Tender, dense, slices of meat pickled with onions and garlic make this a perfect part of your next charcuterie platter.
During this time of COVID19 we are all trying to live frugally and make do with what we have in our pantry, refrigerators and freezers. I am of an age where this is not something strange to me. My Grandmother emigrated here from Czechoslovaki. My parents were born in 1916 and 1920. Both lived through the depression.
For my Pops this meant a shortage of food and standing in bread lines. For my Mom this meant her clothes were handmade by her mother but she was lucky enough to live on a farm so never knew hunger. She did however learn never to waste food as it was a precious commodity not had by many.
So while there was plenty of food, much of it was made from items that are discarded in today's world of plenty. I grew up eating head cheese, beef tongue soup, liver, fried chicken gizzards, and garbage each shopping day (soup made from the week's leftovers).
I now buy my beef and pork from my farmer friends, the Ruemenapps. I don't have the butcher send me the whole hog head to make head cheese but I do request the pork tongue and cheeks.
This takes a little bit of time but it is mostly hands off. First you brine the tongue in the refrigerator overnight or up to 3 days. I normally use pickling spice in my brine but I didn't have any and since we are limiting our trips to the grocer I substituted with Montreal Steak Seasoning. We always have that on hand and it started off as a spice for pastrami so I figured that was close enough.
After the brine you cover it with cooking liquid that has been salted. In this case I used some vegetable stock that I had in the refrigerator. It needs to simmer slowly for several hours until it is tender, you can do this in the crock pot if you wish. I'm stuck home during this time so I just did it on the stove top. Once the tongue is tender and easily pierced with a sharp knife, remove it from the heat and allow it to cool completely in the broth.
Once it is cooled completely, you have to peel the tongue and then place it into a pint size mason jar. Heat your pickling liquid with onions and garlic. When hot, pour over the tongue and seal. It should vacuum shut due to the hot liquid but it is stored in the refrigerator so it's not mandatory. Once it is cooled, refrigerate at least 2 days and use within 1 month.
Let's see what other pickles are being shared today........
- Dill Pickle Grilled Cheese Sandwich by Making Miracles
- Fried Chicken Sandwich with a Spicy Bread and Butter Pickle Coleslaw by Karen's Kitchen Stories
- Hot Pepper Vinegar by Palatable Pastime
- Indian Raw Papaya Pickle by Sara's Tasty Buds
- Japanese Pickled Ginger by Caroline's Cooking
- Lime & Beer Pickled Red Onions by Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice
- Middle Eastern Pickled Turnips by Pandemonium Noshery
- Pickled Pork Tongue by A Day in the Life on the Farm
- Pickled Rainbow Chard Stems by Culinary Adventures with Camilla
- Pickled Star Goosebery by Sneha's Recipe
- Spicy Pickled Grape Tomatoes by Food Lust People Love
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Pickled Pork Tongue
Yield: 8 Servings
Tender, dense, slices of meat pickled with onions and garlic make this a perfect part of your next charcuterie platter.
Ingredients:
- 1 pork tongue
- 4 c. water
- 1/4 c. kosher salt
- 3 T. sugar
- 2 allspice berries
- 1 bay leaf, broken
- 2 T. Montreal Steak Seasoning
- 1 qt. vegetable stock
- 1 T. kosher salt
- 2 c. cider vinegar
- 1 T. sugar
- 1/2 t. kosher salt
- 2 allspice berries
- 10 black peppercorns
- 3 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1 small onion, thinly sliced
Instructions:
- Place the water, 1/4 cup salt and 3 Tablespoons of sugar into a pot over high heat and bring to a boil. Add the 2 allspice berries, bay leaf and steak seasoning. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature. Place the tongue into a container and cover with the brine. Refrigerate for at least 24 hrs or up to 3 days.
- Remove the tongue from the brine and rinse with clear water. Place in a pot (or slow cooker) and cover with vegetable broth, water or stock of choice, add 1 Tablespoon of salt. Bring to a simmer and cook for 3-4 hrs, until the tongue is easily pierced with a sharp knife, adding water or stock to keep the tongue fully submerged.
