Grilled Beef Heart (on skewers) for the simplest salad

I’ve cooked organ meats enough to have made plenty of mistakes, but also to find their sweet spots and to know some of them pretty well. Alas, this recipe for Grilled Beef Heart is a gem, turning the simplest salad into something special and truly nourishing.  And special thanks to Lara for opening her heart, asking about heart, and inspiring this post.

Connected heart, err, connective heart

Heart has much more connective tissue than regular muscle meat.  In practice, what this means is that if the temperature goes over 140 degrees, the meat will tighten, dry and curl up.  To avoid this, you have two options.

First, you can cook it long enough that the connective tissue actually breaks down and becomes tender again.  Like octopus or tripe, it can be rubbery and tough, or after long enough, melt in your mouth tender.

Or, you can keep the temperature below 140 F and avoid the curling and toughening to begin with. I’ve had success with this using a thicker cut in a pan, but less so on the grill.  Sliced heart can cook too quickly and become dry and tough.

Ok, but not the _best_

While I did cut the heart into these slices myself, I’ve since learned that it’s not the best way.  Unfortunately, if you buy smaller portions of heart from your farmer (think 1 pound packages), it often comes pre-sliced like this. If you intend to grill the meat, it’s best to buy a slightly larger piece, which often ends up as a half or third of a whole heart – then you can cut or prep it as you like.

Grilled Beef Heart

To prep heart for the grill, cut it into cubes, lace on a skewer and generously season with coarse salt. I use the ‘fine-ground’ Selina Naturally Celtic Sea Salt, which is more coarse than most other salts, and works well.

Grilled Beef Heart: prepped with salt, on and off the grill

But! it’s still essential that you don’t get the temperature too high.  I’ve found that the best way to do this is to keep the grill open while grilling.  The meat will cook for much longer, as a lower temp, browning the outside and crisping the fatty edges.  Meanwhile, this leaves the inside tender and medium rare – like a juicy ribeye.  But at a deep discount, with higher nutrient-density.

All my heart

This heart post was inspired by Lara who was asking for tips, and in gratitude for her guidance with homeschooling resources… a journey that we’ll be experimenting with this year(!).

Meanwhile, I’ve noticed that even while I’ve taken a break during covid, folks have continued to find and support this blog. It’s so heartwarming to know that there is a growing tribe eating nose to tail and valuing the entire animal that gave it’s life to nourish us, and benefiting from the high nutrient-density that organ meats offer. Thank you for being here!

Grilled beef heart for the simplest salad

September 12, 2020

by Janine Farzin

Category Heart

Persons

6

Prep Time

15 minutes

Cook Time

25 minutes

Total Time

40 minutes

Ingredients

For the heart

• 1.5 lb beef heart (~1/3-1/2 of a whole heart)
• coarse salt

For the salad

• 3 hearts of romaine, washed and chopped
• 2 carrots, grated
• 1 large cucumber, peeled, seeded and chopped
• olive oil
• apple cider vinegar
• parsley leaves, chopped (optional)

Instructions

For the heart

1. Turn on your grill to high heat.
2. Open the beef heart and use shears to trim any connective tubes on the top of the heart or hanging/connected top to bottom from the inside. Optionally, with a sharp knife, trim the shiny silver skin from the inside of the heart so that the muscle meat below is exposed. (If you don't have a super sharp knife, you may end up taking off too much meat trying to skim off the silver skin and I don't really think it's worth it. Just cut off all the weird, off-putting sort of tubes inside the heart and go from there.) Do not trim any of the fat from the outside.
3. Cut the heart into 1.5" cubes and lace on skewers with cubes packed together.
4. Over a plate or baking sheet, rub meat with coarse salt, turning skewer and repeating to cover each side well.
5. Place skewers over the grill leaving the lid open. Cook for about 8-10 minutes on the first side. Turn and cook another 8 minutes or so. Then turn again and cook for another 5-8 minutes until all sides are lightly browned and fat is crisp and juicy. Remove from grill and let meat rest for a few minutes.

For the salad

1. Meanwhile, add chopped romaine, carrot and cucumber together. Serve individual portions and dress with oil and vinegar.
2. Remove meat from skewers and loosely cut each cube into quarters. Add to salad bowl and serve immediately.

Tags

connective tissue,

gratitude,

grilling,

sea salt

https://offallygoodcooking.com/grilled-beef-heart-salad/