Tongue Taco

used with permission of author

From "Randall G. Prince" <thedge@home.com>
Date Sat, 14 Oct 2000 035410 GMT
Newsgroups alt.tasteless
Subject Re Mas lengua de vaca-(original mayan recipe)
> 
Acetylcholinesterase Inhibitor wrote

 > Further details???  Do you just wrap the taco around the tongue and
 > eat it like a sandwitch, or are there further preparation steps?


Ok... I'll try.
First off, tacos are anything you want them to be. To substitute
any meat is acceptable, the only stipulation is that be sliced, chop-
ped or ground well enough to make it easy to eat and chew. The tor-
tilla is both food and silverware for the indios. It is used to pick
up bites of meat, vegetables, legumes, etc. Torn into pieces, it is
used to wrap and pinch a bite-sized portion from the plate and then
it is popped into the mouth. The following is a traditional meal and
uses cow tongue as the meat (carne).

Scrub tongue thoroughly. No soap, use salt as abrasive to remove
slimey, congealed slobber. Rinse. (discretionary)

In an eight quart kettle;
add tongue
onion, one large, coarsely chopped
garlic, two large cloves, smashed with flat of knife
chili 2 tbs. - ground
cumin 1 tbs  - ground

Cover with water and bring to boil. Cover and simmer
for two hours. Refridgerate overnight.

Next evening, place in large iron skillet add two cups of
broth from boiling and bake in slow oven for three hours.

Let cool and refridgerate overnight, yes again.

Peel and slice thinly, very thinly, while cold. Almost
frozen is best for slicing thin enough slabs with a very
sharp knife.

In small saucepan add;
one half cup of water
crushed red pepper to suit your taste
two tablespoons of cilantro (bitter!)
salt to taste
two cups of the sliced tongue

Bring to simmer and hold.

In a small glass;
1/4 cup cold water
2 tbs corn starch
Mix well and add to simmering meat.
Stir. Will thicken into a sauce, coating the meat and
camoflaging some of the gamey flavor of tongue.

Use ONLY corn tortillas. Those silly wheat flour
things are for pansy-assed 'mericanos. Tex-Mex crap
food. The tortillas made from maize, those have the
hearty, simple flavor of traditional azteca y mayan
fare. Find the good ones. 12 cents for a package in
the local wetback grocery, versus a buck and a half
in the white grocers. Go figure. Not only a lot less
expensive, sometimes the mexican grocers are still
warm from the bakery. Fresca.

Now, to properly cook a tortilla, start two eyes on the
stove burning, small flame. Toss a tortilla on each,
keep them moving and turn when they *just* start to
scorch. Adjust time as it suits your fancy for charred
corn. Warm two plates under hot water to use, face to
face, as a tortilla warmer. Couple paper towels over
and under the tortillas to help maintain warm/humidity.

Pico de gallo - (point of the rooster);
Couple large tomatoes, chopped into 1/4 inch chunks
Jalepeno pepper, chopped very fine after removing seeds
one stalk of cilantro, chopped coarsely
onion, one tbs, chopped fine
celery, one small stalk, chopped fine.

Refritos - refried beans. Buy 'em in a can & heat, or
make from scratch. Dried pinto beans are easy enough to
make and cost 'bout a half dollar a ton. Same ol' hillbilly
and soul-food recipe for the beans, onion, garlic and a smoked
ham hock. Soak overnight and boil 'til tender. Only steps in
refried is heating the beans and small amount of the pot liquor
in a skillet as you mash/smash the beans into a chunky paste.

To serve & eat;
Grab a tortilla from the warmer. A spoonful of the
refritos smeared down the center, then a few slices
of the carne. A spoonful of the pico de gallo, perhaps
some cheese (shredded & sharp) and last, a squeeze of
fresh lime, to taste over the filling. Enjoy.

The deviations from authentic would prolly be the garlic
and smoked hock, hot rocks instead of stove eyes... as
close to fer-real as is practical.

--


Randall

obT Posting recipes. Ack.