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Home » Wild Game » Venison » Deer Tongue Tacos

Deer Tongue Tacos

By Hank Shaw on October 31, 2016, Updated June 24, 2022 - 11 Comments

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5 from 4 votes
Tacos de lengua, in hand
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If you learn only one deer tongue recipe, tacos de lengua should be it.

Mexican tongue tacos, or “lengua tacos” as pretty much ever English speaker calls them, are a food truck staple where I live in Northern California, and everyone does it slightly differently. The constant is long-braised meat that’s been peeled (tongues have skin on them that needs to be removed), chopped, shredded or sliced, then seared in lard.

Holding a deer tongue taco ready to eat
Photo by Holly A. Heyser

So good.

If you’re not convinced, remember that tongue is just meat. And since it works all the time (deer chew cud, after all), a deer tongue is dense and full of connective tissue. Super flavorful, rich and meltingly tender, the little browned and seared edges complete things.

Once you chop the deer tongues, they just look like any other meat, so the squeamish need not know what you’re serving.

As to what you serve with your venison tacos de lengua, anything goes.

I prefer little corn tortillas, but flour tortillas, burritos, even the hard shells will work. You can also use this recipe as a filling for green enchiladas or enchiladas rojas.

An array of things to make tacos de lengua
Photo by Holly A. Heyser

You’ll want a typical taco spread, too. My preference is:

  • Chopped cilantro or epazote.
  • Chopped onions soaked in lime juice with a little salt
  • Minced hot fresh chiles, like serranos, habaneros, cayenne or jalapenos
  • Maybe some crumbled dry Mexican cheese like cotija
  • Diced radishes for crunch
  • Avocado adds some more richness. Slice or dice them.
  • A salsa of your choice. I mostly will use homemade salsa verde

I can guarantee you that if you make these deer tongue tacos, you will win over the tongue haters. Just don’t tell them what they’re eating until the last tortilla is gone. I also have another version of tongue tacos, where you grill the braised venison to finish it.

As a side note, if you are not sure how to extract the tongue from the deer, elk, moose, etc. that you hunt, my friend Kevin Kossowan has a tutorial here.

Holding a taco de lengua ready to eat
Print Recipe
5 from 4 votes

Deer Tongue Tacos

Keep in mind any tongue will do. Beef is traditional, and I use deer tongue, but lamb, pork, elk, moose, antelope, etc. will all work. I like my tongue sliced thin, shredded or chopped, not in big chunks. It’s up to you. I also like a bit more in the way of toppings, and I especially think a fiery salsa verde or roasted chile salsa, plus some fresh avocado, is a perfect balance with the rich, tender tongue meat. This is beer food. Mexican beer or German lagers, or hell, Budweiser or Miller are just fine here.
Prep Time20 mins
Cook Time2 hrs 30 mins
Total Time2 hrs 50 mins
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Mexican
Servings: 6 people
Calories: 76kcal
Author: Hank Shaw

Ingredients

  • An elk moose or bison tongue, or 4 to 6 deer tongues
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 5 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 tablespoon black peppercorns, cracked
  • 2 tablespoons salt
  • A spring of epazote (optional)
  • 3 tablespoons lard or vegetable oil
  • Corn tortillas
  • Salsa, canned or homemade
  • Diced or sliced avocado (optional)
  • Chopped cilantro, onion, radish and serrano chiles

Instructions

  • Simmer the tongue. Put the tongue or tongues in a large pot and cover it with water by 2 inches. Bring the water to a simmer and add the onion, garlic, bay, black peppercorns, epazote and salt. Simmer the tongue until the sharp point of a thin knife will pierce it easily, about 2 to 3 hours.
  • Prep the tongue. When the meat is tender, set it on a cutting board to cool somewhat. When it’s just barely cool enough to handle, peel off the skin and discard. You can do all this up to a week ahead if you want. Just cool the peeled tongue and wrap in plastic wrap, it’ll keep in the refrigerator a week.
  • Brown the meat. When you’re ready to make the tacos, cut the tongue meat into large pieces. Sear in the lard until they’re nicely browned, then chop roughly. Serve on warm corn tortillas with the salsa, avocado, cilantro and other garnishes.

