Eat your heart out...


 

Phil R.

TVWBB All-Star
Anyone here ever tried cooking beef heart either by means of WSM or grill? I've been told that it usually requires long, moist cooking conditions, so I don't know how it'd work. I was thinking about marinating in london broil marinade, then either 1) slicing and grilling like carne asada; or 2) doing a high-temp (350) smoke in the wsm.

Thoughts?

Phil
 
Grilled, yes. You can cube it first, then marinate, then skewer and grill. A Peruvian version which I used to do for a tapas table was marinated in vinegar, wine, garlic, cumin and ajis amarillos but you could use other dried or fresh hot peppers instead. Add a little salt and pepper and marinate overnight or all day, depending on when you wish to cook.

Take some of the chilies you used in the marinade and toast and reconstitute them if dried. Puree them with a little fresh water, some of the marinade and a bit of oil, and add salt to taste. Skewer the heart cubes, brush well with the sauce and grill, turning very frequently, till cooked through, over hot coals. They don't take long--maybe 5 min or so. Serve immediately with the remaining sauce. Good with plain rice, spicy beans and mashed roasted plantains with a small side salad.

You could probably do a whole heart in the WSM, slowly, as they're not a medium-rare or even medium item. I think I would marinate/brine in buttermilk with onion, garlic and salt first and might fill with a unsalted butter/milk-soaked breadcrumb mix. Clean of all veins and so forth first, of course.
 
Kevin,

Sorry for not thanking you for this recipe when you posted it! I'm going to be making it in a few weeks for a get together at my house. What would you suggest for the proportion of vinegar to wine? If I can't get ahold of some ajis amarillos, what would a suitable replacement be? Maybe dried reconstituted mullatos or similar sweet chili?
 
1 part vin (if it's a sweet one like balsamic) to 1.5 parts wine. Balsamic is good here. Add a little thyme and just a splash of evoo.

Ajis amarillos are available here. They are a delicious pepper and I recommend them. Grab some powdered Worcestershire as well--very handy to have. World doesn't take credit cards. They simply ship to you and you send them a check when your package arrives.

I used aji amarillo (chopped it finely while dry) in a quinoa pilaf last week. Really made it great. Mulato would be fine with the heart though.

[LOL, Larry.]
 
I've had whole beef heart on a skewer at a venezeulan bbq once. can't really recall how it was prepared. I wonder how different the venezuelan preparation is from the peruvian.
 

 

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