Corned Beef Tongue. Credit: Jim Sullivan
FOR THE CORNED BEEF TONGUE
Beef tongues: 2
Corn brine: 1 quantity (see below)
Distilled white vinegar: 3 cups
Kosher salt: 1/2 cup
Bay leaves: 4
FOR THE CORN BRINE
Kosher salt: 1 cup
Sugar: 1/2 cup
Pink curing salt #1: 1 tbsp
Pickling spice: 3 tbsp
Garlic: 3 cloves (crushed)
Fresh bay leaves: 2
Yellow mustard seeds: 1 tbsp
Black peppercorns: 1 tbsp
Coriander seeds: 1 tbsp
Allspice berries: 1/2 tbsp
Water: 2 qt
Ice: 1 qt
FOR THE LOVAGE OIL
Kosher salt: 2 tsp
Lovage leaves: 4 oz
Grapeseed oil: 1/2 cup (cold)
TO SERVE
Corned beef tongue: 12 oz (thinly sliced)
Pickled cornichons: 48
Pickled mustard seeds: 2 tbsp
Parsley leaves: to serve
Excerpted from On Meat, Copyright © 2025 by Jeremy Fox. Published by Phaidon Press Limited. Reproduced by arrangement with the Publisher. All rights reserved.
My grandfather Al loved beef tongue. He was the only member of the extended family who would eat it. My grandmother Gladys wouldn’t eat it, but she loved him, so she’d make it for him, sliced thick and served pot roast-style with kasha and carrots. I wanted to be just like him, so I tried it with him for the first time at probably age nine or ten. At the time, I was an obnoxiously picky eater, but after one bite I could not understand, objectively, what there was to possibly dislike about it. With the most luxurious texture and clean flavor, beef tongue is right up there with a juicy ribeye as my favorite cut of beef. I think it made him proud of me that I wanted to try it, and he could see that I loved him more than my grandmother, aunts, uncles, and cousins. Winning.
My version here is corned and optimized to make it tender and melting. Like a perfect steak. The corning keeps the color consistent and adds great flavor. The gentle pickling-poaching method keeps it tender. If you can get past the fact that it’s tongue, it’ll be one of the best things you eat.
- In a large pot over high heat, combine all ingredients except the ice with 2 quarts (1.9 liters) water.
- Bring to a boil, stirring until the salts and sugar are completely dissolved.
- Remove from the heat.
- Add the ice to the pot to quickly cool the mixture.
- Stir until the ice has melted and the temperature drops below 40°F (4°C).
- The brine is now ready to use.
- With a clean skewer, pierce each tongue halfway through (to the center) equidistant along their length six times. This will help the brine penetrate through the dense meat.
- Place the tongues in a large brining bag, pour in the cold brine, and refrigerate on a sheet tray to brine for 10 days.
- Remove them from the brine and dry on paper or kitchen towels.
- In a large pot big enough to hold both tongues, bring 1½ gallons (3.8 liters) water, the vinegar, salt, and bay leaves to a boil. We’re going to poach them in this salted and acidulated water for several hours until tender (like a mild pickling liquid).
- Bring the water up to a boil and add the tongues.
- Bring the pot back up to a boil again and then reduce the heat to a low simmer.
- Once the simmer is consistent, top with a cartouche (page 35) and a smaller lid to weigh down the tongues so they stay submerged.
- Poach for 3 to 4 hours.
- Once the tongues are tender, remove them from the poaching liquid, and as soon as they are at a workable temperature, peel their tough outer coating and discard.
- Yes, I said peel. This outer layer should come off easily when pulled, and you can help it along with your paring or utility knife.
- Once peeled, wrap each tongue tightly in plastic wrap (clingfilm) as you go so they don’t dry out.
- In a mixing bowl, add the salt to the lovage leaves and let them sit for 30 minutes in the refrigerator.
- This next part may seem weird, but also put the base and container of your blender in the refrigerator as well. You want the oil to be as vibrantly green as possible, and that means using cold ingredients and equipment.
- In the now-cold blender, combine the lovage leaves and oil and purée until very smooth.
- Strain the mix through two layers of cheesecloth (muslin) into an airtight container and freeze overnight.
- The next day, decant the oil that is on top, leaving any frozen water that has leached from the mixture behind (and discarding).
- At this point, the lovage oil can be frozen, tightly covered, for a few months, or kept in the refrigerator where the color may start to dull after a week or so.
