Never in a million years would I attempt to cook grass fed beef tongue…
…or beef cheeks…
…without my SousVide Supreme.
Nowadays, I’ll confidently tackle any and all unusual slab of meat ‘cause the water oven will magically transform cheap, tough cuts of grass fed meat into tasty fork-tender braises. Yes, you’ve got to do some planning because it normally takes a couple days before the meat is ready to eat – BUT that’s all you need to do!
The prep work takes just minutes (season + vacuum seal) and you simply dunk the packets in the SousVide and forget about them. The only thing you have to decide is how you like your meat cooked – rare, medium-rare, medium, medium-well, or well-done. Plus, you can cook it ahead of time, ice it, and reheat when you wanna eat it. Totally a no-brainer.
Here’s what I gathered to make enough meat to feed 8-10 people:
- 1 whole grass fed beef tongue from U.S. Wellness Meats
- 3 pounds of grass fed beef cheeks from U.S. Wellness Meats
- 2-3 tablespoons Chili 9000 seasoning (or your favorite dry rub)
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground pepper
- 4 tablespoons Kerrygold unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons bacon grease
- Fleur de sel
Here’s how I made it:
I took out the beef tongue…
…and cheeks…
…dusted them with Chili 9000 seasoning, salt, and pepper…
…and vacuum sealed each packet with a pat of butter.
I plopped the sealed bags into the water oven set at 158 F and let them steep for 48 hours.
Two days later, I took out the meat and dried them off with paper towels.
I peeled off the outside of the tongue (ew!)…
…and trimmed away any stray taste buds and goo. (Yes, this part skeeves me out.)
I sliced the tongue crosswise into ½-inch pieces…
…before frying them in bacon grease over medium high heat.
The tongue “steaks” take a couple minutes to crisp on each side.
After I plated the tongue, I sprinkled fleur de sel on each piece.
The beef cheeks were much less work. All I did was dry off each piece and sear them in bacon grease on each side. Then, I seasoned with salt and pepper and shredded the meat with a fork.
Both the tongue and cheeks were tender and delicious – perfect for lettuce-wrapped tacos or just as emergency protein.
Looking for more recipes? Head on over to my Recipe Index! You’ll also find exclusive recipes on my iPad® app, and in my New York Times bestselling cookbook, Nom Nom Paleo: Food for Humans (Andrews McMeel 2013).
