Beef Tongue Borscht
Equipment
- Knife
- Cutting board
- Deep Casserole or souffle dish
- Aluminum foil
- Blender
Ingredients
Braised beef tongue
- 1 each beef tongue
- 100 grams salt kosher, preferably Diamond Crystal
- 1 liter water
- 2 each onions quartered
- 2 each carrots cut into 2" lengths
- 4 each celery stalks cut into 2" lengths
- 1 head garlic cut horizontally
- 2 each bay leaves
- 1/2" bundle thyme optional
- 4-6 cups beef broth optional
- 4-6 cups water
Lightly-pickled beets
- 1 1/2 pounds beets
- 1 cup vinegar red wine or cider
- 1 cup sugar
- 1-3 cups water
- 2 each bay leaves
- 2 tablespoons salt kosher, preferably Diamond Crystal
Soup
- 1 each large onion, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, sweated
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 1/2 bunch parsley chopped
- 4 oz egg noodles
Instructions
Brine Tongue
- Whisk together water and salt and submerge tongue for 8-24 hours.
Braise tongue
- Preheat oven to 325˚F.
- Remove tongue from brine and put into deep casserole (as small as possible to accomodate tongue, aromatics and enough liquid to cover). Add onion, carrots, celery, garlic, and herbs. Cover with water or stock and wrap tightly with foil.
- Braise for 2 hours and check for doneness: a skewer or knife should pierce the tongue with no resistance. Finish braise, remove from oven, and uncover.
- As soon as you can comfortably handle the tongue, remove it from the liquid and peel the thick membrane, scraping the thin membrane on the underside with a small knife if desired. You may also pull apart the muscles on the bottom and discard any tough or otherwise undesirable connective tissue.
- Strain liquid and return the tongue to braising liquid to cool.
Cook beets
- Place beets in a deep casserole with sugar, vinegar, herbs, salt and water to just cover.
- Cook at 325˚f until beets pierce easily with a skewer or sharp knife. Remove from liquid to peel with a towel or gloved hands, and return to liquid to cool.
Assemble soup
- Heat a little butter, oil, or fat from braising liquid over medium heat and sweat onions and garlic with a pinch of salt until translucent and fully cooked.
- Dice beets and add about 2 cups to pan, with reserved beef cooking liquid and a pinch of salt. Bring to a simmer.
- Taste and correct seasoning: add more beet cooking liquid for acid and sugar, or salt if necessary. Reduce if necessary.
- Transfer half the liquid and about 3/4 cup of beets to a blender and puree until smooth. Add buttermilk at the end and puree until emulsified.
- Dice beef tongue and heat in remaining broth.
- Boil egg noodles for 10 minutes and drain.
- Add pureed broth and parsley to soup and serve over egg noodles.
Notes
This soup should be a tight balance of sweet, savory, and acidic. It’s best with a starch like egg noodles or buttery toasted bread to provide some buffer to the more intense flavors.
