With the arrival of the pink salt (as well as two packages of casings, one beef and one pork, in anticipation of a future sausage challenge), I was faced with this question: Corned Beef Brisket or Corned Beef Tongue.  The brisket was an appropriate choice, given an impending St. Patrick’s Day, but the tongue… memories of the best meal of my life, and the worst meal of my life.   Seems like I have to try it to see if I can swing more towards the best, and try to figure out what went wrong with the worst. 

I don’t have pictures of the worst, and I didn’t cook the worst, either.   Some 40-something years ago, when I was but a child bride and my husband had gone off to war (actually, he had gone off to Thailand, where he typed company reports and layed by the pool at lunch time) a friend invited me to dinner.  When I arrived, she informed me that she had decided to try that old Jewish delicacy, Boiled Tongue.  Looking back, I think she erred in boiling it hard, and not for very long, and she probably didn’t peel the tongue, either.   It was most certainly the worst thing I have ever eaten- tough, chewy, and totaly devoid of flavor, it qualified as shoe leather like nothing served up before or since.  We giggled through the meal, trying to camoflage with catsup, and I am guessing we ate a lot of dessert that night. 

The best was last November in Paris.  And, while many of the meals we had that trip qualified as the best, I will say that the tongue at Cafe’ Constant was a total surprise, given my frame of reference.  Tender and flavorful, as were the brain and kidney served along with it, topped with a sauce gribiche, a mustard, hard boiled egg, pickle and caper sauce.  This is what I would aim for!  Oh, and lest you think I am quite the sophisticated offal eater, Frank ordered this plate at Cafe’ Constant.  I just had a taste. This was my night for Steak Frites.

However, there still was that thought of the Corned Beef Brisket, which was now transforming in my mind from St. Patrick’s Day with carrots, potatoes and cabbage, to a Corned Beef Sandwich-Russian Dressing, Cole Slaw and fresh Rye Bread.  Yes, we shall make both!  So, above, the brining brisket, and below, the tongue, after the week of brining, as it begins to cook.

Once again faced with an abundance of meat (2 -6 lb briskets and one tongue) we decide this is the perfect family meal for celebrating granddaughter Morgan’s 9th birthday.  So, three large pots of simmering water seasoned with pickling spices- bay, juniper, peppers, cloves, and more-on the stove top for three and a half hours gave us a fragrant kitchen and lot’s of sandwich meat.

That slipper shaped thing is the tongue, partially peeled of it’s rubbery skin.  Amazingly, once it’s cooked, the skin peels off easily.  And, yes, the tongue did freak me out for just a second when the tip flipped up and hit my hand when I was rinsing it after the initial brine.  I persevered, however.

The tongue turned out tender and tasty- so much so that Frank ate it until he got sick (really), saying it gave him as much pleasure to eat as HIS favorite Paris meal, the whole roasted Fois Gras at Chez l’Ami Jean.  And, my son Josh, said it was his favorite tongue next to the tongue he had at Grand Sichuan in New York, which was, he said, his favorite meal ever.  I think we swung to the “good” side!

We had no complaints about the Brisket, either!   Tender, juicy and spicy!  One thought, though- I probably should have trimmed some of that fat off before cooking.   Not all, just some.