Pickled tongues might sound strange, but they're actually a traditional charcuterie. The finished product is similar to ham, and great on charcuterie plates or on a sandwich with mustard.

My first time cooking with tongue was at Heartland, along with most of the other organs I learned how to cook. Usually I remember us cooking them and serving them as a small plate, tossed in a salad, or maybe warm mixed with a little pasta.

I learned about pickled tongues when Lenny had us do some for a dinner senator Al Franken was going to be a part of, since he said the senator really liked them.

I can't remember, but I think he said he adapted the recipe from one charlie trotter had developed, in turn, I remember writing down some notes when we cooked the tongues, so that one day I could make my own rendition.

Depending on your age, pickled tongue might sound like some enlightened hipster food, or maybe just a weird organ dish old people eat, I tell you what though, it's both of these things and much more.

Calling meat pickled conjures up weird images of meat sitting in vinegar-y solutions like a science experiment. From a consumer's perspective, vegetables are ok to pickle, since they aren't made of muscle, but for some reason pickled meat (let alone a pickled tongue) seems to scare people, and I completely understand why-it's all about terminology.

These little lamb tongues are pickled, but I find they sell a lot better when I just hide it on a charcuterie board. When customers love what they're eating and ask about it, I usually have servers describe it to them as sweet and sour pork, lamb, bison, etc, depending on what animal it came from.

If I have a minute to talk to the table and if I know them I'll tell them it's tongue, if I don't, I feel them out and decide if they're ready. Most of the time they aren't, so they can come back at a future date asking if the "sweet and sour lamb" is on the charcuterie plate, and I'm ok with that.

If customers are on the fence about eating tongue, I tell them:

"Tongue is like the softest, most luxurious ham you've ever had".

The flavors you can adjust and tweak to however you're feeling, warm spices work great, but I've definitely played around with lots of different variations. Know that whatever spices you put in the pickle will come through too, since the tongues will sit in the mixture for a number of days before they're fully cured and ready to eat.