Description
Here's how to make a sandwich the way they do in New York City Jewish delis. If you can, use calf's tongue in preference to beef tongue, but both are good.
Region
Yield
1 Servings
Preparation time
1 minute
Cooking time
4 minutes
Total time
5 minutes
Ingredients
2 sli Seeded Rye Bread
1⁄2 lb Veal Tongue or Corned Beef Brisket
Instructions
- On a carving board with some elbow room, set the meat. If it was not sliced at the deli, slice it now into juicy slices, not paper-thin.
- Trim the meat into leading actors and supporting actors: the sliced meat is roughly an oval, so trim it from both the left and the right side by an inch to an inch and a half. The goal is to have a stack of nice squares and a heap of side-trimmings.
- Heat a skillet with two tablespoons of water or beef stock to a simmer, then cook up the side trimmings for a minute or so to warm them through and melt the jelly. It helps to cover it and let the steam help.
- Lift the trimmings out with a slotted spoon, and give the same treatment to the big pieces.
- Now turn up the heat to reduce the liquid a little. Quickly warm both bread slices on one side in the juices, but not enough to get soggy.
- Build the sandwich: set one piece of bread on a plate flavored side up, then add alternately the big and little pieces to make a high stack of steamed meaty goodness. Cover with the other slice, cut in half and serve immediately. Pickles and coarse mustard are de rigueur but totally unnecessary!
Notes
I get tongue jellied and sliced at the Baza Gourmet Market on Tower Road in Newton. They have veal, beef, and pork, of which the veal tongue is most expensive and wonderfully tender and delicious.
The same technique works with corned beef and you can make it work with Romanian (red) or black pastrami.
If you want mustard and have only Dijon mustard, cut it by 1/3 with mayonnaise or creme fraiche and add black pepper.
Source
Traditional