Newfie food: Cod tongue

Pieces of deep fried cod tongue at By the Sea Café.

Once again, cod finds it's way onto my plate. I know, I know, all of this cod eating is contributing to the cod problem here in Newfoundland, but since this is my year for learning all about the Newfoundland ways, I figured I am allowed to eat it once in a while, especially since cod is practically on all the Newfoundland menus.

I consider myself fairly adventurous when it comes to trying different foods, so the tongue part did not faze me at all. I quite enjoyed to smooth slippery texture. Smooth sounds appetizing, but the same cannot be said for the word slippery. I must admit, I would not do the tongues justice if I did not also describe it as slippery which sounds anything but appealing, especially when it is used to refer to an animal part. I guess the word slippery wouldn't influence your impression of the appeal of a food if I was using that adjective to describe let's say, something like noodles, but when used to describe tongue, I would fail for sure if I were in marketing and possibly even make stomachs churn. Since most of the animal tongues that I have encountered from petting and feeding sessions feel like sandpaper, I would say, the smooth and softness of a cod's tongue should be considered quite an accomplishment.