Moose hearts, 2012


 

Geir Widar

TVWBB Wizard
It’s time for this years batch of cured, dried and cold smoked moose hearts.
This year, I got the heart from the biggest moose the hunters have shot for over thirty years.
It’s simply enormous, almost twice as big as a normal heart. I’m not sure if this is going to turn out as a disaster of rotten meat, or something nice. The only way to find out, is to try. Normally the hearts are given to the dogs, so I did not pay anything for them. Here they are, 8 pounds of moose hearts.

The heart to the left is a normal sized heart. The heart to the right is from the large moose, 1600 pounds.
I split open the hearts, removing membranes, lots of rather unpleasant stuff, coagulated blood, and washed them. I came up with something like this:

This meat needs to hang for several months, and will lose a lot of weight. It will turn completely black before it is finished. So I used a mixture of nitrite salt and regular salt, 2,7%. The finished result will be very salty.
Just now they are stored in a non- reactive container, and it will be kept there for let’s say ten days. Then it is drying time.
Two to three months later, I will give the hearts a cold smoke treatment for as many hours that I can manage.
Updates will follow, but as you can imagine, the time between updates will be quite extensive. This is “slow food”.

As usual, click on pictures for large ones.
 
The moose this heart came from must have loved a lotta people and or mooses! HoleyBalls Geir! That'sa Biga Heart!
 
These large animals are a danger to motorists. In the last four days, nine of them has been hit by cars in the rather small area that I live in. It is dangerous to hit an animal that weights as much as a small car, on five feet high feet, chrashing through your windscreen. Most cars are condemned afterwards.

And mr Lampe, yes, the heart is very large. As I said, I do not know if this is a good thing or not. I'll just have to find out.
 
we have similar animals here that cars do crash into, the white tail deer. Often, more often than needed.
Although, the WT deer are not as large as moose, damage is done and sometimes, lives are taken.
 
Can't wait to see how this turns out Geir.

On the topic of moose vs. car, I know Saab and Volvo have been designing cars with moose in mind for years. Here's a pic of a Saab running into their moose torso mock-up made out of electric cables. I imagine the real thing isn't a pretty sight, especially in a car that wasn't designed for it.

moose-test.JPG
 
I have tryed smoked deer heart...Not bad if i could get the "Blocker" out of my head. Looking forward to se the finished pump.
 
Friends of mine have lossed relatives and immediate family members due to the deer over population problem in Pennsylvania.

I've had many close calls myself over the years.

Can't imagine an animal the size of a moose. Closest thing was rounding a bend in an RV years ago in Yellowstone and slamming on the brakes to avoid a Buffalo that came out of the dark.

Thought that was big. Might be as heavy, but not as tall
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So this smoked heart thing is interesting will be watching this thread with interest!
 
Geir,
It's nice to see someone with real patience in this rush-rush day and age.

Looking forward to the end result!
 
Looks like quite the project there, Geir.
Hope it turns-out tasty.

Would have been neat to have a ruler, hand, or shoe (something for those of us not in Moose Country) to use as a relative reference for size.

Sounds like that Pumper is the size of a small roast.

From what I've heard, the real danger with Moose is not just their sheer size - it's that most of their weight is carried up high on relatively spindly legs; at a height that's almost perfect for crashing through your windshield and into your face/lap (which is not a good place to have a 3/4-ton critter).

Mythbusters did a series on this a while back:

http://dsc.discovery.com/video...rs-moose-mayhem.html
Couldn't find a link to the video of the crash, but search for it - it's pretty impressive!
 
I have never heard of such a thing. Very interesting, Geir. I look forward to seeing how this works.

So you don't even cook it? Just salt it, hang it for a few months, and then cold smoke for flavor?

Is the second picture a single heart, sliced in two?
 
Matt Sanders- no heat involved at all. This is about the same process that you use to make salami, panchetta, parma/serrano ham and other delicious foods. You need to have a room with the right temperature and humidity.
Just curing, drying and cold smoking. The guys with the right ecuipment, as their own smoke hut cold smoke these hearts for over a week. I do not have neither the time or a smoke hut, so I will have to use a cold smoke generator, and a weekend or two to simulate the process.
In the second picture, there are two hearts sliced open, and a lot of membrane and yucky stuff removed.

Ron G, I should have included some sort of scale, yes. I guess the big heart is about 5 ot 6 pounds. As mentioned earlier, I have no idea at all if that is a good thing or not. It might be difficult to dry. At some places the muscle is over a inch thick.
 
Geir, I heart your hearts. I'll be watching this one evolve as intently as I did your last one. Cheers!

checking "immediate notification to email" on now
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">I have tryed smoked deer heart... </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Back in the young and dumb ... I actually worked a shift that I worked 7 12 hour days and had 7 days off. We used to say that we didn't drink the week we worked and didn't work the week we drinked. One time we finished a work week at 5:00 A.M. and started to hit the "working man night shift" bars. Several malted beverages later we ended up at one of my buddy's apartment for venison steak and eggs. Looking and smelling great and just about ready to eat and he pulled out a covered Pyrex bowl and said "You have to eat some of this first and if you don't, no steak for you." It was pickled deer heart.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">It is dangerous to hit an animal that weights as much as a small car, on five feet high feet, chrashing through your windscreen. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
I've seen moose in the wild while hiking in Cape Breton, Canada. People don't always realize how freakin' big those things are. As you mentioned, when a car hits one, it just knocks the legs out from underneath and the moose sometimes crashes through the windshield.
On the other hand, I look forward to this year's smoked heart. Thanks for thinking outside the box!
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Wish I could give it a taste.
 
Thank you for cheering me on!
I think the hearts are ready. I let them rest in salt for a week due to the size of one of the hearts. Scissors left on the cutting board for size reference.

I used some butcher’s twine, and some hooks that I have made from a dry cleaner’s clothes hanger-

Some recipes says that I should cut away the fat. I did not do that last year, so I left it on. I wonder if I can manage to dry this heart, it’s quite thick.

The pancetta in front is almost ready, it has dried since Christmas.

Temps are looking good, and the weather forecast says lows down to -25 f for the next ten days. If it gets much colder in the cellar, I’ll have to turn on a heater.

Now, there will be a pause for about eight weeks or so. Slow food.
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I had the time, the wsm had just smoked some sausages, so I gave the hearts a few hours of cold smoke. I've used an cold smoke generator before, but I wantet to try without it, as the CSG needs a lot of tinkering.
I found out that if:
-Outside temps are 5 degrees F
- All vents nearly closed
- you use chips, and just a couple of lit briquettes, as well as a few small chunks of charcoal, less than one briquette per hour
- the water pan full of fresh snow (I have plenty)

you can cold smoke with the WSM. No problem. Goes like this:


Almost looks like food, doesn't it?

And a Wolgast shot:



It the conditons are right, I'll give the hearts another shot of smoke next weekend. In the meantime, my cellar where they hang to dry, smells wonderful
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Looks awesome Geir! What a bit of smoke can change your mind bout what you wanna put in your mouth.
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This is what I call "slow food". Finished, and in only three months!.
Maybe a bit too dry, but this is not ment to be juicy..





Some people love it, others can't stand the stuff.

Thanks for watching. As usual, click on pictures for large ones.
 

 

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