So I know we promised we were done with offal for a while, and we meant to be, but we had some leftover tongue to use up and the sliders we made with it wound up being so good that we had to share. This is a good way to introduce tongue to anybody squeamish about the subject, probably better than the previous tongue post. The meat was brown and crispy, the cabbage slaw was crunchy, the chipotle mayo added some heat and the bacon was bacon. In the end, we were so involved with all the interesting textures and tastes that we could not be bothered by any psychological barriers that may have otherwise given us pause. There was no hint of chewiness, no off-putting flavor; I’m sure veteran tongue enthusiasts would enjoy this, but I think it’s also very well suited for somebody new to the cut who may not be ready to tuck into big, naked slabs of the stuff. This honestly has my no holds barred, full and enthusiastic endorsement. Never thought I’d write that about a tongue recipe.
Beef Tongue Sliders
- cooked beef tongue (can be cold)
- chipotle mayo (mayo, chipotle in adobo, lime juice, salt and pepper)
- quick slaw (green and red cabbage, carrot, rice vinegar, salt)
- cooked bacon
- mini buns (preferably brioche)
- cilantro (optional)
- Cook some bacon.
Prepare the mayo by adding one chopped chipotle pepper and about 1 tablespoon of adobo sauce to ½ cup mayonnaise to taste. Add about 1 tablespoon of lime juice and salt and pepper to taste.
Prepare the slaw by finely shredding equal parts red cabbage and green cabbage. Add some grated carrots to taste (slightly less than the cabbage). Toss with rice vinegar to taste and season with salt.
Slice the beef tongue into small patties and season lightly with salt and pepper on either side. Fry in canola or peanut oil over medium high heat for a few minutes on either side until nicely browned. Press the tongue into the pan lightly as it fries to encourage even browning. In the meantime, brown the buns lightly under the broiler, careful not to burn them.
Assemble the slider with the tongue, topped with some bacon, and then a generous dose of the slaw and some whole cilantro if desired. Slather the bun with some chipotle mayo . . . you get the idea.
Surprise! You love beef tongue!
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What an awesome introductory recipe for tongue. I love tongue, too, but can never seem to get anyone other than my fiance to eat it with me.
To me, tongue has a bit of steak-um flavor, haha, something that brings me right back to childhood.
So glad to have found your blog.
Oh no, none at all, hehehe. I'm sure that everyone you're having over to dinner knows that you can defend yourself pretty well with kitchen tools, so they shouldn't fuss much.
Hi Robin, thanks for the nice comment, you have a lovely blog yourself.
Yeah, we were thinking this would be the kind of thing we could serve to guests . . . and only tell them what it was after they admit it’s tasty. No harm in that right?
What an awesome idea. I have such a weakness for sliders as it is and yours looks great (tongue IS good, although you’re right, it can be psychologically challenging.) I really like the combo of the slaw and chipotle mayo and of course, the bacon!
I saw this on Foodbuzz, and I’ve gotta say–those pictures are nice enough that they almost make me want to eat one of these. Almost.
Thanks for putting this on the web — I used your recipe for our family’s first foray into tongue. The grownups liked it and the 7-year-olds thought it was ok, if not very exciting.
Cool! Glad you tried some tongue and found it more or less to your liking. Thanks for reporting back.
Insightful piece, thanks a lot!