Nicole's heart
Author: Nicole Tancik
I have to say that my first experience cooking heart wasn’t what I anticipated. I had seen a couple of customers buying it almost weekly from my previous job at a small retail butcher shop in Denver. I love experimenting with new things and decided I needed to try it. I took it home, cleaned it up, and made a beef stew with it, with vegetables and red wine. The heart was melt in your mouth tender with a strong beefy flavor, but the after flavor was what you’d expect from offal and not my favorite. Doing some research I found that soaking it in milk or salt water overnight would remove the pungent after taste. Though, it wasn’t until years later that I tried it again. My landlord invited me over for dinner one night for steak and pasta, and it was to die for. She later confided to me that what we were eating was beef heart! I couldn’t believe it, it reminded me of medium rare steak strips, it was incredible. Here is how she prepared it:
Pan-Seared Beef Heart, 6 servings
10 minutes prep time, 10 minutes cooking time
You need:
1 Beef Heart (~2 lb.)
Salt and pepper to taste
1T Butter
Instructions:
- Rinse the heart under cold water and pat dry
- To clean the heart, first cut the heart in half, then using a sharp knife remove all the fat, heart strings, and any silver skin. Your heart should look like a lean cut of beef when you finish.
- Heat your cast iron skillet on high, and add a little bit of the fat trimmings and a tablespoon of butter. Salt and pepper each side of your heart to your preference.
- Lay the heart flat in the skillet and cook for about 4-6 minutes on each side until it begins to form a brown crust on the edges.
- Remove the meat and place on a plate and cover. Let it rest for about 10 minutes.
- Slice it thin against the grain. Serve with your choice of vegetables and pasta
Get your Marfa Meats heart here.