A very tender, flavorful cut, lengua meat (beef tongue or cow tongue) is made even more delicious by this vegetable-rich sauce in which we serve it. Full of flavor and vegetables for an adventurous and satisfying meal, you'll love this tasty Lengua guisada picante recipe.
By - Reviewed: . Original: Aug 02, 2011
Why we ❤️ it
This is one of those dishes that, to some, may sound unappetizing at first, but the reality is far from appearance. This beef tongue recipe is made even more delicious by the sauce (escabeche in the Dominican Republic) in which it is served.
What's lengua meat?
Lengua de vaca or lengua de res is how we say beef tongue or cow tongue in Spanish. Beef tongue is a very tender, flavorful cut. It requires a different cooking technique than most beef cuts, but the result is well worth the effort.
Once the thick coating on the tongue is removed, the texture is just like any other muscle meat.
Lengua picante (beef tongue).
Serving suggestions
This stewed ox tongue dish goes great with Arroz blanco (white rice), a few slices of avocado, and some Tostones. It also goes great with Moro de guandules (rice and pigeon peas) and Moro de habichuelas (rice and beans).
Top tips
- Cooking lengua meat: The main difference between this dish and other beef dishes is that we need to start by boiling the tongue for a long time to remove the thick coating it comes with.
We take advantage of this to add spices and seasonings to the boiling water, adding extra flavor to the cow tongue. - Buying lengua meat: Approach your supermarket or local butcher and ask for beef tongues, (lengua meat, lengua de vaca, cow tongue, ox tongue). If they don't have it, it may be possible for them to order it for you.
- Pressure cooker: If you wish to cut on time, boil the tongue in a pressure cooker. It takes about 15 mins. in a pressure cooker, as opposed to almost 40 min to an hour in a regular pot.
- Crock pot: If you wonder whether you can cook this Dominican recipe for cow tongue in crockpot, the answer is yes. Although I haven't tested it, this is something that you may have to try on your own.
About this recipe
Confession time: I was sorely tempted to start this post with an old tawdry Dominican joke about a butcher, a housewife, oxtail, and beef tongue. 😜
Luckily, and for the sake of the children who visit our site, I won't go there; the joke would be lost in translation anyway.
Tawdry jokes aside, lengua meat - while not that common nowadays - used to be much more popular in our country in the days when every part of the animal was used, and ñoñerías (pickiness) couldn't be afforded or tolerated.
In reality, this is a surprisingly tender and tasty cut, and served in the traditional Dominican escabeche, it is and absolute joy to have.
Did you eat it at home? Have any tips to share? Please let us know in the comments.
Video
Recipe
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Lengua Meat Guisada (Beef / Cow Tongue Recipe)
Ingredients
To boil the tongue
- 2 beef tongues, (lengua meat, lengua de vaca, cow tongue, ox tongue)
- 1 teaspoon oregano (dry, ground)
- 2½ teaspoons salt
- 1 bay leaf
- ½ teaspoon peppercorns
To make the sauce
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 large red onion, cut into strips
- 3 cloves garlic, crushed
- 2 bell pepper, cut into strips
- 1 large carrot, sliced
- 12 pitted green olives, sliced
- 1 scotch bonnet pepper, cut into slices (optional)
- 6 large tomato, cut into cubes
- 1 cup tomato sauce
- 3 sprigs cilantro
- 1 teaspoon salt, (or more, to taste)
- 1½ teaspoons pepper (freshly-cracked, or ground), (or more, to taste)
Instructions
1. Boiling the beef tongue
Place the beef tongue in a pot, add ½ gallon [2 liters] of water, and add oregano, a teaspoon of salt, bay leaf, and peppercorns. Cook over medium heat the tongue, until it is tender throughout, which you can test by poking with a fork, and the skin will peel off very easily (40-60 minutes). Discard the bay leaf. Remove the tongue from the water (reserve 1 cup of the liquid it boiled in and set aside for later). Cool to room temperature.
2. Slicing
- Peel the skin off the tongue. Discard skin. With a sharp knife, cut the tongue into fine slices.
3. Browning
- Heat the oil in a skillet over high heat. Add the tongue slices and brown on one, then flip to brown the other side.
4. Cooking
- Lower heat to medium and add the onion. Cook and stir until the onions become translucent. Stir in the garlic, bell peppers, carrots, olives, and Scotch bonnet pepper. Cook and stir for a minute. Add the tomatoes and tomato sauce. Cover and cook over low heat until the tomatoes are soft.Add the broth that you had set aside and simmer until it is reduced to a thick sauce. Stir in cilantro leaves and season with salt and pepper to taste.
5. Serve
- Remove from the heat and serve per the suggestions above.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is calculated automatically based on ingredients listed. Please consult your doctor if you need precise nutrition information.
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More beef recipes
Beef is one of the most popular meats in our cuisine, and features in some of our most iconic dishes. Don't miss Sancocho, our king of soups, and Carne guisada, one of the components of La Bandera Dominicana, our traditional lunch dish.
You can also enjoy many more beef recipes.
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