Indeed, the legacy of the Soviet era has left in the memory of citizens the language in the form of a jellied, often poorly prepared, central dish of ordinary wedding festivities. But in tsarist Russia more than 200 recipes for the preparation of the language were known: it was boiled, stewed, steamed, beaten, salted, smoked and pickled.
beef tongue, properly cooked, is very tender because it contains no connective tissue. Its easy digestibility is the reason that it is the language that nutritionists prescribe to patients with ulcers, intestinal disorders, etc.
How to choose beef tongue
Obviously, the language fell out of favor for a reason. The fact is that since the 30s of the last century, the language did not come to stores completely fresh, there was no insidious plan, it was just that the exchange of goods between the village and the city was disrupted, and therefore the by-products were delivered to the counters intermittently. A stale or improperly frozen tongue is tough and breaks down into muscle fibers when cooked. Such a product is not something to cook, it is not possible to clean it the first time.
A good tongue is a muscle in a characteristic rough shell; there should no longer be any elements such as fat or lymph nodes. It looks gray, even in color, when cut it is pink. Each product undergoes sanction control, the doctor is obliged to put an ink stamp in a fresh language, to issue a conclusion on the frozen batch. Fresh tongue is kept for no more than 12 hours.
How to clean your tongue
Like pork, the beef tongue must first be boiled; it is almost impossible to remove the skin from the raw one without damage. In a saucepan of boiling water, throw a spoonful of salt, a couple of lavrushka leaves and peppercorns. Dip your washed tongue into the water and close the lid, leaving the valve open (leaving a gap between the side of the pot and the lid) to prevent the water from escaping. You will need to remove the foam a couple of times during cooking. Cook the 500 gram tongue for at least two hours.