Nutrition

Calories: 76kcal | Carbohydrates: 4g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Sodium: 2327mg | Potassium: 59mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 9IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 16mg | Iron: 1mg
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Filed Under: Featured, Mexican, Recipe, Venison, Wild Game

Avatar for Hank Shaw

Hank Shaw

Hey there. Welcome to Hunter Angler Gardener Cook, the internet's largest source of recipes and know-how for wild foods. I am a chef, author, and yes, hunter, angler, gardener, forager and cook. Follow me on Instagram and on Facebook.

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Comments

  1. Avatar for Kjell HedstromKjell Hedstrom says

    February 13, 2021 at 7:40 am

    I absolutely love this recipe. I haven’t tried to freeze it before but will try it now. I.e after simmering and peeling them, jut into chunks large enough for each taco dinner, vacuum pack and freeze.

    Then each taco dinner only requires thawing and frying them up. Not sure it’ll hold up well in the freezer but worth a try

    Reply
  2. Avatar for LizLiz says

    November 18, 2018 at 6:14 pm

    I like to pressure cook mine – I find that 35 minutes at high pressure, and then leaving it to cool on its own to depressurize leaves a large, old beef tongue just about perfect. So I’m thinking 15, maybe 17 minutes will do just fine for this elk tongue I got off a very large bull tonight. I’ll be searing it off for tacos 3 ways: lard, beef tallow & bear tallow. I’ll let you know how it turns out ?

    Reply
  3. Avatar for Andrew ThurowAndrew Thurow says

    September 5, 2018 at 8:35 am

    If I am going to sous vide the tongue. Do you think 170 is to high a temperature and would you add some fat to the bag during the sous vide or just when browning it up after the 24-36 hours?

    Reply
    • Avatar for Hank ShawHank Shaw says

      September 5, 2018 at 10:51 am

      Andrew: 170F is good. And yes, I’d add fat.

      Reply
  4. Avatar for TimTim says

    December 8, 2016 at 1:06 pm

    Hank, could the tongue be pressure cooked instead of simmered? I use my pressure cooker a lot and have never (yet) tried it with tongue. I would have never thought to use radishes. I’ll have to try that. Radishes are about the only thing I can reliably grow in my garden but even that got attacked by bugs this last year.

    Reply
    • Avatar for Hank ShawHank Shaw says

      December 10, 2016 at 11:34 am

      Tim: Yes, but I don’t know how. I don’t pressure can things. Need to learn…

      Reply
  5. Avatar for ForagedFoodieForagedFoodie says

    November 1, 2016 at 2:13 am

    I love lengua! Hopefully someone in my family gets some deer so I can try this!

    Reply
  6. Avatar for Steve ElfordSteve Elford says

    October 31, 2016 at 7:43 pm

    Hey Hank,

    I’m lucky to get one deer a year, could I pair this down for one tongue? Or just use the same amounts of everything with just the one whitetail tongue?

    Thanks!

    Reply
    • Avatar for Hank ShawHank Shaw says

      November 1, 2016 at 8:13 am

      Steve: I’d add other tongue meat to go with it – lamb is a perfect match, pork next and beef last. All will work, though.

      Reply
  7. Avatar for NicNic says

    October 31, 2016 at 5:21 am

    Hi Hank…I’ve taken my first two deer in the last two seasons, and by the time I had skinned and butchered down to the upper shoulder area, I was just too tired to go further and try to get the tongue (which I had intended to do). But I’d like to in the future. Do you have recommendations on the best way to, err, extract it?

    Reply
    • Avatar for Hank ShawHank Shaw says

      October 31, 2016 at 8:15 am

      Nic: The ole’ Colombian necktie: Cut the tongue out from underneath the lower jaw.

      Reply

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Hi, my name is Hank Shaw; I’m a James Beard Award-winning author and chef. I started this site back in 2007 to help you get the most out of all things wild: fish, game, edible wild plants and mushrooms. I also write cookbooks, have a website dedicated to the intersection of food and nature, and do a podcast, too. If it’s wild, you’ll find it here. Hope you enjoy the site!

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