I'm a fan of cuts like tongue, cheek, sweet breads etc...and living in SW Colorado with a bunch of Hispanic employees i get some great tips for authentic mexican cooking. This a Lengua Burrito (beef tongue burrito)...this is my personal favorite. The tongue is an awesome cut of meat. If you haven't tried it..this is a nice easy intro to it;
1 tongue (beef generally..but i guess any would work)
1 onion
3 cloves of garlic
1 bay leaf
1 Tbsp salt
2 whole tomatoes
1 bunch of Cilantro
Tortillas
Place the tongue in a large stew pot and cover with water. Add 1/2 the onion, garlic, bay leaf and salt. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 3-4 hours.
When fork tender, remove from pot and cool. (Boil down the water for a great beef stock)
When cool enough to touch...remove the skin from the tongue (you can trim the underside if you want...but hey..its going into a burrito)
Slice and dice the tongue..then put into the fridge to cool.
Chop the tomatoes and reduce in a fry pan. (add some italian herbs if that floats your boat)
Remove the tomatoes and save for later.
Once cool...saute the tongue pieces in lard or butter until 50% crispy.
Add the tomato mixture and heat through.
Add the tongue/tomato mixture to a tortilla with diced onion and chopped cilantro. Roll and enjoy. I generally roll a few into foil and save for lunch during the week.
Sorry not to many photo's;
Tongue out of the simmer;
Chopped and ready for chilling;
I forgot to take photo's of the rolling process, but it aint rocket science. The key to authentic mexican is simplicity......meat...onion...cilantro..some chilli sauce if you like. No cheese..beans or other bullshit.
Enjoy
