Beef Tongue in Salsa Verde

15 minutes Prep Time
45 minutes - 2 hours Cook Time
6-8 Servings

Original Blog & Recipe by
Mely Martinez

I’m Mely Martinez, passionate home cook and former teacher, born and raised in Mexico. Growing up, I was constantly thinking about food and watching how the women in my family cooked and prepared meals. Today, I enjoy teaching people how to cook Mexican food through my blog. Cooking my recipes with the best quality products is very important to me and Rumba Meats offers quality cuts of meat that are conveniently packaged and readily available.

See more of my recipes

Lengua en Salsa Verde

This Beef Tongue in Salsa Verde recipe is perfect for a special occasion, like a family gathering or a dinner with friends. You can even cook it the day before, and the flavors will be even better! This is one of the dishes I had thought about preparing for that day back in February when my dear friend Sonia (from La Piña en la Cocina) came to visit me. It’s an easy meal that can be prepared ahead of time but is still really delicious.

THIS IS A PAID PARTNERSHIP WITH RUMBA MEATS, ALL OPINIONS ARE MY OWN.

Beef Tongue in Salsa Verde Recipe Plated

I’m so thankful that the folks at RUMBA Meats made that memorable day possible; everything happened so fast and it was gone too soon that I’m glad that they were able to capture everything on video. It was a day full of emotions, laughter, and even some tears. Meeting Sonia was like getting to see one of my cousins, and cooking together felt like being home with my mom and my brothers and sisters. Enjoying some time in the kitchen and sharing all those memories made me feel like a kid on Christmas morning!

ENJOY THIS RECIPE FOR BEEF TONGUE IN SALSA VERDE!

Beef Tongue in Salsa Verde Ingredients

Directions

Beef Tongue in Salsa Verde Recipe Preparation Steps

Remove beef tongue from its vacuum-sealed package and rinse lightly. Place in a large stockpot and add the onion, garlic, bay leaf, and thyme. Cover with the water and bring to a boil. Once it starts boiling, reduces heat and gently simmers for about 2 hours. (Please check the ingredients list below)
Once the meat is cooked, let it cool and remove the outer skin. Next, slice with a sharp knife; the slices should be between 1/3 and ½ in. thick.
While the meat is cooking, begin preparing the salsa by removing the husks from the tomatillos and then slightly rinsing them to remove that sticky residue that some of them have.
Place the tomatillos in a saucepan with the peppers and garlic cloves and cover with water. Turn the heat to high. Once it starts boiling, reduces the heat to low and cook for about 14-15 minutes until they are cooked.
Let the tomatillos and peppers cool after cooking and then place them in your blender.
Heat the oil in a large skillet, pour the salsa in, and season with salt. Add the beef tongue slices and gently simmer for about 8-10 minutes. Right before serving, stir in the chopped cilantro.

Serve with some rice and warm corn tortillas.

Ingredients

FOR THE MEAT

Rumba Meats® Beef Tongue (1 package)
1 Beef Tongue from Rumba Meats
½ white onion
2 garlic cloves
1 bay leaf
2 sprigs of fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
5 cups of water

FOR THE SALSA

10 medium-size tomatillos
2 garlic cloves
3 serrano peppers or 2 jalapeños
½ cup chopped cilantro, for garnish
Salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons of vegetable oil

Recipe Notes

The most popular way of making the salsa for this dish is to boil the salsa ingredients, but you can also roast the tomatillos, peppers, and garlic cloves if you want to add more flavor. For those of you that like things a little bit spicy, you can use arbol peppers instead of serrano or jalapeño. Five arbol peppers will give it enough heat without being too spicy.

Instructions

Remove beef tongue from vacuum-sealed package and rinse lightly. Place in a large stock pot (you can use a pressure cooker or an instant pot). Add onion, 2 cloves garlic, bay leaf, and thyme. Cover with water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and gently simmer for about 2 hours until the meat is tender and internal temperature of tongue reaches 160ºF.
If using a pressure cooker: cook for 40 minutes. For an instant pot: cook for 35 minutes. Every pressure cooker or instant pot is different, so cooking time will vary.
Once the meat is cooked, remove tongue, cool and remove the outer skin. Using a sharp knife, slice tongue into 1/3 to ½ inch-thick slices. Set aside.
While the meat is cooking, prepare the salsa: Remove the husks from tomatillos and rinse to remove any sticky residue.
Place tomatillos in a saucepan with peppers and 2 cloves garlic and cover with water. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce heat to low and cook for 14 to 15 minutes until cooked.
Cool tomatillos and peppers and place in a blender. Process until sauce is smooth. If salsa is too dry, add a little bit of the cooking water.
Heat oil in a large skillet, pour in salsa and season with salt. Add beef tongue slices and gently simmer for about 8 to 10 minutes. Right before serving, stir in the chopped cilantro.
Serve with rice and warm corn tortillas, if desired.