Smoked Lamb Neck and Beef Tongue Tacos [Pictures]

LTH,

Since my life isn't interesting enough at the moment I thought I would smoke some interesting meats.

Lightly corned beef tongue from a grass fed cow and lamb neck rubbed with mole. Both from Butcher and Larder.



Hour and a half in, looking good



Tongue was in smoker for three hours at 250



Thicker fattier part delicious, rich, tender, succulent. Thinner part of tongue, what you use to give someone the raspberry, a little tough and impossible to peel.



Simmered tongue for an additional hour



After short rest skin peeled right off



Lamb neck rubbed in mole was in smoker for three and one half hours



Dwell in foil for one hour, then shredded



Simmered in just made salsa verde with a little water for one hour



Time to Eat!

Tongue Taco w/cilantro, onion and home made salsa verde



Lamb Neck Taco w/cilantro, onion and home made salsa verde



Enjoy,
Gary

Beautiful, Gary! I picked up some lamb neck at the B&L last weekend and froze it not really knowing how to cook it except for a braise which isn't very summer friendly. I think that you have nailed it (as usual).

Great looking Gary-Thanks for the idea. Was the neck already rubbed (neck rub ha!) or did you make the mole?

jvalentino wrote:Great looking Gary-Thanks for the idea. Was the neck already rubbed (neck rub ha!) or did you make the mole?

Jeff,

Neck was not pre rubbed, though the Zaragoza mole that B & L is using for goat sausage would be terrific. I used Dona Maria mole purchased at Carniceria Guanajuato. Not ideal, but I've had good luck with the Dona Maria pipian and, as I knew I would be simmering the shredded meat in home made salsa verde, store bought mole cut with a little veg oil worked fine as bass note.

Carniceria Guanajuato, both Ashland and California, along with Supermercado Chapala, are my current favorite Mexican grocers. Bonus points for having in-house taquerias.

Carniceria Guanajuato
3140 N California Ave
Chicago, Illinois 60618
773-267-7739

Carnicerias Guanajuato
1436 N Ashland Ave
Chicago, IL 60622
773-772-5266

Supermercado Chapala
7117 North Clark Street
Chicago, IL 60626
773-465-3907 ‎

YourPalWill wrote:Beautiful, Gary! I picked up some lamb neck at the B&L last weekend and froze it not really knowing how to cook it except for a braise which isn't very summer friendly. I think that you have nailed it (as usual).

Thanks Will, turned out tasty. Three hours infused a good amount of smoke into the neck, but it really needed the dwell and salsa verde simmer to become tender. Next time I think will simply let the lamb neck chuckle away at 250 and see how long it takes to pullable.

HI,

This is very inspiring idea on what to do with my next Venison neck. It never occured to me to smoke it.

Lamb tongues are pretty small. Would you have smoked a beef tongue? Excel sells corned (or do they state pickled) beef tongues, potentially that could be simmer just long enough skin, add the rub/peppercorns/coriander, smoke and then steam simmer a bit more? Or maybe the smoke after the simmer will be enough. I am probably making this more complicated than it needs to be.

Regards,

looks great wiv.
wish i had some of that on a tortillas(corn)

Your beef tongue came from an animal more the size of a veal?
Most Mexican places just simmer beef tongue in some herbs and onions until tender, remove skin and chop, reheat on griddle and serve with onions and cilantro.
I always use veal tongues which are of course smaller but I really don't notice any difference in tenderness.-Dick

Just had some tongue tacos on Friday... From a batch of simmered and peeled cow tongue, prepped a while back and vac-sealed and frozen; I thawed then reheated over hot coals - came out just beautiful. With some fresh salsa on corn tortillas, a beer - felt nearly like we were back in Chicago.

Speaking of tongue - when I prepped the tongue I've wondered how it would take to smoke and how to do it - especially because of the thick outer skin. Is there good smokiness in the way you describe [smoke first, then simmer]? Simmering first doesn't make much sense - as then the cooked tongue wouldn't pick up smoke. Does the post-smoke simmer boil away the smoke flavor that penetrates through the outer layer?

budrichard wrote:Your beef tongue came from an animal more the size of a veal?

Good eye Dick, I asked about the size of the tongue myself.

Rob Levitt of Butcher & Larder;"Grass fed cows tend to be on the smaller side. Since they don't eat grain, they grow slower and don't have the added mass from the increased fat coverage of a grain fed cow. It is also the breed. We get a Mexican cross. They average about 750# hanging weight while a grain fed Angus will average about 1100.

