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Cow's Tongue. Bull Balls. Are these any good?

post #1 of 13
4/6/06 at 11:14am
Thread Starter 
These two 'delicacies' are native to the hugely popular Calgary Stampede (which is coming up in a few months). And yes, people eat them both!! This will be my first time attending the Stampede - has anybody tried either of these?
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post #2 of 13
4/6/06 at 11:19am
Tongue can be excellent or awful depending on preparation.

The same is probably true of the other item. A rancher I know is fond of bull testes as a meal...
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post #3 of 13
4/6/06 at 11:22am
Yes to the tounge! When prepared properly, It is quite good, you must boil it first the "peel" it, but it kinda reminds me of firm liver in flavor and texture. One of my favorite snadwiches at the Carnegie Deli in midtown, Manhattan, is there Tounge sandwich, piled high and covered in onion.

As for the "mountain Oysters", a lil too tendenous/sinuey for my likeing, the flavor is good, and if you didn't know what you were eating, you would be more apt to eat it, and like it...
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post #4 of 13
4/6/06 at 11:30am
Exactly. True for just about everything edible.
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post #5 of 13
4/6/06 at 12:20pm
My mom made both fresh and smoked tongue a lot when I was a kid- it used to be cheap. She simmered the tongue (fresh or smoked) in water with peppercorns, bay leaf and garlic); the pot was covered. After about 2-1/2 hours she'd peel it or let me peel it, then returned it to the pot for another 1/2 hour or longer. We sliced it thinly. Any leftovers went for sandwiches. We loved it. I remember boiled potatoes and creamed spinach as sides, with horseradish or grainy mustard.
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post #6 of 13
4/7/06 at 12:25am
I love the Stampede! I hope you see some the events. My favorite has been the chuckwagon races. I remember watching the races on tv when I was with my grandmother in northern Montana, also I had the opportunity to watch them live one year. It's a great regional competition. I've had the opportunity to eat "Rocky Mountain Oysters" but have always declined. If you really want to try this, ummmm, delicacy visit the "Testy Festy" in Bozeman, MT.
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post #7 of 13
4/7/06 at 6:49am
I grew up eating Mountain Oysters!! My mother always had a platter of fried chicken on the table also for those too timid to try them. I love them.
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post #8 of 13
4/7/06 at 7:11am
So what do they taste like?
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post #9 of 13
4/7/06 at 7:56am
Can't say as I've ever tried Bull's balls, or any other balls for that matter. Tongue is a very different story. When poached in a flavorfull broth and then peeled, it's very good, either cold, or hot, with a rich Marsala accented Demi.

What others have said of food being good or dreadful, depending on how and who is cooking is very, very true. I've had excellent and darn near poison versions of Haggis, blood sausage, pates, and terrines. When well prepared, they are excellent....
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post #10 of 13
4/7/06 at 7:12pm
Beef tongue sandwiches on rye with good mustard. Yum. Reminds me of grade school.
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post #11 of 13
4/8/06 at 6:03am
Chicken, Ellen...no, I'm kidding ;) they taste like fried pieces of beef - they really are very tasty! We had a restaurant years ago that severed (ooops now there is a slip of the tongue! s/b 'served') "turkey nuts" - the crowd had fun with that one!
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post #12 of 13
7/15/06 at 10:48am

Cow's Tongue & Bull Balls

I dearly love beef tongue, if it is prepared right. My mom would make tongue once in a while when I was a kid, but it's cost has become so dear that I seldom get to enjoy it any more.

I have eaten mountain oysters (both beef and pork) and enjoy them, although I realize that it is an acquired taste that might not be for everyone. As an aside, my wife and I often go to a Chinese buffet in our town, where I enjoy octopus with onion. I have seen a few other people who just can't bring themselves to try it. Usually, it is quite good, but sometimes the octopi are a bit on the rubbery side.

All I can say is, try a small sample, and see what YOUR reaction is to the food. You might be pleasantly surprised.
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post #13 of 13
7/15/06 at 8:29pm
Well first of all yall know about tongues..but aint many of ya got experience with balls dont seem like:) Now the way I was taught..which aint necessarily the right way of course...Mountain Oysters is in the pig family whilst Calf Fries come from boy cows (making things simple for the yankees here:) Cowboy way to cook em is to throw em on a bed of mesquite coals and when they bust open its time to eat. Way most folks likes em is sliced thin..rolled in cornmeal and fried. Now you get em in big hunks and fry em in cold grease..they got a musty flavor. Now I had a uncle by marriage who come down here from PA one time to try Calf Fries. Yeppers..the bull drug him to death.

bigwheel
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