- Once tender, remove from heat and let cool completely in the cooking liquid. Remove tongue and peel off the skin and any grizzle with a paring knife. Place the tongue in a pint canning jar.
- Heat the vinegar, 1 Tablespoon of sugar, 1/2 t. salt, 2 allspice berries, peppercorns, garlic cloves and onion together for 10 minutes, Pour this mixture, while still piping hot, over the tongue and close with a lid and ring. Set aside on a counter, you should hear a loud pop as the lid seals. When cool place in the refrigerator for at least 2 days and up to a month.
Calories
103.02
103.02
Fat (grams)
2.48
2.48
Sat. Fat (grams)
0.79
0.79
Carbs (grams)
15.52
15.52
Fiber (grams)
2.72
2.72
Net carbs
12.80
12.80
Sugar (grams)
9.25
9.25
Protein (grams)
3.74
3.74
Sodium (milligrams)
4655.19
4655.19
Cholesterol (grams)
15.51
15.51
Property of A Day in the Life on the Farm
This recipe intrigues me, I haven't ever had pickled meat before but it looks delicious, and I particularly love things pickled with allspice.
ReplyDeleteIt makes a very nice addition to your cheese plate.
DeleteHow fortunate are you to know exactly where your meat comes from! This sounds delicious.
ReplyDeleteYes, I used to grow my own hogs but it is a lot of work so now I let my friends do the work and I reap the benefits.
DeleteI love seeing the substitutions you made and the finished product! I've had beef tongue before, but pickled pork tongue definitely has me intrigued. We've talked about buying a whole hog from a local farmer the next time we have space in the freezer - I'll have to keep this in mind!
ReplyDeleteIf you end up getting a whole hog ask for the feet as well, they too are wonderful pickled.
DeleteI am so intrigued by this - there's a chance I've had something like this as I can imagine it probably snuck onto a plate of food somewhere I have been before :) But I certainly haven't made it. I did grow up eating tongue (beef, I think, which I really liked) and quite a lot of game as my parents liked them. I know it was unusual compared to many I knew but in a good way I think!
ReplyDeleteYes, we still eat a lot of venison in our house. If you ever get a chance to try this Caroline, let me know what you think.
DeletePickled tongue! I haven't had it for incredibly long, and never home-made, always from a deli. It used to be pretty standard deli meat, in fact. Sounds delicious.
ReplyDeleteAs you suggest, people need to get over being squeamish and thus wasting good sources of protein. Historically, tongue, a tender meat was one of the FAVORED cuts!
be well... mae at maefood.blogspot.com
You're absolutely right Mae.
DeleteI have eaten pork tongue, but my Mom never pickled it, the way you have . Must try this recipe. Thanks for sharing Wendy!
ReplyDeleteCan you share a recipe for pickle BEEF tongue? I have two and would love to pickle them and can them for future enjoyment of this delicacy. (Also, what’s the canning process for pickled beef tongue?
ReplyDeleteI have never made pickled Beef tongue but I'm sure if you do a search on the internet you will find some recipes to adapt to your liking.
DeleteDo u have instructions on how to can it so I can store jars in panty instead of refrigerator
ReplyDeleteHi, I have never canned meat. I am not sure if pickling makes a difference but I do know that meat normally needs to be pressure canned. Sorry I couldn't be of more help.
DeleteI'm a little late at the party, but I made pickled moose tongue lastly(my father is a hunter and each year we use to eat the tongue). For the curing process, I used salpeter (potassium nitrate) in my brine so the tongue keep a pleasant pink color. This is what they use for ham, bacon etc,. to get the pinkish color. The rest of the recipe is pretty much the same as yours, except I put it in pure white vinegar. However, even if it's not been 1 months already it started to turn back a little grey, and get a shroomy texture. Do you think the fact I used pure vinegar caused this? Do you think it's still good to eat? Won't hold you responsible if you say yes and it wasn't, simply looking for advice from someone who did it more often than me! 😛 TIA!
ReplyDeleteNot having used the potassium nitrate, my tongue is gray from the get go as you can see. As far as I know vinegar is vinegar and it shouldn't matter what type you use but I certainly am not sure.
Delete