Grilled Beef Tongue with Salty Onion Sauce Recipe

Grilled Beef Tongue (or gyutan, 牛タン) is pan-fried sliced beef tongue. Beef tongue is quite a popular ingredient in Japan, especially at Japanese BBQ restaurants. It’s actually one of the most popular items at Yakiniku BBQ restaurants today. Thinly sliced beef tongue is rather tender and delicious. It’s quick to cook with the special charcoal or gas grills at restaurants, which may of course affect the flavor, giving the meat nice charred grill marks. Many people in Japan also buy raw sliced tongue to cook at home themselves so that they can make it right at their tables using with the same kind of grills. Here, we will show you how it’s done in a frying pan, which may be much easier.

Grilled Beef Tongue originated in Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture, after World War II. During a period of food shortages, a restaurant owner invented the dish using beef tongue, which used to be thrown away, to alleviate the situation. He perfected the preparation and cooking of the tongue, serving delightful grilled tongue at his restaurant, and its success spread to many other parts of the country. While there are certainly Yakiniku restaurants that serve Grilled Beef Tongue, there are now specialty restaurants dedicated solely to serving grilled tongue found everywhere.

Grilled tongue is usually served with salty onion sauce or lemon sauce, rather than Yakiniku sauce. Nicely browned meat pairs well with onion and garlicky sesame flavors. Squeezing lemon over the dish adds a tangy, refreshing taste and helps cut through the grease. It takes no time to make the whole thing, so once you have all the ingredients, it’ll be done in a matter of 15-20 minutes. Even on busy weeknights, you can enjoy a hearty and delicious dinner with this dish. We hope you give it a try!