After a paralyzing moment, when I worried that this dish (and my own tongue) may be a bit too salty, melting butter, crispy breadcrumbs, and intentional appreciations save the day.
Savory. Rich and heavenly. And crunchy on top. Mmmm. Broiled Tongue with Anchovy Butter: “this is good.”
A little salty tongue
I feel like I’ve barely been treading water the past few weeks and was so looking forward to a little break on Mother’s Day yesterday. Earlier in the week, Carrie reminded me to speak up. There is no mind reading going on and I need to ask for what I want. Dutifully, on my behalf, I sent a note to my dear husband saying I wanted to be off the hook on Sunday.
Alas, when Saturday evening rolled around, I could see that there was no plan for meals, no plan for the littles and the day, and no plans for me to be off the hook. Hmmm. I could change my expectations and probably broil some resentment. Or, I could try to set the record straight in advance. A little salty tongue.
Too much salt?!
Do I not appreciate my beloved? He makes breakfast and gets kids out the door every day! (Life saving.) Has done plenty of night wake ups with older kids since baby was born! (Omg, I know.) Is home for dinner and bedtimes most days! (Thank goodness.) Helps me with random requests all the time! (True.)
Wait, I used a super salty brine and poached the tongue in a salty court bouillon, to ensure that it was super moist. I might have used a generous portion of anchovies (which I love) before I realized that I was also adding bacon. Is this going to be edible?
I shouldn’t have said anything. Should have changed my expectations. Should have been more reasonable with the court bouillon. Followed the measurements for the anchovies.
Broiled tongue with anchovy butter
Anchovy butter, tongue slices with butter, and topped with breadcrumbs and bacon – ready to cook!
But the butter is so creamy and delicious. And so are my own appreciations – when I remember!
Sunday morning I took a quiet moment to look around. He had made breakfast, fed the baby, folded the laundry, and was being silly to boot. Not to mention this beautiful family. And all the comforts of this beautiful home. A deliberate practice of appreciation softens the butter, soon it would be dripping – creamy and delicious – all over my fingers.
This was going to be fine. I would be happy to help. With the shift in energy, a plan unfolded. Involving the lake front, fresh air, and some stripy, blue, and polka dotted guest appearances, among our usual friends! Better than fine. Wonderful.
Meanwhile, the breadcrumbs do their work – they soak up the salty anchovy butter and leave a satisfying crunch. The brined tongue really is tender in the end. And everyone loves bacon.
Mmmm. Broiled Tongue with Anchovy Butter: “this is good.”
Broiled tongue with anchovy butter
Notes
Two hours of this dish are allocated for simmering the tongue, and 10 minutes for cooling and peeling. After that, it's a quick 20 minutes of prep (which can all be done in advance) and less than 10 minutes of cook time. If tongue is prepped in advance, this is an easy weeknight meal.
Ingredients
To prep the tongue
- 1 beef tongue
- salt
- 1 onion
- 2 cloves (optional)
- 1 carrot
- 1 celery stick, with leaves if available
- 1/2 t peppercorns
- 1 bay leaf
- 4 sprigs parsley
For the dish
- 1 oz anchovies (1/2 of a 2 oz tin from Trader Joe's)
- 4 T butter, plus 1 t more for baking dish
- 1-2 slices of bread (or 1/2 c breadcrumbs)
- 3 slices bacon
- a few parsley leaves
Instructions
- To prep the tongue, rinse tongue and pat dry. Optionally, cover well with salt or make salty brine bath and leave to rest overnight in the fridge.
- Poach the tongue with aromatics. Place tongue in pot, cover with water, bring to a boil, and reduce to a simmer. Skim any foam off the top as necessary. Add remaining ingredients to simmering water: onion with two cloves stuck into two of the quarters, carrot, celery, peppercorns, bay leaf and parsley. Optionally, toss in a small handful of salt. Cover pot and leave at a hearty simmer for at least two hours, but optionally many more. Try to keep the tongue fully submerged, though if any of it is peeking out, make sure to turn during cooking. Poke the tongue with a skewer or tines of a sharp carving fork, it should give easily.
- Remove the tongue from the pot and let rest on a plate or cutting board to cool. Once cool enough to handle (but still warm!), peel off the outer skin. If there are any troublesome areas, use a paring knife to remove the skin. It won't look as pretty, but serves well. If you are not using the tongue right away, strain out the vegetables and return tongue to broth and place in fridge when cool.
- The tongue will keep this way for another day or two. Either way, reserve the broth and save for soup or cooking grains later in the week.
- For the dish, place 4 tablespoons of butter in a bowl until soft. Meanwhile, use 1 teaspoon of butter to grease the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Cut peeled tongue into 1/2-inch slices and line them up in the baking dish. Now return to your bowl of butter, which should be a bit softer now: chop the anchovies and mix into the butter using the back of a fork. Add a generous dollop of anchovy butter to each slice of tongue.
- Next, chop the bread into small pieces or measure out your breadcrumbs. Chop the bacon into small pieces. Sprinkle bread pieces/breadcrumbs and bacon over all the tongue pieces. (Note: you may pause here and refrigerate your dish for several hours before proceeding to final step.)
- Place dish under broiler for about 8 minutes, until the bacon is crisp and the breadcrumbs are browned. Garnish with parsley. Serve immediately!
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