Tongue

[New York Hillbilly]

Used a slightly modified version of Wolc deer heart recipe to do cow tongue.  Looking forward to eating it after a week or 10 days. 

[Moho81]

I have never had cow tongue before but I did have deer tongue once. It was not bad at all different texture but good. 

[landtracdeerhunter]

Don't ever remember eating any meat pickled. Is it good?

[New York Hillbilly]

10 hours ago, Moho81 said:

I have never had cow tongue before but I did have deer tongue once. It was not bad at all different texture but good. 

 

2 hours ago, landtracdeerhunter said:

Don't ever remember eating any meat pickled. Is it good?

As a youngster, I used to love it when my grandmother made pickled cow tongue. It was almost impossible for me to wait the time frame recommended before you eat it.

I guess it's a old timey type thing. And, other than on this site where people pickle heart, I don't know of anyone else who makes or eats pickled meats. They also used to sell lamb tongue in small jars in the supermarkets from time to time, and I loved them. You can't find the lamb tongue anywhere these days, not even online.

My kids used to crack up laughing and get all silly yelling, "gross Dad" , as I teased them with a lamb tongue hanging out of my mouth. lol

[airedale]

On my several hunting trips in Canada especially in Newfoundland I found tongue was very popular, I tried and developed a fondness for pickled lamb's tongue, also tried pickled hog tongue which was pretty good too. The cooks in our hunting camp cooked up Moose tongue several times in different ways and that was great also. Tongue is tasty and very underrated. 

Al

[Northcountryman]

Never thought of harvesting the tongue on a deer; you do that regular or only if really large?

[Moho81]

I've only done it personally once. Bunch of us where curious about it so we tried it. Seemed like a lot of time and work for what you got so maybe that's why we have never done it again. 

[New York Hillbilly]

4 hours ago, Northcountryman said:

Never thought of harvesting the tongue on a deer; you do that regular or only if really large?

I’ve never done or eaten deer tongue, only lamb and beef.  If I had a bunch of them I would give it a whirl. 

[Doc]

For some reason, I never thought to use the tongue before. I've had sheep tongue back when I was a kid, and I seem to remember that it was pretty good. I have no idea why I haven't tried deer tongue. Thanks for the idea. Next year I'll give it a try. You got any good recipes?

[grampy]

I'm tongue tied over this topic......... 

 

 

[Doc]

No body has any good recipes for pickled deer tongue?

Are there other ways to prepare deer tongue? It seems to me that when I had cow tongue, years and years ago, it was not pickled. 

[New York Hillbilly]

The last batch I made was great! :  )   So I bought six more and tossed them in the freezer. I plan to pickle 3 more today the same way,  after doing some work today getting the garden ready for the new season. 

[wolc123]

The recipe that my wife uses came from my grandmother who always used it on beef hearts and tongues.  The absolute best tasting wild game that I ever had was moose tongue picked with that recipe:

 

 

I’ve always liked the tongue better than the heart but deer tongues are too small to mess with.  Moose tongues are bigger than beef tongues though.  
 

I almost always mix in a beef tongue or two with the deer hearts that my pickles for me every Valentine’s Day. 

[Daveboone]

On 2/11/2024 at 9:37 AM, Doc said:

No body has any good recipes for pickled deer tongue?

Are there other ways to prepare deer tongue? It seems to me that when I had cow tongue, years and years ago, it was not pickled. 

Anything for heart is good.  Tongue is just a big muscle. You slice off the outer skin, then just drop it in the pot with pickling spice, vinegar and water per the recipe and simmer away. If not pickled, it just tastes like beef.

 

[New York Hillbilly]

In between taking care of our chickens, pruning my apple and peach trees, checking on my bee hives now that the wind died down, I managed to pickle three more cow tongue’s. 

I’m going to try to remain patient while they sit in their jars for the next week or 10 days, before I can start to eat them. 

[wolc123]

1 hour ago, New York Hillbilly said:

In between taking care of our chickens, pruning my apple and peach trees, checking on my bee hives now that the wind died down, I managed to pickle three more cow tongue’s. 

I’m going to try to remain patient while they sit in their jars for the next week or 10 days, before I can start to eat them. 

You’ve made me hungry, just looking at that.  My wife was away this year, on Valentine’s Day, so she hasn’t pickled my deer hearts from last season yet.  I’ve got two of them in the freezer, along with several beef tongues.  I’ll try to get her to pickle them up before the end of the month.  
 

It looks like we may be heading up to her parents in the Dacks the last weekend in March and they really like the pickled heart.  The tongue has always been my favorite though.  
 

Edited March 9 by wolc123

[New York Hillbilly]

28 minutes ago, wolc123 said:

You’ve made me hungry, just looking at that.  My wife was away this year, on Valentine’s Day, so she hasn’t pickled my deer hearts from last season yet.  I’ve got two of them in the freezer, along with several beef tongues.  I’ll try to get her to pickle them up before the end of the month.  
 

