Langue de Bœuf

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •6-quart nonreactive container with lid
• •Small plate or brining weight
• •Metal skewer
• •Rolling pin
• •8-quart heavy pot
• •3-quart saucepan
• •Whisk
• •Potato ricer or sturdy masher
• •Fine-mesh strainer

Instructions

1. 1

   Trim and prick

   Rinse the tongue and cut away loose cartilage or glands at the throat end without carving into the muscle. Lay it on a sturdy board and roll it firmly several times with a clean rolling pin, then prick it on every side with a metal skewer at roughly 1-inch intervals. The punctures let the cure reach the dense flesh evenly.

2. 2

   Cure in brine

   Set the tongue in a covered nonreactive container and pour over the fully chilled Brine (No. 172). Place a small clean plate over it so every part remains submerged, cover, and refrigerate at 40°F / 4°C or colder for seven days. Turn the tongue once each day and adjust the weight if any part rises above the liquid.

   Use the prepared Brine (No. 172) as its own finished component. Keep it cold throughout the cure and discard the used brine afterward.
3. 3

   Desalt the tongue

   Lift the tongue from the brine and rinse it thoroughly. Submerge it in about 2 quarts of fresh cold water and refrigerate for two hours, changing the water after the first hour. This draws off surface salt without emptying the cure from the centre. Drain and rinse once more.

4. 4

   Poach at a tremble

   Place the tongue in a deep pot and cover it by 2 inches with fresh water. Bring the water to a full boil, skim away the grey foam, then immediately lower the heat until the surface barely trembles. Cover partially and cook for 3 to 3½ hours, adding hot water whenever necessary to keep the tongue submerged. It is ready when a skewer passes through the thickest part with almost no resistance. If the pot boils hard, lower the heat and add a cup of cool water. The tongue isn't lost, but it may need more time to relax.

   Boiling begins the cooking, but a hard boil must not continue. Time softens this muscle; violence only makes the outside contract.
5. 5

   Peel while warm

   Reserve 1 cup of the cooking liquid for the sauce, then lift the tongue to a board and let it rest for about five minutes. Slit the rough outer skin at the throat end and pull it toward the tip in broad strips. Trim away hard gristle and excessive fat from the base. If the skin clings, return the tongue to the hot liquor for ten minutes, then try again. Hold the peeled tongue whole in a little warm cooking liquid so it stays moist.

6. 6

   Make the purée

   During the final forty minutes of poaching, cover the celeriac and potatoes with fresh cold water, season lightly with some of the salt, and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes until completely tender. Drain well, return them to the dry pan for one minute over low heat, then mash or rice them. Warm the cream with 4 tablespoons of the butter and fold it into the vegetables. Season with pepper and only as much additional salt as the purée needs. If it becomes stiff, fold in another spoonful of warm cream; if it is loose, stir it briefly over low heat. Stop mixing once smooth, because potatoes worked too hard turn elastic.

7. 7

   Build sauce piquante

   Melt 1 tablespoon of the remaining butter in a saucepan and soften the shallot without browning. Add the wine and vinegar, then boil until reduced to about 3 tablespoons; transfer this sharp reduction to a bowl. Melt another 2 tablespoons of butter in the same pan, stir in the flour, and cook it patiently to a roux brun léger (light brown roux), the colour of a hazelnut shell. Gradually whisk in 1 cup of beef stock and the reserved tongue cooking liquid, provided the liquid tastes pleasantly seasoned. If it is too salty, replace it with another cup of stock. Simmer for 12 to 15 minutes until the sauce reaches nappe, a coating consistency, then stir in the shallot reduction and cornichons. Off the heat, whisk in the final tablespoon of butter and the parsley. If the sauce is thick, loosen it with stock; if thin, reduce it; if lumpy, strain it. If the finishing butter floats, whisk in a teaspoon of cold water away from the heat. Ça se rattrape.

   Taste the tongue liquor before it enters the sauce. The roux can control body, but only restraint controls salt.
8. 8

   Warm and serve

   Cut the peeled tongue across the grain into ½-inch slices. Slip the slices into the sauce piquante and warm them at the gentlest simmer for five minutes, turning once so both sides take on the gloss. Spoon the celeriac purée onto a warm serving platter, overlap the tongue generously beside it, and pour the sauce and cornichons over the meat. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Ask the butcher for a fresh tongue around 3 to 3½ pounds, with most of the throat cartilage already removed. A larger tongue feeds more people but also needs a larger vessel, more brine, and additional simmering time.
• •The seven-day cure seasons the tongue to its centre and firms it for clean slicing. Do not improvise the salt concentration; use the prepared Brine (No. 172), keep the tongue submerged, and keep the container cold.
• •Peel while the tongue is warm enough to soften its outer skin. Once fully chilled, that skin grips the meat stubbornly, but ten minutes back in hot liquor releases it.
• •Sauce piquante wants acidity you can taste, not acidity that erases the beef. If your vinegar is unusually fierce, hold back a tablespoon and adjust after the stock has reduced.
• •Pour a light, lively red with enough fruit for the tongue and enough freshness for the cornichons. Beaujolais or a Cabernet Franc from the Loire both behave beautifully at this table.

Advance Preparation

• •Begin the cure seven days before cooking. The tongue needs no daily work beyond turning it and checking that it remains fully submerged in Brine (No. 172).
• •The tongue may be poached and peeled up to two days ahead. Cool it promptly with a little unsalted stock or mild cooking liquor to prevent drying, cover, and refrigerate. Slice it cold, then warm it gently in the finished sauce.
• •The wine, vinegar, and shallot reduction can be made a day ahead. Add it to the roux-based sauce on serving day, then finish with cornichons, parsley, and cold butter.
• •Leftover tongue keeps for three days under refrigeration. Store it in sauce or with enough cooking liquor to cover the cut surfaces, then reheat without boiling.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 720g)