How to Can Pickled Lamb's Tongues

To be on the safe side, store your canned pickled lamb's tongues in the refrigerator.

Something of a novelty product, pickled lamb's tongues are a throwback to an era when pickled tavern foods such as these treats were more commonly available at supermarkets. Fully cooked and brined, pickled lamb's tongues should be tender and ready to eat from the jar. To can pickled lamb's tongues on your own, first cure and cook the tongues, then pack them into widemouthed jars. The entire process from start to finish should take about four to five days.

Things You'll Need

• 10 lbs. lamb's tongues
• nonreactive cooking pot
• 12 cups water
• 1 cup pickling or kosher salt
• 6 tbsp. Instacure No.1
• 3 cups water
• 1 cup vinegar
• 1 tbsp. salt
• 1 tbsp. pickling spice
• 4 cups water
• 4 cups vinegar
• 2 tbsp. salt
• 2 tbsp. pickling spices, if desired
• 8 1½-pint widemouthed jars

Instructions

Pickle the Tongues

1. Prepare your pickled lamb's tongues. Cure 10 lbs. of lamb's tongues by mixing three batches of brine solution consisting of 12 cups of water, 1 cup of pickling salt and 6 tbsp. Instacure No. 1 (a nitrite-based ingredient) to prevent botulism in a nonreactive pot.

2. Place the washed tongues in the pot and bring them just to a boil on high heat, then remove to cool. Store them overnight in the refrigerator in the brine.

3. Discard the curing brine the following day, and rinse the tongues.

4. Make fresh brine to cook with based on the recipe of 3 cups of water, 1 cup of vinegar and 1 tbsp. each of salt and pickling spice. Make as many batches of this core recipe to cover the tongues in the pot.

5. Bring the tongues to a boil in the cooking brine, then turn down the heat and simmer for two hours until tender.

6. Shock-rinse the tongues in cold water. Peel off the membranes surrounding the tongues and with a sharp knife remove the fatty bits and veins under the tongue.

Can the Tongues

1. Wash your canning jars.

2. Prepare the canning brine. This will consist of 4 cups of water, 4 cups of vinegar, 2 tbsp. of salt and an optional 2 tbsp. of pickling spice. The latter will affect the color of the liquid, so omit if you wish a clear brine.

3. Pack the pickled tongues in the canning jars, leaving about 2 inches for tongue expansion.

4. Add brine to cover the tongues completely and leave about 1/2 inch clearance from the top of the jar.

5. Cap the jars and process in a boiling water bath for 15 to 20 minutes. If pressure canning using a pressure cooker, make an initial modification in the processing of the pickled lamb's tongue. If you are making pickled lamb's tongue from scratch and can adjust the cooking time, cook the tongues only 15 minutes to half an hour or until the skins can be easily removed. Allow the pressure canning to finish off the cooking. Pressure cook for 90 minutes at 11 psi.

6. Cool to room temperature, and refrigerate for three to four days before eating.

Tips & Warnings

• The USDA recommends pressure canning to can meats. However, a hot water treatment may be sufficient given the multiple acid-based brines and the Instacure No. 1. Store the canned pickled tongues in the refrigerator rather than at room temperature.

References

• Dave's Cupboard: Pickled Lamb's Tongues
• Google Books: Spice: Recipes to Delight the Senses
• Jeff's Pickled Lamb Tongues