Bite your tongue, in taco full of taste

The icky factor, for those who don’t like tongue, probably has something to do with the idea of eating something that, when the animal was alive, could taste you back.

So when John Pinales opened Ono Loco Tacos in the Stadium Marketplace shopping center in Halawa, he wasn’t sure whether he should offer lengua, or tongue, in addition to beef (carne asada), pork (carnitas) and fish (pescado).

Pinales wanted to open a real taqueria, with the foods and tastes of San Diego and Palm Springs, Calif., where he is from. And any authentic taqueria would have lengua.

But he also didn’t want to lose money by offering a product people in Hawaii wouldn’t eat.

So he started with a small shipment of tongue, dropped the price initially to get people to try it, and now, Pinales said, he sells 90 pounds of tongue a week.

Chef Roberto Berdejo, who is from Oaxaca, Mexico, stews the tongue in garlic, onions, bay leaf, salt, pepper and other spices. But no chilies.

Lengua’s flavor comes from stewing the meat until it’s just tender enough and absorbs just enough flavor.

Pinales said the tongue is cooked whole with its skin on to keep the beef flavor in.

Until it’s cut up, you can tell it’s tongue. But sliced, it looks like any other meat.

Pinales makes his own salsa — both green and red. The red is called “diablo,” or “devil” sauce, but is not overly spicy, as most customers don’t like it too hot. For those who do, Pinales makes a salsa of pure jalapeno peppers. It’s a secret sauce that he keeps in the back for his workers and those customers who want a lot of heat.

So, should I eat tongue tacos? And should I get them with the secret spicy sauce?

Yes. And yes.

The tacos are served simply — just the tongue on two corn tortillas, cilantro and raw onions.

Bite into it and the first taste is of the tortilla and the stewed beef flavor of the tongue. Then you get the heat from the jalapeno salsa and the zest of the onions and cilantro.

It’s not like a carne asada or carnitas taco. The flavor is more subtle.

Because the meat is not marinated or cooked with chili, it doesn’t have a strong, spicy taste. But the onions and cilantro add a Mexican flavor.

The best combination, for me, was with the jalapeno and the diablo salsas … making it a secret devil sauce tongue taco.

Say that 10 times real fast. It’s a tasty tongue twister.