Saturday, September 19, 2020

Beef Tongue Stew with a Southern Rhone Gigondas #SoupSaturdaySwappers #Winophiles

This tender savory stew is made in two parts.  First you have to cook the beef tongue.  Then you slice it up and add add it to the stew ingredients resulting in a dish that is silky, savory and comforting.

Beef Tongue Stew  with wine

I paired this delicious stew with a Gigondas Red Blend from the French Rhone Region.  Welcome to Soup Saturday Swappers and the French Winophiles.......

Beef Tongue Stew

I started Soup Saturday Swappers several years ago.  We get together on the third Saturday of each month and share a soup/stew recipe based on a theme or ingredient chosen by one of our members.  This month Rebekah of Making Miracles invited us to join her in making Beef Soups and Stews.

We love having new members.  If you are a blogger and would like to join in the fun just leave a comment below along with a link to your blog and I will send you an invitation.

Lets take a look at what everyone brought to the table this month......

It just so happens that I also belong to a wine tasting group that also gets together on the 3rd Saturday of each month to talk about different French wines.  This month we were invited to visit Cote du Rhone by Cam of Culinary Adventures with Camilla.

wine


You don't have to do a food pairing in this group however many of us often do.  I do so more often than not.  When I ordered up this bottle of Gigondas, which I found out later is from Southern Rhone and not Northern Rhone, I immediately knew I wanted to pair it with this wonderful, comforting stew.

If you are reading this early enough, please join the group for Twitter chat today at 11 AM ET.  You can find us by following #Winophiles.  

It wasn't until I was typing up this post that I realized there is a difference between Southern and Northern Rhone and that Cote du Rhone refers to the Northern area.  Sigh.....

I am joining in anyway though because this group is amazingly understanding towards members such as myself who joined because they wanted to learn more about French wines and expand our knowledge of wines in general.

And because this pairing was soooooooo scrumptious LOL.  

Let's see what wines the others tasted for this month and will be discussing this morning......
First I want to share my tasting notes for this wine.  Even though it may be the wrong wine for this month's theme it was absolutely the right wine to pair with this month's stew.  The wine poured 
deep, dark, almost black.  On the nose was pepper and spice.  The first sip gave me strong licorice or anise flavor.  This wine is acidic and left my mouth watering.  It is smooth and silky.

Beef Tongue Stew pin

I think it was the silkiness in both the stew and the wine that made it such a great pairing.  This is a strong wine and the stew, with it's hint of spiciness stood up very well to it.

Let's talk about the stew....

Beef Tongue Stew

The first thing you do is place the beef tongue in a pot with vegetables and spices, and boil the hell out of it for a couple of hours.  

Beef Tongue Slices

You remove the tongue, strain the broth and discard the vegetables.  Wipe the pot out with a paper towel, no need to wash it, you will be using this same pot for the stew.

Cut any nodules off of the back of the tongue and peel off the skin. You will have a gorgeous chunk of lean, tender meat.  Cut into slices and then julienne into strips.

Beef Tongue Stew

Now it is time to create the stew by sauteeing the vegetables in butter.  Once tender, add the broth and the beef.  Let simmer until reduced and thickened.  This will take about an hour during which time you can prepare the rice.

My grandmother had a farm and I was lucky to spend a lot of time with her when I was young.  She was cooking Nose to Tail way before it became a trend.  I have shared other Nose to Tail recipes that were taught to me by this lovely woman who helped me develop into the person I am today.  Stop by and take a look at my recipes for Pickled Pork Tongue, and Lengua Tacos.

Entrees, Beef, Stew,
Entrees, Beef
American
Yield: 4 servings
Author: Wendy Klik
Print
Beef Tongue Stew

Beef Tongue Stew

This tender savory stew is made in two parts. First you have to cook the beef tongue. Then you slice it up and add add it to the stew ingredients resulting in a dish that is silky, savory and comforting.
Prep time: 20 MinCook time: 3 H & 15 MTotal time: 3 H & 35 M

Ingredients:

  • 1 beef tongue
  • 1 carrot, scrubbed and halved
  • 1 stalk celery, washed and halved
  • 1 bunch scallions, washed
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 allspice berry
  • Coarse Salt and Cracked black pepper, to taste
  • 2 T. butter
  • 1 Red onion, sliced
  • 1 T. minced garlic
  • 6 small roma tomatoes, diced
  • 1 jalapeno pepper, stemmed, seeded and minced
  • Steamed Rice for serving

Instructions:

