What's the best way to cook beef heart?

March 3, 2009 10:34 AM

What's the best way to cook beef heart?

I just bought a pound's worth of beef heart, in three slices, about a half inch thick. In the past, I've cooked beef heart in the pressure cooker but the result was always chewy and not terribly appetizing.

So what's the best way to prepare beef heart? Is it the traditional Peruvian style? Are anticuchos the way to go? Can I use the pressure cooker without turning the meat into grey rubber?

How would you prepare a half pound of sliced beef heart? What's your recipe? Fancy and complicated recipes are OK (for later), but the simpler, the better. This is meant to be an unemployed bachelor's lunch.

Many thanks in advance!

posted by jason's_planet to Food & Drink (10 answers total)

The tougher the meat, the longer it needs to cook to get tender. I'd look at a braise for 4-8 hours in a crockpot or 24 hours sous vide.
posted by Tacodog at 11:02 AM on March 3, 2009

Chris Cosentino has a blog called Offal Good that has some great ideas for cooking innards.


Here's one.
Beef Heart Tartare Puttanesca Style
posted by Seamus at 11:06 AM on March 3, 2009

Okay, so that wasn't "cooked".

Here's another:
Grilled Beef Heart

I think this would work with a sliced heart.
I wouldn't over cook it.
Or else cook it like crazy.
Just not somewhere in the middle.
posted by Seamus at 11:08 AM on March 3, 2009

Sous vide is a terrible idea if you have never done it before and would create the wrong texture for heart. I wouldn't slow cook it either, as you miss out on the best way to prepare heart: marinating and grilling it. This gives you a nice crisp exterior with a juicy interior (when cooked to medium). Its like a good steak.
posted by scarello at 11:25 AM on March 3, 2009

En Mole
posted by essexjan at 11:53 AM on March 3, 2009

Anticuchos for the win!
posted by AwkwardPause at 12:24 PM on March 3, 2009

Never eaten beef heart, but I've cooked deer heart before. You can lightly brine it first. A few teaspoons of salt in a gallon of cold water and let soak for a few hours. That will take you a long way in whatever heat application you choose in terms of flavor and tenderness. Personally, I would prefer pan fried as a fritter or marinated and grilled.
posted by mrmojoflying at 12:24 PM on March 3, 2009

Ooh, grilled offal can be really lovely. I use this sauce verte recipe as marinade for kidneys, but it worked well with the deer heart we had grilled and thinly sliced this past summer. The recipe page mentions that the sauce verte is good with cold white meats & fish, but it also works well with the milder sorts of offal, for some reason)
posted by Grrlscout at 1:45 PM on March 3, 2009

My hunter roommate makes venison heart stroganoff which is really good. I do not know the recipe but i think he adds a little red wine.
posted by Black_Umbrella at 2:14 PM on March 3, 2009

Thanks, guys! I'll let you know how it goes.
posted by jason's_planet at 8:19 PM on March 3, 2009