eggs, poultry, cereals and vegetables. Its taste is perfectly complemented by both spicy and creamy sauces.
Language selection
When buying a tongue, try to choose one that has been chilled but not frozen. Due to the fact that the tongue has not been exposed to low temperatures, it fully reveals its delicate and refined taste. Pay close attention to its color - a quality product should be purple or dark pink - this indicates a high iron content. But the light pink color of the offal indicates its preliminary deep freezing. A high-quality tongue will be firm when pressed with your finger, and the resulting mark will quickly be smoothed out. Excessive softness, flabbiness of the product indicates its staleness. Before buying, be sure to smell the product on offer. A fresh tongue has a pleasant meaty aroma, giving off a light milky aftertaste, foreign odors, the smell of ammonia or an unpleasant sour - will also tell about its poor quality. Keep in mind that a spoiled or stale tongue can ruin the taste of any dish.
Preparation
You will need a boiled tongue to prepare salads, appetizers and many other dishes. To cook the tongue so that it is soft and juicy, within the powers of any housewife, is not at all difficult, although it will take a lot of time.
First of all, you must thoroughly rinse your tongue with cool water, rubbing it with a metal brush, and rinse again. In a deep saucepan, boil enough water so that when the product is immersed, it covers it by 10 cm. Dip the washed tongue, peeled carrots and a large onion into boiling water. You can add celery or parsley root, black peppercorns and bay leaves if you like. Bring water to a boil and remove any foam. Then reduce heat to low, cover the pot and cook the tongue for about an hour. After that, remove the vegetables from the pan, add a tablespoon of salt, cover and cook until cooked for about an hour and a half. Every 15 minutes, watch the readiness of the tongue by piercing it with a toothpick - if its softness does not change in 15 minutes, then it is ready.
Transfer the finished product from the boiling broth to a container with ice water and leave for a couple of minutes. This will help to easily cleanse your tongue, you just need to skin it and remove excess fat. Put the peeled tongue into the boiling broth and, after boiling for another 15 minutes, cool directly in the saucepan where it was cooked. The tongue prepared in this way will turn out to be unusually tasty, soft, juicy.
