# Antelope Tongue



## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

I like tongue; cow, pig, sheep or goat. Bison is the best wild game tongue in my opinion with elk a close second. And I would never pass on a deer tongue.

Then there's pronghorn antelope tongue. They say a beef tongue is 75% fat so one could assume the fat content of an antelope tongue is close to that. Antelope fat can be pretty gamey and from what I can remember eating antelope tongue over 30 years ago it is strong-flavored.

I took 3 antelope at one time so I decided to give antelope tongue another try.

A few hints:
> Remove the tongue while the animal is still warm, before rigor mortis sets in.
> Scrub the tongue with a stiff brush in some warm water.

fresh antelope tongues:


*Cooked Antelope Tongue*
1 qt - water
2 - slices of onion
3 - Bay leaves
1 clove of garlic, sliced
some carrots
6 - peppercorns
1/2 tsp - mustard seed
Do not add salt, it will make the skin hard to remove.

Mix spices with water and boil for 5 to 10 minutes.
Reduce heat and add tongue.
Simmer antelope tongues for 1 to 2 hours
Drain liquid and rinse the tongue in warm water.
While hot, place the tongue in a pan of cold water to help loosen the skin.
Remove the skin.

Cut tongue into 1/4" thick slices. 
Eat in sandwiches, on crackers or just by itself.
It's delicious pickled too:

*3 Pickled Antelope Tongues*
1/2 cup - vinegar
1/2 cup - water
1 tbsp - sugar
1 tsp - salt
2 tsp - pickling spice, wrapped in cheesecloth
8 - pearl onions
1 - garlic clove, sliced thin
6 - peppercorns
3 - cooked and sliced antelope tongues

Cook the tongue with some "aromatics":


Skin and slice:


Add all the ingredients except the tongue to a pot.
Bring to a boil and then simmer for 20 minutes.

Making the pickling solution:


Pack the sliced tongue into a sterilized jar(s).
Discard the spice bag.
Pour the hot pickling solution to within 1/2" from the top of the jar.
Seal with lid and ring and then process in a hot water bath for 10 minutes:


Keep in fridge for 48 hours before eating.

More later.


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## 35whelen (Jul 3, 2012)

doesnt look too bad. Great use of all the bits, goob


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## swbuckmaster (Sep 14, 2007)

Looks like a good lure to tip 1/2 oz black bass jig with. 

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## swbuckmaster (Sep 14, 2007)

But interested in what they taste like

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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

swbuckmaster said:


> But interested in what they taste like
> 
> Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk


Yeah, me too. This pickled tongue recipe has sugar, slightly different than my usual recipe.

I'll give the pickled antelope tongue a couple more days before I try it. Stay tuned.

.


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## Pumpgunner (Jan 12, 2010)

I'm interested to see how these turn out too Goob. My dad in law kept the tongue from his moose this year, we're looking for a good way to prepare it so we might give pickling a try.


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## Fowlmouth (Oct 4, 2008)

The first photo looks like 3 rainbow trout on a plate. :?>>O


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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

Pumpgunner said:


> I'm interested to see how these turn out too Goob. My dad in law kept the tongue from his moose this year, we're looking for a good way to prepare it so we might give pickling a try.


I've had a moose tongue or two. I think you'll like it pickled.

I recommend this recipe for moose tongue:
http://utahwildlife.net/forum/26-recipes/17450-elk-tongue.html

Keep us posted.

.


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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

The tongue has been in the pickle solution for a week. Time to try it out.

There's a 1/8" thick layer of fat on top of the pickled tongue. That's a good thing. There's a lot of fat in a tongue and as everyone knows antelope fat can be pretty gamey tasting. Looks like the hot water bath processing cooked some of the fat away:


Remove the layer of fat with a spoon. Top off the jar with cool water making it easy to skim off any remaining fat "floaties":


The pickle solution has a sweet spicy flavor similar to what's in bread n butter pickles. The tongue is good,; no disagreeable flavors or odors. The pickled pearl onions are great: 


I think this pickled antelope tongue would really go well with some sliced fruit, say apple or pear.

I'll do this again but when I have 3 or 4 antelope tongues. This is a lot of work for just one little antelope tongue. And maybe the next time I'll try less sugar and more red pepper flakes in the solution. 

.


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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

Mrs Goob says "It's like the juice in pickled herring"

That's it, she's right. :grin:

.


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## Dunkem (May 8, 2012)

mmm tongue


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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

Okay, the pickled antelope tongue has been in the fridge for over 2 months now. Most all of the antelope flavor is gone but it's a little too sweet for me so I revised the recipe in this thread, cut the amount of sugar in half.



I'll probably make this again if I have 3 or more antelope tongues on hand.

.


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