That’s right. Lengua tacos are beef tongue. If you haven’t had it, I can almost guarantee, it doesn’t taste the way you think.
Beef tongue is just another muscle, like any other steak somebody cut off of a cow.
Lengua doesn’t have that funkiness like organ meats. It’s super-tender and succulent (if cooked right) and has a rich, beefy flavor that’s more intense than most other cuts of meat.
It takes a long time to cook, but it doesn’t take a lot of work.
Basically, you throw a bunch of stuff in a pot, simmer it for a while, take it out, peel it, chop it up, and fry it. From there you just throw it in a tortilla, add your favorite toppings, and you’re all set.
In this recipe, I call for a “pure” chile powder. What I mean by this is a chile powder (not chili powder) without the added garlic, cumin, other spices. That, and anti-caking agents.
Since the lengua will be fried in lard, we want to exclude things like garlic powder in the seasoning. Garlic can easily burn and become bitter if overcooked, especially at high heat.
You can find a pure chile powder on the spice aisle if you don’t want to make your own. Just look for one labeled ancho chile powder (or any other chile pepper, like guajillo or pasilla).
- Try one of our 12 salsa recipes to help you master Taco Night.
I’m a nerd with too many kitchen toys. So, I make my own chile powder. Fresh chile powder has a lot more flavor than you’ll get from that sawdust at the grocery store).
I keep a general purpose chile powder near the stove for waking up otherwise boring recipes. Generally I use two of the three most common Northern Mexican chiles; guajillo and ancho. I don’t add arbol chiles because I want to keep the heat to a minimum in a general purpose powder.
I like to use a 2-to-1 ratio (by weight) of guajillo to ancho chiles (ie, 6 oz of guajillo and 3 oz. of ancho).
If you want to make your own, first get a dry comal preheating over medium-high heat.
Then, deseed and destem all of your chiles and cut them open longways so you can lay them flat on the comal. Next, toast them on each side until you can smell them releasing their aroma.
If your chiles still feel a little soft after toasting them, they might not be quite dry enough to grind. Just leave them out somewhere from a half-hour to an hour. That ought to do it. They don’t need to be bone dry.
Grinding them. This is the part that can be annoying for a lot of people, due to most home spice grinders being so small.
If you have a tiny spice grinder, it’ll take a few batches to get it all ground. You can get it done, though. I’m lucky enough to have an enormous spice grinder for just this sort of thing, so I get to breeze through this step. Ain’t I fancy.
To make it easy, just cut or crush the chiles as small as you can before throwing them in the spice grinder. Once all of the batches are done, put them into a single container and shake it well to ensure the chile ratio is consistent.
Lengua Tacos with Avocado Salsa
Ingredients
Lengua
- 4 lbs. Beef tongue - make a few slashes through the skin, longways
- 2 quarts chicken stock - or water
- 1 large white onion - peeled and quartered
- 1 head garlic - cut in half and all loose peel removed (doesn't need to be completely peeled)
- 1-2 large jalapenos - roughly chopped
- 5 dried bay leaves
- 1 tbsp. kosher salt - plus 1 tsp.
- 2 tsp. black pepper - plus 1 tsp.
- 1 tsp. dried thyme
- 1 tsp. Mexican oregano
- 2 tsp. pure chile powder - don't use regular chili powder, it has garlic and other seasonings in it. Use a pure one like I've described in the post or a pure store-bought one.
- 1/4 cup fresh pork lard - or other high heat frying oil
Taco Assembly
- 8 yellow corn tortillas - toasted on a dry comal or over a burner. Softened in a tortilla warmer.
- Avocado Salsa - see linked recipe
- 2 radishes - cleaned and either sliced very thin or cut into matchsticks
- 1 bunch cilantro - soft stems and leaves roughly chopped
- 1 large lime - cut into quarters (optional)
Instructions
Lengua
- Clean the beef tongue under running water and slash the skin in a few spots, longways, so the liquid can penetrate to the meat.
- Add the tongue, onion, garlic, jalapenos, bay leaves, 1 tbsp. kosher salt, 2 tsp. black pepper, dried thyme, and oregano to the pot. Add the chicken stock and enough water to cover by 1-inch.
- Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a bare simmer. Cover and cook for 3 hours.
- Turn off the heat and let cool for about half an hour.
- Remove the tongue from the Dutch oven to a cutting board. Using a pair of tongs, peel the skin off and discard. Using a sharp knife, cut off the gristly part where it was attached and remove any excess fat.
- Dice the tongue into 1/2-inch cubes and season with 1 tsp. kosher salt, 1 tsp. black pepper, and all of the pure chile powder. Toss until everything is evenly coated.
- Heat the lard in a cast iron pan until it's shimmering. Working in batches, fry the cubed lengua until it is dark and crispy on all sides. CAUTION: It will pop and splatter while frying. It's helpful to use a splatter screen here to keep from making a mess and potentially burning yourself.
- Remove the lengua from the pan with a slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel lined plate.
Taco Assembly
- Put about a quarter cup of lengua on a tortilla, top with 2-3 tbsp. of avocado salsa, radishes, cilantro, and a squeeze of lime over the top. Serve immediately.
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