Fergus Henderson’s Lamb’s Tongue with Turnips and Bacon

Lamb’s Tongue with Turnips and Bacon. The turnips lend earthy and devine. The arugula adds freshness and peppery bite.  Bacon takes the whole dish home.

This was a beautiful dish and well worth the effort. But make no mistake, it was just another day and yet another example of things ‘gone wrong’ in my kitchen. But mindset matters. If the outcome is a reflection of me, I’m in a bind. If it’s all an experiment, I can avoid taking it personally and carry on.  Even when I’m eager to prepare something ‘beautiful’ and ‘delicious.’

Confession/Recovery

Confession: I totally undercooked the lamb’s tongues and they were all but impossible to peel. Right amount of cooking time, not a strong enough simmer to really cook them.  Impossible to peel. Take a look.

Well-cooked and not-so-well-cooked lamb’s tongues, peeled

Notice that the lower left-most three tongues (around 7-8 o’clock on the plate) are mangled beyond belief.  I couldn’t peel them easily and needed to use a paring knife.  Yet, even with a good start, I couldn’t peel them back and could barely keep my cuts to the surface.  These little guys were way to small to lose so much meat.  Was feeling like a total tongue-braise fail right there.  But all was not lost!

I threw them back in the pot, added a bit more broth to cover, put the lid on and turned up the heat to medium-low.  With the lid on, this led to a really hearty simmer and kept me from losing much more broth.  Yes, I emulsified my broth in the process.  Which I was glad to do.  The skin of the remaining tongues peeled off without much effort, leaving them largely in tact.

Phew.

Lamb’s Tongue with Turnips and Bacon

I adapted this recipe from Fergus Henderson’s recipe of the same name in The Whole Beast. But note that I did not touch the bacon! I confess that I thought a pound was excessive, but honestly, it makes the whole thing irresistible, so no need to skimp.

Also, let this be a friendly reminder to channel our inner Julia Child when we are in the kitchen.  Or living life!  Those 1960s, single-shot episodes of The French Chef are a breath of fresh air compared to today’s curated clips and sound bites.  She makes plenty of ‘mistakes’ through those series and gracefully carries on.  When you are learning by doing – with the first pass at a new recipe or from each iteration of an old recipe – there is no other way.

Fergus Henderson's Lamb's Tongues, Turnips, and Bacon

October 25, 2019

by Janine Farzin

Cuisine British

Category Tongue

Persons

4

Prep Time

30 minutes

Cook Time

3 hours

Total Time

3 hours, 30 minutes

Notes

To prep the tongues, you may complete the first step, poaching and peeling the tongue, a day in advance and refrigerate tongues overnight in broth.
Similarly, to prep the dish, you may carmelize the onions in advance (while poaching the tongues) and let rest or refrigerate overnight until you assemble the dish.
 

Ingredients

• 6 lamb's tongues, rinsed and optionally brined in salt water a day in advance
• 1/2 gallon broth
• 12 cloves of garlic, peeled - divided
• 6 small turnips, peeled and sliced into wedges (about the size of your lengthwise tongue halves)
• 4 T duck fat or butter - divided
• large onions, peeled, sliced into half moons
• 1 lb bacon, cut into squares the size of your thumbnail
• 5 oz clamshell or head of arugula
• salt and pepper
• red wine vinegar

Instructions

To prep the tongues and turnips

1. Bring lamb's tongue and broth to a boil, then reduce to a hearty simmer. Skim broth if needed, then add 8 cloves of garlic to broth and partially/mostly cover pot, to slow evaporation. Cook for about two hours and pierce to see that tongue is very giving. Remove tongues (reserve broth) and let cool just enough for you to handle them and peel the skin off.
2. Meanwhile, add your turnips pieces to to the broth and let cook while peeling the tongues. Turnips should be soft when pierced with a fork, about 20 minutes - depending on the size of your wedges. Reserve stock and remove the turnips to a plate or bowl to cool. Return your peeled tongues to the resting stock to let cool.

To assemble the dish

1. Add most of the duck fat or butter, about 3 tablespoons, to a saute pan. Add sliced onions and cook on medium-low, stirring occasionally, until the onions begins to dry (about 6-8 minutes), then turn the heat to low. Saute on low, continue stirring occasionally to prevent browning, until the onions begin to take on a light amber color, about 20 minutes or so. Add the remaining cloves of garlic and cook for another 5 minutes. Note: You can do this step while your tongues are cooking and let rest (or refrigerate) until you are ready to use the onions.
2. In a dutch oven with a lid, add the remaining tablespoon of duck fat or butter on medium-high heat. Add bacon pieces and fry the bacon to allow it to render more fat and to brown a bit. Remove the tongues from the broth, slice lengthwise and add these to the bacon, along with the turnips. Get some tongues and turnips to the bottom of the pot and let them sit undisturbed for a few minutes so they can brown. Mix around and do more of the same.
3. When you have some nicely browned pieces, add the carmelized onions and a 'healthy splash of the stock' to the pan. When this comes to a boil, add the arugula, season the greens, and cover the dutch oven and let cook for a minute or two. Remove the lid, mix well, and drizzle some red wine vinegar over the dish. Serve immediately.

Tags

British,

fall,

Fergus Henderson,

Julia Child,

mindset,

mistakes

https://offallygoodcooking.com/lambs-tongue-turnips-bacon/