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…
…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.
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…
…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 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
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
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.
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