Cookery for every household

Choose a nice fresh tongue with a smooth skin and prepare it carefully. Wash and scrape it thoroughly until all the slimy substance is removed, then rinse in fresh cold water and dry. Trim away some of the root, gristle, and superfluous fat, and rub the tongue well with common salt, being particular to go over every part. Now set it aside and let it drain for several hours, or overnight. Prepare some pickle as directed in Recipe 861, and when cool strain it over the tongue. The tongue must be completely covered with the liquid (see General Directions for Pickling, p. 219). Allow it to soak for at least a week ; from 10 to 12 days will be better if the tongue is liked well salted. 881. Ox Tongue, To Cook (Langue de Bceuf) When choosing an ox tongue, select one with a smooth skin, as a very rough skin is a sign of age. A tongue fresh from the pickle need not be soaked unless it has been very much salted, then an hour or two in cold water will be sufficient. A tongue that has been smoked for some time may require at least 12 hours’ soaking, and the water should be changed once or twice during this time. After soaking, wash the tongue well, trim it neatly at the root, and skewer it into shape. Put a tongue fresh from pickle into lukewarm water, a smoked tongue into cold water. Bring it slowly to the boil and skim well. Then add a bunch of herbs, and, if liked, a few pieces of vegetable for flavouring. Draw the saucepan to the side of the fire and allow the tongue to simmer very slowly until tender. The time required will depend upon the size of the tongue and also upon whether it has been smoked or not. A small unsmoked tongue will take from 2 to 2\ hours and a large one an hour or so longer. A small smoked tongue will require at least 3 hours and a large one from 4 to 5 hours. The cooking must be carried on very slowly, and the water skimmed whenever necessary. When the tongue is tender, take it up, plunge it into cold water, so that the skin will come away more easily, and skin it carefully. Ox Tongue, To Serve Hot If the tongue is to be eaten hot, cover it with greased paper after skinning and reheat it in the oven for a few minutes. Then brush it over with liquid glaze, or sprinkle it with browned breadcrumbs. Place it on a hot dish and garnish with thin slices of lemon and sprigs of parsley ; or, if preferred, with small bunches of any cooked vegetable that is in season. A good sauce may be poured round it or served separately. Ox Tongue, To Serve Cold If the tongue is to be eaten cold, after skimming truss it into shape on a board by fastening it down at root and tip with fine skewers. When cold, take it up, trim some of the fat from the root and glaze it (see p. 210). Fix a paper frill round the Ox Tongue root and garnish with sprigs of fresh green parsley. Or, the tongue may be made more decorative by piping it with some fresh butter put through a forcing bag. Aspio jelly may be used as a garnish. 882. Ox Tongue in Jelly (Langue de Bcsuf a la Gel6e)