Easy Tacos de Lengua

10 minutes Prep Time
4 hours Cook Time
4 Servings

Original Blog & Recipe by
Lynda Segovia Thorn

Hi, I'm Lynda Segovia Thorn, wife and mother. Originally from Texas, I now reside in California and teach SpEd students while blogging about food, familia and travel. By making my children the same meals my Mom made me, I can share our proud Mexican heritage with them. As the mother of multicultural kids, it's important to me that they know where they came from - Rumba Meats helps make that possible.

See more of my recipes

Beef Tongue Tacos

Tacos de Lengua

I’ve always been what some might call an “adventurous” eater. I like trying new foods. I remember growing up and going out to eat at Mexican restaurants with my Mom, Tia (aunt) and cousin. I’d order the Tripas, Menudo, or Lengua Tacos. My cousin would look at me, shake her head and ask, “How can you eat that stuff?”

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Eating “that stuff” was a no-brainer for me. My Mom would often cook traditional Mexican meals for us; I grew up eating it. I didn’t give Lengua Tacos a second thought. While my cousin couldn’t get past the fact that it was beef tongue; I was thinking “more for me!” LOL! Eating lengua was no different to me than eating a hamburger-they both came from a cow. My cousin ate hamburgers, but she wouldn’t eat lengua … go figure!

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Once cooked, Lengua (Beef Tongue) is one of the most tender meats you will ever eat. I’ve gotten quite a few of my friends to try it, and they’ve all been surprised at how tender the meat is. The most common way Lengua is eaten is in tacos, but there are also delicious lengua dishes made with a tomato sauce that I’ve had in restaurants. There was this one restaurant we used to go to, my Mom & Tia had a favorite waiter there who would always hook them up with “free” desserts & samples of other dishes. My Mom would usually ask him if there was any lengua available; he’d go into the kitchen & bring her a little morsel back. It’d be lengua cooked in tomato sauce – one of these days I’ll find a recipe for that dish & make it. My Mom & Tia would leave the waiter a huge tip. I still visit that restaurant whenever I’m in San Antonio.

Even though I no longer live in San Antonio; I can still cook all the delicious meals I grew up eating, thanks to Rumba Meats & Lucky’s Supermarkets!

A quick trip to my neighborhood Lucky’s Supermarket is all I have to do to find the cuts of meat I need. Not only is Lucky’s carrying Rumba Meats, you can find it at FoodMaxx & Save Marts too. This is great news for those of us who like to make Menudo, Lengua, Tripas, & all the other delicious Mexican dishes we grew up eating.

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Directions

Here’s my easy recipe for Tacos de Lengua (Beef Tongue Tacos).

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Ingredients

Rumba Meats® Beef Tongue (2 pounds)
Water to cover
2 tsp salt
2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp onion powder
1 cup diced onion for garnish
Cilantro for granish
2 limes, quartered, for garnish
1 dozen corn tortillas

Recipe Notes

I heat my tortillas on a plate with a few drops of water on it. Cover plate and microwave briefly. Tortillas will be very soft after heating.

Instructions

Rinse beef tongue and transfer to a large pot.
Cover tongue completely with water, do not add any more water than is needed to cover tongue. Add salt, garlic powder and onion powder to pot.
Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 4 hours until a fork inserts easily into tongue and internal temperature reaches 160ºF.
Remove tongue. Peel off outer layer from tongue while still hot so it comes off easily. Discard outer layer. Dice meat and season lightly with salt, if desired.
Heat tortillas.
To serve, layer meat on tortillas and garnish with onions, cilantro and a squeeze of fresh lime juice. Enjoy!