Fiesta Pork Tongue

PARTY! Here is what I decided to make with the pork tongue I picked up at the farmer's market in Ann Arbor the other day. Because it's a tough cut I decided to braise it until it became tender and serve it up with some onions, cilantro and farmers market tomatoes. This definitely will not be the last time I get tongue.

Tongue, disgusting right? Not at all! Even though it's considered to be offal, tongue is that it is still a muscle just like steaks, chops and ribs. So it's really no different from other cuts of meat if you think about it. Since its low in fat (after removing the skin, it had a really light favor that reminded me of dark poultry meat.

Good lord, I need some new plates.

Ingredients

• 1 Pork or Beef Tongue (beef will feed a lot more people)
• Onion
• Garlic
• Bay Leaf
• Salt
• Apple Cider Vinegar
• Tomatoes
• Cilantro
• Avocado
• Chili Powder

Directions

1. Blanche the tongue with apple cider vinegar and boiling water to clean it and make it easier to remove the thick skin on the surface of the tongue
2. Remove the cuticle from the tongue by peeling it back or using a knife to cut it off
3. Add tongue, sliced onion, minced garlic, salt, bay leaf, and water to a crock pot. The water should reach half the height of the meat
4. Braise meat on low for 8 hours or until it easily falls apart
5. Remove and shred tongue meat adding chili powder
6. Plate with sautéed onions, fresh tomatoes, sliced avocado, and cilantro 

Update on the kimchi, I didn't let it ferment nearly long enough so it just tasted like cabbage with that fancy "rooster sauce." Next time I try it out, I'll have to do it the traditional way. Just wasn't the same.