Many children nowadays can happily watch bloodcurdling scenes on TV, yet would scream with horror if one of my favorite childhood dishes, roast stuffed heart, was put in the middle of the table for dinner! – Darina Allen
It’s certainly possible.
Mac and cheese, PB&J and chicken nuggets are found on menus far and wide in kiddie portions to appease children with familiarity. American kids have their own subculture of bland-colored, processed foods.
Although, I do wonder – could a plain hot dog count for organ meats?
I guess not. According to the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council, “These days, it is less common to use variety meats such as hearts in hot dogs. When they are added, the package will clearly state ‘with variety meats.'”
Traditional diets
Yet, it wasn’t always this way. Many cultures over time have revered the abundance of resources including tools and life-giving nutrients offered by the animals in their environment. For economical or spiritual reasons, they were humble enough to use every part of these animals once a life had been taken.
Organs were known to have special nutrients and were valued accordingly. These were often shared among the community, but also reserved for preconception and growing children. Illness was not left to chance, serving organ meats to children was an insurance policy to keep kids robust.
Weston A. Price writes about the prevalence of organ meats in the myriad cultures that he studied. Among these cultures, organs were often considered sacred foods. And, like the processed foods of today, children simply ate what their parents ate.
Post-war meals
More recently, many baby boomers recall eating organ meats as a child.
During WWII, meat became rationed when increasing quantities were sent overseas to feed soldiers (along with butter and cheese). In addition to planting their Victory Gardens, Americans were encouraged to add organ meats into weekly menu planning – for ‘variety.’
According to Cari Romm in the Atlantic,
Community groups held “variety” cooking classes; publishers released cookbooks instructing people how to make hearts filled with stuffing and chicken and how to prepare kidneys for meat and vegetable stew. Slowly, organs became, if not enthusiastically embraced, than begrudgingly accepted into the mainstream diet—and as their ubiquity grew, their stigma began to fade.
“Social norms to eat organ meats were dramatically influenced by the mere presence of these foods on the family dinner table,” Wansink wrote in his 2002 paper. “Organ meats soon became foods that ‘patriots’ ate, not necessarily foods that ‘poor people’ ate.”
Yet since that time, ‘variety’ meats again began to fade culturally. Rations subsided on steaks and chops, and over time the increasing presence of processed foods continued to reduce total time spent in the kitchen.
This blog, likely among many others, is just part of the cultural tide tipping the scale back again. Bringing organ meats back to the table.
Roast Stuffed Heart
Speaking of which, heart is a great place to start. A beef heart is typically 3-4 lbs and your local farmer likely has excess on hand.
For this dish, I had a 2.5 lb portion available. When I defrosted it, I found that it was not as well in tact as I had hoped though. A bit of twine went a long way in securing my heart and stuffing.
To complete the dish, Allen recommends making a roux and combining the leftover cooking liquid to make a pan sauce. Even when tender to the bite, heart resembles typical muscle meat and is less fatty. Sauce (ie. added gelatin and fat) always improves muscle meat, or at least digestion (gelatin) and nutrient absorption (fat). That said, I didn’t have much liquid left at the end of my braise and instead used the leftover broth-y crumbs along with a pat of butter as garnish.
As always, jump in, make do with what you have and see how it goes! A little heart goes a long way.
Ingredients
- 1 beef heart
- salt
- pepper
- 6 T butter + more for greasing parchment
- 1 onion
- 2 c sourdough bread crumbs
- 1 t dried oregano
- 1 T thyme leaves
- 1/4 c parsley, chopped
- 2 c chicken or beef stock
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F.
- If heart is slit open, trim any silverskin and ventricles from the inside of the heart. Else, cut away ventricles to make a nice cavity for the stuffing. Rinse and pat dry. Season well with salt and pepper and reserve.
- In a pan, melt butter over medium heat. When foaming subsides, add onion and cook about 8-10 minutes until soft. Remove from heat, add breadcrumbs, herbs, salt and pepper. Stir all together until well-combined. Let cool.
- Next, fill heart with stuffing, tying together with twine if it has been partially or completely slit open. Set into dutch oven or roasting pan, piling remaining stuffing on top or spilling out into the pan. Add stock. Cut a piece of parchment to fit pan, and butter one side well. Cover heart with buttered parchment paper (buttered side down) to keep moist.
- Cover with lid and cook for 3 hours. Check once or twice that there is still some stock in the pan and add a bit more if needed.
- Slice heart. Serve covered in breadcrumbs and garnish with parsley.
Hi Janine, I did it again, thanks to you. I used your Heart Roast recipe for my Waterbuffalo heart, 3.25 lb. I could do w half the stuffing,
My heart was very clean. I had to go out during cooking so I browned in the IP, then added a cup of the broth, put the heart on the trivet and pressure cooked for 90 min. With a natural release of 2 hours, when I came home.
I love it! Very nice meat, I’d say between liver and tongue for texture and a gentle taste.
I would not have tried this if it wasn’t for my Waterbuffalo gal telling me about your recipes.
Thank you.
Saskia, music to my ears! I don’t have a pressure cooker, so I am never sure of time stamps to recomment to people – thank you so much for sharing! I see you – another win! You really can serve nutrient-dense meals you love! 🙂
Warmly,
Janine