Langue de Bœuf Flamande

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •8-quart heavy Dutch oven or stockpot with lid
• •Large lidded sauté pan
• •Medium saucepan
• •Fine-mesh strainer
• •Thin metal skewer
• •Broiler-safe rimmed tray
• •Large heated oval serving platter

Instructions

1. 1

   Blanch the tongue

   Put the tongue in an 8-quart heavy pot and add 8 cups (1.9 L) of the cold water. Bring slowly to a boil, skim the grey foam, then simmer for 15 minutes. Drain, rinse the tongue under cool water, and wash the pot. This first blanching is useful scaffolding, not ceremony: it clears away blood and surface proteins so the braising liquor can become a clean glaze later.

2. 2

   Braise at a tremble

   Return the tongue to the clean pot. Add the beef stock, 6 cups (1.4 L) water, onion, braising carrot, celery, bouquet garni, peppercorns, cloves, and 1 teaspoon (6 g) salt. The liquid should cover the tongue by about 1 inch (2.5 cm); add a little more water if the pot is unusually wide. Bring it just to a simmer, skim once more, then cover and hold at the barest tremble for 3 to 3½ hours. Turn the tongue halfway through. It is ready only when a skewer enters the thick end with almost no resistance and the skin lifts when nicked. If either test fails, give it another 20 minutes and test again. Ça se rattrape.

   A hard boil makes the outer meat stringy before the centre softens. Look for an occasional lazy bubble, not a rolling pot.
3. 3

   Peel and strain

   Lift the tender tongue onto a board and let it stand only until your hands can manage it. Cut a shallow line through the skin, then pull the skin away while the tongue is still warm; trim the coarse gristle and any loose tissue from the root end without carving away good meat. If the skin clings stubbornly, the tongue needs more cooking, not a stronger hand. Return it to the braise for 15 to 20 minutes. Strain the cooking liquor through a fine sieve and skim off the surface fat. Keep the peeled tongue covered with a little strained liquor while you prepare the garnish.

4. 4

   Reduce the glaze

   Measure 4 cups (960 ml) of strained braising liquor into a wide saucepan. Bring it to a brisk simmer and reduce it to about 1 cup (240 ml), skimming as needed, until it gleams and coats the back of a spoon with a clear track left by your finger. This reduction replaces the separate meat glaze and the saucier who once tended it. Do not season until it has reduced. If it tightens too far, loosen it with reserved braising liquor, a spoonful at a time.

5. 5

   Brown bacon and sausage

   Lay the bacon rectangles in a cold wide sauté pan and set it over medium heat. Cook slowly until their fat renders and the edges turn bronze, keeping the rectangles supple rather than brittle. Lift them out with a slotted spoon. Add the sausage roundels to the bacon fat and colour them lightly on both cut faces, then reserve them with the bacon.

6. 6

   Braise the cabbage

   Bring 6 cups (1.4 L) water to a boil with 1 tablespoon (18 g) salt. Lower in the cabbage wedges and blanch for 5 minutes, then drain carefully so the cores continue holding the leaves together. Melt 2 tablespoons (28 g) butter in the bacon pan, settle in the cabbage, and add 2 cups (480 ml) strained braising liquor. Cover and simmer gently for 25 to 30 minutes, turning once, until a knife slips through the core. Uncover for the final few minutes so the liquor reduces to a light sheen. Once the cabbage is covered, start the roots and potatoes; their cooking times overlap without requiring a brigade.

7. 7

   Glaze the roots

   Put the carrots in a medium saucepan with 3 tablespoons (43 g) butter, the sugar, ½ teaspoon (3 g) salt, and 1½ cups (360 ml) water. Cover with a lid set slightly ajar and simmer for 5 minutes, then add the turnips. Continue until both vegetables are just tender, about 12 to 15 minutes more. Remove the lid and roll the vegetables through the reducing liquid until the water is gone and the butter and sugar leave a clear, bright glaze. If the pan dries before the roots are tender, add water by the tablespoon. Burnt sugar is a verdict; a dry pan caught in time is merely a request for water.

8. 8

   Cook potatoes à l’Anglaise

   Set the potatoes in a saucepan with 6 cups (1.4 L) cold water and 1 tablespoon (18 g) salt. Bring to a gentle boil and cook until a knife enters cleanly, about 15 to 20 minutes. This is à l’Anglaise, cooked plainly in water, and the simplicity matters against the rich tongue and pork. Drain them before they split, return them to the dry warm pan for 1 minute, and roll the pan gently so their surfaces dry without breaking.

9. 9

   Glaze at the last moment

   Heat the broiler and set a rack about 6 inches (15 cm) below it. Pat the warm tongue dry, place it on a broiler-safe tray, and brush it generously with the reduced glaze. Broil for 45 to 60 seconds, brush again, and repeat until the surface is mahogany-coloured and lacquered, watching continuously because the final coat catches quickly. The home broiler is the honest equivalent of the salamander. If an edge darkens too fast, lower the tray and brush that spot with fresh glaze. Whisk the remaining 1 tablespoon (14 g) butter into the glaze off the heat, then taste for salt and pepper.

   Glaze the tongue only when every part of the garnish is ready. The source is exact about the last moment because the shine dulls if the tongue waits.
10. 10

    Build the Flemish ring

    Carve the tongue crosswise into slices about ½ inch (1.25 cm) thick and overlap them down the centre of a heated oval platter. Spoon over enough buttered glaze to make them shine without flooding the platter. Surround the tongue with the braised cabbage wedges, glazed carrots and turnips, potatoes à l’Anglaise, bacon rectangles, and sausage roundels, keeping each element recognizable rather than stirring everything together. Serve the remaining glaze in a warm jug. This is generosity with discipline. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Order a fresh tongue from the butcher, since many counters carry only brined ones. If brined tongue is all you can find, soak it in cold water for 4 hours, changing the water once, and omit salt from the braise until the reduced liquor has been tasted.
• •Use unsalted or very low-sodium stock. Four cups of braising liquor become one cup of glaze, and reduction magnifies salt as faithfully as it magnifies flavour.
• •Keep a strip of core attached to every cabbage wedge. That small piece is what lets you turn and serve the cabbage without watching it fall into a heap.
• •The sausage should be fully cooked, mild, and firm enough to hold a round slice. Strong smoke or heavy spice takes command of a garnish meant to work as a whole.
• •An amber bière de garde is the natural northern companion, with enough malt to meet the glaze, bacon, and sausage without weighing down the cabbage and roots.

Advance Preparation

• •The tongue may be braised, peeled, and chilled in its strained cooking liquor up to 2 days ahead. Reheat it gently in the liquor for about 25 minutes before reducing the glaze and completing the final broiling.
• •The strained glaze may be reduced a day ahead and chilled separately. Reheat it slowly, loosening it with a spoonful of reserved braising liquor if it has set too firmly.
• •The cabbage can be blanched and the roots cut earlier in the day. Braise and glaze them near serving time so the cabbage remains intact and the roots keep their clear buttered finish.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 900g)