In this Instructable, I am going to be showing you how to make a fearsome looking Halloween snack that is actually quite tasty!

Step 1: Necessary Items to Have

1. A cow tongue, fresh or frozen. I had a fresh one so that is what i used.
2. Vinegar
3 Pickling Spices
4. Water
5. A pot for boiling your tongue.
6 Some sort of a sealable container to store your tongue in.

Step 2: The Tongue

Most large grocery stores will have a tongue or two for sale on their shelves, I got mine from a local butcher. They definitely aren't expensive and sometimes might give them away given the lack of want for a tongue my most people.

The tongue should soft and supple, and the first thing you may notice is the very rough texture of the skin of the tongue. It is much more rough than say your or my tongue.

Step 3: Cook It and Clean It

Start by bringing a pot of water to boil. The tongue should be able to be fully submersed in the water. This whole process should take about 45 minutes to complete. If you have any doubts about whether it is cooked all the way through or not you can leave it in longer if you want. It really wont change the final outcome. When the tongue is done cooking it should be much lighter in color than it originally was. Some of the skin may have started pulling back or breaking off as seen on the tip of the tongue here.

Next you want to peel the skin off the tongue. It is kind of rubbery in feel and should come off easily given you have cooked it all the way. I note that it is important that you get all the skin off. The first reason being that, well, I think it would be gross to eat rough cow tongue skin, and second it will hinder in the pickling process.

Step 4:

Prepare your pickling solution.
You will want to use 2/3 vinegar to 1/3 water as your base solution. This is all you need to really need to pickle a tongue. I like mine with a little more flavor so I added sliced onion, chopped garlic, peppercorns, and salt. You really cant go wrong with what you add, just make sure it suits your taste!

Step 5: Pickle It

Add your freshly cooked and peeled tongue to your pickling brine. I used a half gallon glass jar with lid for the container. The tongue fit perfectly inside!
You will want to store your pickling tongue in your refrigerator for about 3-4 days to give it time to pickle and for all your added spices to do their magic!

Step 6: Eating It

Slice it, chop it or bite a hunk off! It doesn't really matter how you eat it, just make sure your friends see you pull the tongue out of the jar and be prepared to answer a lot of questions and hopefully you will gross some people out! If by chance you can't find it in yourself to try your tastebud tantalizing treat, don't despair. I assure you that once you try it you will find it quite enjoyable!
On a side not I prefer to eat mine sliced on saltine crackers with a bit of mustard.

Enjoy your pickled cow tongue!