Like crab cakes, but made from moose tongue. Sounds delicious?
The other day I finally found the moose tongue that I knew was hiding in one of my freezers. As I announced my plans to make a dish out of it, my wife immediately declined any further involvement, including the eating part. My kids were reluctant to share my enthusiasm, but not immediately opposed to the concept. In order the stay as mainstream as possible I decided to try to make breaded patties from shredded/cut-up meat and fry those up in some oil.
Step 1: Get a moose tongue
You can try the hard way, the saga of which you can read here: “Your Mother Mated a Donkey!”. Or perhaps you can ask anybody hunting moose for a tongue, chances are he or she wasn’t even planning on bringing it home anyway. Prepare for weird looks and comments of disgust.
Step 2: Clean the tongue and boil it
In my case the tongue had been inflicted some damage during the retrieval process, so it needed a decent wash in cold water, and removing of the tip which was torn up (done prior to freezing).
For the boil I used 50/50 water and stock, and I added salt, garlic, dried chili peppers and some onion. Boil for 4 hours.
Step 3: Chill in ice water and peel
The outer layer of the tongue is practically inedible and needs to be removed. According to those in the know, this works best of if you dunk the tongue in ice water after the boil. The top layer indeed came off fairly easily. Remove any tissue that either looks offending of feels like it would take more than five minutes of chewing.
Step 4: Shred, season and bread
Shred the meat or cut into very small chunks. Shredding is better, as it will be easier to form the cakes. Add spices to taste, and enough flower to make things stick. Form patties. Sprinkle on more flower, dip in egg (scrambled up with a fork), and coat with breadcrumbs of your liking.
Step 5: Fry in oil
Self-explanatory I would think. Don’t set the heat too high, as you want the meat to heat thoroughly before the breadcrumbs burn.
Step 6: Throw away the moose tongue cakes and order a burger
I bet you believed me. But actually, they tasted pretty good. The meat is on the fatty side of the spectrum, so the texture is not what you’d expect from venison. The first bite was a bit weird therefore (I never had moose tongue before). But I ate two, my son ate one, my daughter tried a bite and said she would have eaten more had she not known it was tongue. My wife staunchly refused, despite admitting that it smelled delicious.
I tried a piece cold after running an errand (picking up hog casings for making sausage), and did not enjoy it. Eating fatty meat when hot is one thing, eating it cold did not agree with my taste. In any case, it’s an interesting cut of meat, worthy of attention. There is a myriad of other things it is suitable for apparently, even as a cold cut for sandwiches. Next time I get a moose, I may have to try that. My wife already said “no” to that as well.