If you’ve never tried sous vide beef tongue and cheek, let me convince you that this might be the best way to tenderize these cuts of meat!

Never in a million years would I attempt to cook grass fed beef tongue…

Sous vide beef tongue on a plate.

…or beef cheeks…

Shredded sous vide beef cheeks in a bowl.

…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.

Time to make Sous Vide Beef Tongue and Cheek!

Serves 8-10

Ingredients:

  • 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 or ghee if you’re doing a Whole30
  • 2 tablespoons bacon grease
  • Fleur de sel

Method:

I took out the beef tongue…

A package of beef tongue sitting on a countertop.

…and cheeks…

A package of beef cheek meat sitting on a countertop.

…dusted them with Chili 9000 seasoning, salt, and pepper…

Seasoned beef tongue and cheek with chili powder on a cutting board.

…and vacuum sealed each packet with a pat of butter.

Vacuum sealed beef tongue and cheek ready for the sous vide machine.

I plopped the sealed bags into the water oven set at 158 F and let them steep for 48 hours.

Sealed bags of beef tongue and cheek in a sous vide machine, cooking.

Two days later, I took out the meat and dried them off with paper towels.

Someone patting dry a cooked beef tongue after taking it out of a sous vide machine.

I peeled off the outside of the tongue (ew!)…

Someone peeling off the outside of the beef tongue.

…and trimmed away any stray taste buds and goo. (Yes, this part skeeves me out.)

Someone trimming off the excess parts of the sous vide cooked beef tongue.

I sliced the tongue crosswise into ½-inch pieces…

A sliced up sous vide beef tongue.

…before frying them in bacon grease over medium high heat.

Slices of sous vide beef tongue frying in a cast iron pan.

The tongue “steaks” take a couple minutes to crisp on each side.

Slices of sous vide beef tongue frying in a cast iron pan.

After I plated the tongue, I sprinkled fleur de sel on each piece.

A plate of fried sous vide beef tongue with slices of lime on the side.

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.

Sous vide beef cheeks in a bowl.

Both the tongue and cheeks were tender and delicious – perfect for lettuce-wrapped tacos or just as emergency protein.

Two slices of sous vide beef tongue in a lettuce wrap topped with guacamole.


Looking for more recipe ideas? Head on over to my Recipe Index. You’ll also find exclusive recipes on my iPhone and iPad app, and in my cookbooks, Nom Nom Paleo: Food for Humans (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2013), Ready or Not! (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2017), and Nom Nom Paleo: Let’s Go! (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2021).


 PRINTER-FRIENDLY RECIPE CARD

Sous Vide Grass Fed Beef Tongue 'N Cheek

5 from 1 vote
Prep Time2 days 10 minutes
Cook Time10 minutes
Total Time2 days 20 minutes
Servings 8
Never in a million years did I think I would be cooking beef tongue and cheek, that is, without my SousVide Supreme! This method will take any unusual slab of meat and magically transform the meat into fork-tender braises.

Ingredients 
 

  • 1 grass fed beef tongue
  • 3 pound grass fed beef cheeks
  • 3 tablespoon Chili 9000 seasoning or your favorite dry rub
  • Diamond Crystal kosher salt 
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • 4 tablespoon butter or ghee
  • 2 tablespoon bacon grease
  • Fleur de sel
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Instructions 

  • Season the beef tongue and cheek liberally with your dry rub, salt, and pepper.
  • Vacuum seal each cut of meat in a packet with a pat of butter or ghee.
  • Plop the sealed bags into the water oven set at 158 F and let them steep for 48 hours.
  • Two days later, take out the meat and dry them off with paper towels.
  • Peel off the outside of the tongue and trim away any stray taste buds and goo.
  • Slice the tongue crosswise into ½-inch pieces.
  • Fry the cheek and tongue in a cast iron skillet with bacon grease over medium high heat for a few minutes on each side.
  • Transfer the tongues to a plate and sprinkle on fleur de sel. Transfer the cheeks to a plate and season with salt and pepper and shred the meat with a fork.

Notes

Both the tongue and cheeks are tender and delicious – perfect for lettuce-wrapped tacos or just as emergency protein.

Nutrition

Calories: 608kcal | Carbohydrates: 8g | Protein: 60g | Fat: 36g | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 1g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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About Michelle Tam

Hello! My name is Michelle Tam, and I love to eat. I think about food all the time. It borders on obsession. I’ve always loved the sights and smells of the kitchen. My mother was (and is) an excellent cook, and as a kid, I was her little shadow as she prepared supper each night. From her, I gained a deep, abiding love for magically transforming pantry items into mouth-watering family meals.

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