Pictured grass fed lightly corned beef tongue approx 2.5/lbs.

Cathy2 wrote:Lamb tongues are pretty small. Would you have smoked a beef tongue?

C2,

That was beef tongue, lightly corned and from a grass fed cow. See post just above. Far as Ex-Cel corned beef tongue I've had a number of them over the years, they are as delicious as the corned beef, but never smoked, only simmered.

Are you going to try smoking tongue, love to get your always imaginative take on techniques.

Enjoy,
Gary

sazerac wrote:Does the post-smoke simmer boil away the smoke flavor that penetrates through the outer layer?

Sazerac

Excellent question, tongue retained smokiness, though certainly some smoke flavor was lost in the simmering process, difficult to gauge, though the water tasted distinctly smokey. Lots of ways to repurpose the smoky liquid, beans, lentils, polenta, rice would all absorb the flavor. Of course this occurred to me moments after I tossed the smoke infused liquid. Next time out I plan on making a pot of black or pinto beans and turning that into refried beans as accompaniment.

Tongue finished on charcoal sounds terrific, I will be following your lead with the leftover tongue.

Enjoy,
Gary

HI,

My mind jumped over the word beef, I assumed you had a lamb tongue to go with your lamb neck.

Regards,

G Wiv wrote:Lots of ways to repurpose the smoky liquid, beans, lentils, polenta, rice would all absorb the flavor. Of course this occurred to me moments after I tossed the smoke infused liquid. Next time out I plan on making a pot of black or pinto beans and turning that into refried beans as accompaniment.

Headline:

G Wiv Endorses Liquid Smoke!

sazerac wrote: Simmering first doesn't make much sense - as then the cooked tongue wouldn't pick up smoke. Does the post-smoke simmer boil away the smoke flavor that penetrates through the outer layer?

actually simmer(poach) 1st works pretty good--peel and then smoke- have done it numerous times--but with larger tongues

buzzd wrote:

sazerac wrote: Simmering first doesn't make much sense - as then the cooked tongue wouldn't pick up smoke. Does the post-smoke simmer boil away the smoke flavor that penetrates through the outer layer?

actually simmer(poach) 1st works pretty good--peel and then smoke- have done it numerous times--but with larger tongues

That makes sense, too. It's similar to the fauxstami method.

stevez wrote:

buzzd wrote:

sazerac wrote: Simmering first doesn't make much sense - as then the cooked tongue wouldn't pick up smoke. Does the post-smoke simmer boil away the smoke flavor that penetrates through the outer layer?

actually simmer(poach) 1st works pretty good--peel and then smoke- have done it numerous times--but with larger tongues

That makes sense, too. It's similar to the fauxstami method.

Wait - fauxtrami is smoke first, then simmer (steam), right?
Buzzd, when you poach first, is it just to be able to peel and the inside is underdone? My thought was that once cooked (past a certain doneness) meat won't pick up smoke. It crossed my mind to sous vide tongue enough to get the outer layer off, then smoke; a swift whack on the head from A2Fay uncrossed my mind then and I haven't tried it yet.

sazerac wrote:Wait - fauxtrami is smoke first, then simmer (steam), right?

The way I do smoked corned beef it is, yes. I tend to serve smoked corned beef straight from the smoker, though steam to reheat leftovers.

Hi,

In Michael Ruhlman and Brian Polcyn's Charcuterie book, the pastrami is smoked for five hours, then braised/steamed to tenderness in the oven.

Regards,

Cathy2 wrote:In Michael Ruhlman and Brian Polcyn's Charcuterie book, the pastrami is smoked for five hours, then braised/steamed to tenderness in the oven.

In my copy of Charcuterie* they target an internal temp of 150, no mention of 5-hours, then steam for 2-3 hours until fork tender. My smoked corned beef method, which I have been doing since 2001 or earlier, calls for smoking soaked/spice rubbed full packer cut corned beef until tender, approx 8-hours at 250.

Smoked Corned Beef -->Link


*Published 2005

HI,

My goal is to get as much smoke as possible. It is possible five hours stuck in my brain, because how much time it took. If and when I make another pastrami, I'll be checking that book as well as your methods.

Both approaches appear to work, so people work with what they're familiar with or comfortable.

Regards,