Grilled Beef Tongue Salad

With heat wave hitting at least the 90s here in Austin, I always crave a simple salad with a nice lean protein to go with it. This time I opted for an exotic one—beef tongue. They are available pre-sliced at Korean supermarket. They taste like beef with a slight chewy texture. In fact, the amazing chef Paul Qui's has made beef tongue popular with East Side King's delicious tongue bun (it's my go-to item on their menu). And here's my take for a quick lunch.

Grilled Beef Tongue Salad
Ingredients, serves 2:
for the meat
1/4 lb beef tongue (or about 16 slices)
1/2 lemon
1 tsp Canola oil
Optional: Shabu Shabu sauce (Japanese hot pot sauce) for dipping

for the greens
1 bowl Pre-washed organic spinach
1 Granny Smith apple
1 Roma tomato

for the dressing
1 lemon
1 Tbp whole grain mustard
1 Tbp honey
2 Tbp extra virgin olive oil
Salt & pepper to taste


Instructions

the salad

1. Dice tomatoes and slice apples.
2. Toss into spinach.
3. In a separate container, mix dressing ingredients and stir until olive oil is well incorporated. Incorporate dressing into salad.

the beef tongue

1. Marinate the beef in lemon juice for at least 15 minutes. This helps soften the protein to make chewing more of a delight than a facial workout. 
2. Drizzle beef tongue with a small amount of canola oil (it has a higher smoke point than olive oil, feel free to substitute oil), coat evenly.
3. On medium high heat, place beef tongue on grill pan.
4. Grill each side for approximately 2 minutes. Beef tongue should be just done to avoid over-chewiness.
5. Season with salt + pepper to taste.
6. Serve on top of salad. Optional: use Shabu Shabu sauce as dipping sauce.