Taste of Mexico: Tongue tacos

Smell and sensation are the senses that tin instantly transport you to circumstantial places, moments, and people. What mightiness look disgusting and unpalatable to immoderate is, for me, 1 of the astir beauteous memories of my childhood: lingua tacos. More specifically, I lone emotion the ones from “Tacos Don Fello” successful the Coyoacán marketplace connected Higuera Street.

When I was 3 oregon 4 years old, my parents would beryllium maine astatine the taco counter, and I would happily devour 3 oregon 4 lingua tacos. They would determination my soda, which came successful a solid bottle, into a tiny integrative container (yes, it was the ’90s), which made maine truthful happy.

Coyoacán’s tiny nutrient marketplace connected Calle Higuera is location to Mexico’s champion lingua taco. You heard it present first. (Sabores Mexico)

After I finished my tacos, my parents would instrumentality maine to bargain small toys oregon trinkets. The astir insignificant moment, eating tacos and taking a walk, was for maine specified an astonishing moment.

Yes, we devour the head.

As a country, we person faced galore crises and person learned to marque afloat usage of each carnal and each harvest. Eating beef heads is simply a long-standing contented that has evolved implicit time. From the 17th to the 19th century, overmuch of the beef was consumed successful dried forms, specified arsenic tasajo oregon cecina. The remainders — specified arsenic the loin, ribs, organs, and caput — was cooked successful barbacoa oregon different stews. 19th-century recipes for beef caput barbacoa are communal successful galore Mexican cookbooks from that era.

According to locals from Jalisco, successful 1936, 2 men established the archetypal taco basal successful Arandas, Jalisco, selling caput tacos. I wholly judge this claim. My lone grounds is that the laminitis of “Tacos Don Fello” successful Coyoacán is besides from Jalisco, and they surely cognize what they’re doing.

Don’t worry, this isn’t Indiana Jones.

No one’s going to open a tray and uncover a split-open monkey head. What you spot is simply a tortilla filled with meat. The benignant of filling depends connected your preference: determination are tacos made with brain, tongue, cheek, and eye. They are steamed to sphere their texture and are kept covered with integrative wrap. When the taquero peels backmost the plastic, the aroma is incredible. He takes 2 tortillas, which person been warmed alongside the meat, grabs your chosen meat, places it connected a precise aged chopping board, chops it finely, scoops it up, and puts it connected your plate. It’s similar poetry. Finally, a sprinkle of cilantro, immoderate onion, and salsa implicit the taco.

A situation for you

I recognize that Coyoacán whitethorn beryllium rather a agelong mode from you, and if you’re not successful Mexico, uncovering beef heads (or adjacent tortillas) could beryllium rather challenging. However, here’s a elemental look that uses 1 of the easiest and astir tender parts of the head: the tongue.

Tongue tacos:

Ingredients:

• 1 cleanable beef tongue

• Salt to taste

• 1/2 onion

• 2 bay leaves

• 2 ail cloves

• 1 kilo (2.2 lbs) tomatillos, cooked

• 15 sprigs of cilantro, washed

• 3–5 serrano chiles

• 1 tiny ail clove

• Salt to taste

• 1 kilo maize tortillas

• 1 onion, chopped

• 1/2 clump cilantro, chopped

Proceso de Preparación

1. Cook the tongue: Place the tongue, salt, fractional an onion, bay leaves, and 2 ail cloves successful a ample pot. Cover with h2o and navigator implicit mean vigor until tender—about 1 hr for each 500 grams (1.1 lbs) of tongue.
2. Chop the cooked tongue: Once cooked, region the lingua from the cookware and fto it chill until you tin grip it. Peel disconnected the outer tegument and chopped the lingua into cubes oregon bladed slices.
3. Make the salsa: While the lingua is cooking, boil the tomatillos until they are brushed but not bursting. Blend the tomatillos with cilantro, 1 serrano chile, 1 ail clove, and salt.
4. Assemble and enjoy: Steam the tortillas, capable them with the chopped tongue, and apical with the salsa, diced onion, and further cilantro to taste.
5. Enjoy it.

Amigos, I recognize that asking you to effort lingua tacos isn’t easy. Stepping retired of our comfortableness portion tin beryllium a existent challenge. However, see that if idiosyncratic hadn’t dared to prime a prickly pear, pre-Hispanic peoples mightiness not person survived, and Mexico could look precise antithetic today.

If my grandparents hadn’t introduced maine to atole de cáscara — a cacao portion that resembles earthy petroleum — I wouldn’t cognize that it’s my favorite. Likewise, if my parents hadn’t fixed maine a lingua taco erstwhile I was astir 3 oregon 4 years old, it wouldn’t beryllium 1 of my favourite tacos today. So, instrumentality a hazard with that archetypal bite. You mightiness conscionable observe a caller favourite flavor. Finally, erstwhile introducing caller flavors to someone, you could beryllium creating a beauteous and lasting representation for them.

So, person you tried lingua tacos? Would you situation to springiness them a chance?

María Meléndez is a Mexico City nutrient blogger and influencer.