Duck Tongue Tacos: The James Beard Winner’s Most Adventurous Bite in Kansas City
“Ducks have tongues? I’ve harvested a lot of ducks and I’ve never seen the tongue,” Guy Fieri admits, clearly intrigued by one of the more unusual dishes he’s encountered in the Crossroads Arts District of Kansas City, Missouri.
The maestro behind this culinary curiosity is Chef Michael Smith, a James Beard Award winner who’s been revolutionizing the Kansas City food scene for 25 years. His Mediterranean tapas joint encourages diners to venture beyond the ordinary—you can stick with the chicken, or you can try something you’ve never experienced before. The duck tongue tacos fall firmly in that second category.
From Asian Market Discovery to Taco Sensation
Chef Smith’s inspiration came from an unlikely source. After spotting duck tongues repeatedly at Asian grocery stores, he couldn’t shake the idea that there had to be something creative he could do with them. The solution? Turn them into tacos. “It just took off,” Smith says with a grin—and yes, that pun was intentional.
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The dish is a play on traditional lengua (beef tongue) tacos, but with a twist that’s pure Michael Smith creativity. And for those worried about what they’re getting into, there’s more than just tongue involved—duck neck meat adds substance and richness to every bite.
How the Duck Tongue Tacos Come Together
The cooking process is surprisingly straightforward but requires patience. Smith starts with the duck tongues and necks, which include a small cartilage bone about an inch long. The meat gets seasoned with salt, onion, hot sauce, cilantro, peppercorns, and garlic, then braised in the oven at around 300 degrees for about three and a half hours.
Once tender, the meat is shredded off the necks and tongues, with that little cartilage piece pulled out. The shredded meat hits a hot pan with oil first, developing caramelization from the duck neck. Scallions and cilantro go in, and the mixture gets loaded into crispy taco shells topped with pickled onions and queso fresco.
Guy’s Verdict: Tongue-in-Cheek Brilliance
After taking a bite, Guy breaks down exactly why this dish works: “There’s a depth of flavor coming through—one because of this fantastic marinade, and two with the richness of cooking something like the neck.”
He praises the textural contrast—the crispiness generated from the duck neck meat against the tenderness of the tongue, the acidic punch from the pickled onions, and the crunch of the taco shell itself. “That’s some dynamite duck,” he declares.
Even Guy couldn’t resist a pun of his own, joking that he “just bit his tongue” while eating. When Smith describes the dish as “a little tongue-in-cheek,” Guy calls him out: “That one you’ve been sitting on for a while.”
For viewers intimidated by the concept, both Guy and Chef Smith offer reassurance. As Smith puts it, even though it’s duck tongue, you shouldn’t be freaked out by it—it’s delicious. Much like the adventurous eats Guy discovers elsewhere, from “BANANAS” Whole Fried Chicken in Memphis to Legit Gumbo + Fried Pork Chops in San An, sometimes the most unexpected ingredients deliver the biggest flavor payoffs.
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