It looks like we may be heading up to her parents in the Dacks the last weekend in March and they really like the pickled heart.  The tongue has always been my favorite though.

I was never able to get my grandmothers recipe while she was living. Your heart recipe comes as close to what I remember as a child, so it’s all I use now. :  )

[New York Hillbilly]

Question for Wolc or any of you guys/gals  with any experience with pickled meats. I made pickled tongue on March 9th, fully intending to enjoy it on my birthday the 18th. It’s always tough for me to stay out of it long enough to give it time to soak, so I stuffed it way in the back of the fridge, after sampling it just enough to satisfy my craving.

Well as things go, between work, chores, and family stuff, I forgot I made it. :  (   Birthday came and went and I never remembered I made it. 

I just came in from working on the chicken pen, garden, and picking up the yard that was a mess from winter. I figured I would have lunch, and all of a sudden remembered the treat I was supposed to eat 3 or 4 weeks ago.

My question is, will it still be safe to eat? I did taste some just now and it tastes good, but I freaked myself out and tossed what I had on my plate in the garbage. It would bum me out to know I wasted it, but would bum me out even more if I food poisoned myself. I sort of want to be around for a few more seasons, and prefer not to cut things short and have cause of death “cow tongue”. 

[wolc123]

8 hours ago, New York Hillbilly said:

Question for Wolc or any of you guys/gals  with any experience with pickled meats. I made pickled tongue on March 9th, fully intending to enjoy it on my birthday the 18th. It’s always tough for me to stay out of it long enough to give it time to soak, so I stuffed it way in the back of the fridge, after sampling it just enough to satisfy my craving.

Well as things go, between work, chores, and family stuff, I forgot I made it. :  (   Birthday came and went and I never remembered I made it. 

I just came in from working on the chicken pen, garden, and picking up the yard that was a mess from winter. I figured I would have lunch, and all of a sudden remembered the treat I was supposed to eat 3 or 4 weeks ago.

My question is, will it still be safe to eat? I did taste some just now and it tastes good, but I freaked myself out and tossed what I had on my plate in the garbage. It would bum me out to know I wasted it, but would bum me out even more if I food poisoned myself. I sort of want to be around for a few more seasons, and prefer not to cut things short and have cause of death “cow tongue”. 

I am not sure if it would still be good.  I’ve never kept it longer than two weeks after pickling.  I usually start on it, the day it’s made.  It’s seems to peak in flavor, after about two days, and it tastes about the same for up to two weeks.  I really like it and it rarely lasts over a week.  
 

Speaking of pickled heart and tongue, my wife didn’t get to mine yet.  She was away over Valentine’s Day this year.  I’m trying to coax her into making it for me over Easter.  We still have two deer hearts in the freezer.

Most years, she makes it on Valentine’s Day and we take it up to her parents in the Adirondacks the following weekend.  They love the pickled heart and I save most of that for them, while I eat mostly the beef tongue (they don’t like that). 
 

The in-laws really missed it this year, so my wife sent her mom my grandmas recipe, and she just made some pickled beef heart up there.  She said it turned out real good.  
 

Good news -my wife just told me to bring the hearts and up from the freezer and she will pickle them for me tomorrow.  Thanks for the reminder.  I couldn’t find any beef tongues in there, but there are still a couple of beef hearts in the freezer.  
 

If these two deer hearts turn out good, maybe I’ll get her to pickle the beef hearts for next time we go up to her parents, on Memorial Day weekend.

 

 

[wolc123]

They are thawing out now, and should be getting pickled tomorrow.  I’ll try and stay away from it, until Good Friday or so.  

[landtracdeerhunter]

Are you guys talking about a sealed jar or after the jar is opened?  I would think the pickling would preserve the meat, as long as it it in the frig. Anything pickled, keeps a long time in the frig. IDK, maybe meats different, pickled.

[wolc123]

On 4/13/2025 at 8:01 AM, landtracdeerhunter said:

Are you guys talking about a sealed jar or after the jar is opened?  I would think the pickling would preserve the meat, as long as it it in the frig. Anything pickled, keeps a long time in the frig. IDK, maybe meats different, pickled.

I have never sealed the jars.  There are two plastic Tupperware type containers of deer hearts, that my wife pickled yesterday, in my beer fridge right now.  I’ll probably start eating it tomorrow.  Im going to try my best to save one container for our Easter breakfast at church next Sunday.  Some of my buddies want to try it.  

[wolc123]

I just sneaked a couple bites of the pickled heart for a pre dinner snack and it was delicious:

 It’s not going to be easy saving some for the Easter breakfast at church.