Oven-Baked Beef Tongue

Cooking method

1. Step 1:

   

   How do you bake a tongue? Gather your ingredients — really, all you need is the tongue and salt. Don't get too large a tongue; it takes a very long time to cook and can turn out tough. A tongue weighing about 1 kg (about 2 lb) is ideal. I'm using regular table salt, but you could use a flavored salt like Adyghe or Sevan herb salt.

2. Step 2:

   

   Since tongue is an organ meat, it needs a very thorough wash — ideally with a dedicated produce brush. You can also soak the tongue in cold water for 1–2 hours; that draws out most of the blood, so less foam forms during cooking.

3. Step 3:

   

   Cover the tongue with clean water and set it over the heat.

4. Step 4:

   

   Bring to a boil and cook over the lowest heat, skimming off the foam constantly, for about an hour. If your tongue is over 1 kg, extend the cooking time.

5. Step 5:

   

   Take out the tongue.

6. Step 6:

   

   While it's still hot, peel the skin off the tongue.

7. Step 7:

   

   Put the tongue in a heatproof dish. Cover the dish with foil and bake in an oven preheated to 350°F (180°C) for about 1 to 1.5 hours. For a crisp crust, take the foil off about 20 minutes before the end. If you'd rather skip the crust, leave the foil on.

8. Step 8:

   

   Salt the finished tongue. You can also pepper it or add any seasonings you like.

9. Step 9:

   

   Enjoy!