Sour tongue Baden style

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 1 tongue(s) (beef tongue, approx. 1 kg), cured
• salt water
• 3 onions
• 1 bunch of soup vegetables (carrot, celery, leek), diced
• 1 tsp allspice seeds
• 1 tsp clove(s), whole
• 5 bay leaves
• 1 tsp peppercorns, black
• 1 cube of vegetable stock
• 2 tbsp vinegar
• 250 ml red wine, strong (e.g. Pinot Noir)
• 2 tbsp butter
• 3 tbsp flour
• 1 tsp allspice, ground
• 1 tsp clove powder

Instructions

Working time approx. 30 minutes; Total time approx. 30 minutes

Place the tongue in boiling salted water for 10 minutes, then drain the water. Bring the tongue back to a boil with plenty of water and cook together with the soup vegetables, a roughly diced onion, bay leaves, 1 teaspoon each of cloves, allspice, and peppercorns, and the stock cube for a total of 3 hours. Remove the tongue, rinse under cold running water, and let cool slightly. In the meantime, pour the cooking stock through a sieve and reserve it for the sauce. When the tongue is cooked, it should peel easily. To do this, cut a small cut in the skin and peel it off. The fat on the underside of the tongue can also be removed. I cut about half to two-thirds of the tongue into small pieces for later use. The rest tastes great cold on bread. For the sauce, the remaining 2 onions are finely diced and fried in butter in a saucepan until lightly browned. Then add the flour and make a dark roux. When the flour is brown, deglaze with vinegar and wine. Be careful with the vinegar; you can always add more; it quickly becomes too acidic. Season with 1 teaspoon each of ground allspice and clove powder. Gradually add broth until the desired consistency is reached. Add the finely chopped tongue to the sauce and let it simmer for 5 minutes over low heat. Adjust the amount of vinegar, cloves, and allspice to your taste. This goes well with fried potatoes and spaetzle, as well as a delicate, not-too-acidic green salad, and a full-bodied, dry, not-too-fruity Pinot Noir.