  1. Wash the beef tongue and place into a large heavy pot.  I used my dutch oven.  Cover with water, approximately 8 cups, and add the vegetables, bay leaves and allspice berry to the pot.  Season with coarse salt and cracked black pepper.
  2. Place over high heat and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to medium and allow to cook at a low boil for 2 hrs.
  3. Remove the tongue from the pot and place onto a cutting board to cool enough to be handled.
  4. Strain the broth and set aside.  Discard the vegetables.  Wipe out the pot and return to the stove top.
  5. When tongue is cool enough to handle, cut off any nodules or loose meat found at the back of the tongue and discard.  Cut a slit alongside the bottom of the tongue and peel off the skin and discard.  Cut the tongue into slices and then cut each slice into strips.  Set aside.
  6. Melt butter in the dutch oven over med high heat.  Add the onion and garlic.  Cook and stir for about 10 minutes, until onions start to brown and caramelize.  Add the tomatoes and jalapeno to the pan and cook for a few minutes longer.
  7. Add the beef and 6 cups of the stock.  Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook for about an hour, until liquid is reduced and thickened.  
  8. Serve over steamed rice.

Calories

203.95

Fat (grams)

10.97

Sat. Fat (grams)

5.47

Carbs (grams)

20.42

Fiber (grams)

2.66

Net carbs

17.77

Sugar (grams)

4.39

Protein (grams)

6.85

Sodium (milligrams)

226.87

Cholesterol (grams)

43.31
Created using The Recipes Generator

28 comments:

  1. My mom would have loved this stew, me, not so much, cause I really don't like the texture of tongue. But I do like everything else so would make it with a different cut of beef.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That seems to be a problem for some but with the recipe the beef is so tender it just melts in your mouth. That takes care of the texture issue.

      Delete
  2. I'm not so sure about this one...but I'd be willing to give a try! Darn it...now you've got me curious!!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. So good, Colleen, Don't tell B O B, Bob and see what he thinks.

      Delete
  3. You and your beef tongue! I will get up the nerve one of these days. And Côtes du Rhône, as far as I know, is both north and south. So, you're all good. Thanks for joining in the fun and games. Cheers.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I hate to admit that I've never tried beef tongue. I don't know why! You almost have me convinced! I might have to hit the Mexican market!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Your recipe looks delicious!

    My mother always made beef tongue in the pressure cooker for the first step, which was pretty much the same as yours. Her second step sometimes involved the same savory flavors as you used though she did not cut the meat up small or use wine. Her other recipe involved a sweet & sour sauce with hints of tomato and raisins. So thank you for the recollections of a taste I haven't had in a long time.

    be well... mae at maefood.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I am going to have to look for that sweet and sour recipe. Thanks Mae.

      Delete
  6. I just can't with tongue. I've been around too many cows and seen what they do with them! I know it's totally illogical but there you go. Sounds like it was a really successful pairing though!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I understand completely Andrea LOL..you would have to be one of those guests to whom I would call this beef stew.

      Delete
  7. The soup looks great -- you've made me think I really should make more offal at home. And Cote du Rhone covers all of the Rhone, and the majority comes from the South, so you're not off there!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Gigondas was a fine choice! I have not had beef tongue. I imagine with a Grenache forward GSM like this one it would be delicious. Cheers!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Sounds like such a complementary pairing - both food and wine are silky and spicy. Too bad I'm not brave enough to eat tongue!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Life is an adventure Linda...perhaps one day you will be fed tongue without realizing it. That's how I introduced it to my family LOL

      Delete
  10. I too eat beef tongue but never made a stew, must try this delicious recipe thanks for sharing Wendy!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think you are going to love it Sneha. You may want to up the peppers. I made mine mild for Frank.

      Delete
  11. I only have one experience with beef tongue. And it involves my limited comprehension of french and not really knowing what I was ordering from a Lebanese restaurant when we lived in Senegal. :D I can only imagine this was a delicious, rich, and hearty soup! I may have to give beef tongue another try. :)

    ReplyDelete
  12. Beef tongue, nope I haven't had that! So I would guess it's tender, or does it only get tender after the "boiling the hell out of it?" The stew idea sure does seem like it would make a great pairing with the Côte du Rhône style wine!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, tongue needs to be braised to tenderness as it is full of muscle. Once it is tender thought it is a silky, lovely, lean cut.

      Delete
  13. I love the Gigondas pairing with the beef tongue, and the concept of "nose to tail" use of an animal. I can almost smell the allspice with the meat... sounds delicious!

    ReplyDelete
  14. You are adventurous, preparing beef tongue! I've had it once at a good restaurant and liked it, but haven't tried making it myself.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's very easy David, just takes time, you want to cook or braise the tongue until it is very tender.

      Delete

I enjoy getting comments and feedback from my audience. Please let me know what you think, keeping in mind that we are all entitled to our own beliefs and opinions. I am happy to hear yours as long as they are stated nicely.