This may seem like an odd topic, after all, who eats heart?
Well, we do AND it is delicious!
After we butchered our first steer, I made heart kebobs and grilled them. Even our 4 year old thought they were great. She loved having her meat on a stick and pulling it off herself!
Organ meats from grassfed animals are one of the most nutrient-dense foods available! They are packed with vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and other nutrients. Unfortunately, our culture is squimish about eating organ meats when in reality, they are a nutritional powerhouse!
Well, that is all well and good but still, where do you start in getting a heart ready to eat? I explain the steps in the following recipe. The process is the same no matter the recipe and heart can be a healthy addition to many different recipes including Beef Plus Chili and spaghetti.
I first saw a recipe for heart kebobs in Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon which was my inspiration for the following recipe. If you don’t have the cookbook, I highly recommend it!
Heart Kebobs
Ingredients:
- 1 lb beef heart (where to buy organic grassfed beef)
- 1 c. olive oil (where to buy)
- 1 c. raw apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 c. red wine (optional)
- 2 tsp sea salt (where to buy REAL salt)
- 1/4 tsp cumin*
- 1 tsp pepper*
- 1 tsp paprika*
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
* If you are looking for organic non-irradiated herbs & spices Click Here.
Preparation:
In the photo below, you can see the heart from the steer we butchered.
As you look at the heart, you will see a layer of fat along the outside which is white and very thick in spots. I have found that the harder areas of this layer do not melt so I trim off the thickest spots.
Cut the heart into 1 inch cubes. I found this is easier to do with kitchen scissors.
As you cut, remove any hard areas or vessels from the heart.
Place the cubes in a bowl.
Combine the rest of the ingredients and pour over the cubes.
Marinade for 24 hours in the refrigerator.
Place the cubes on skewers and grill for about 8 minutes. Turn the skewers until all sides are cooked.
Enjoy
This post is part of: Inspire Me Monday, Marvelous Monday, Melt in Your Mouth, Must Try Monday, Nifty Thrifty, Sunday Showcase, Scruptious Sunday, Fat Tuesday, Slightly Indulgent Tuesday, Family Table, Real Food Wednesday, Allergy Free Wednesday, Healthy 2 Day Wednesday, Party Wave, Wheat Free Wednesday, Creative Juice, Eat Make Grow, Full Plate Thursday, Pennywise Platter, Delightfully Inspiring Thursday, Frugal Days, Hearts4Home, Keep It Real Thursday, Thank Your Body, Thursdays Treasures, Simple Lives Thursday, Transformation Thursday, Gluten Free Fridays, Food on Fridays, Fresh Bites Friday, Fight Back Friday, What I am Eating, Sustainable Living, Old Fashioned Friday. Link Love
Looks good to me! I was raised eating all organ meats, tongue, sweet breads, and mountain oysters.. It matters not to me.. Food is food.. and if you arent emotionally biased, you’ll find its quite tasty. I think liver is one that most people dont care for but that I love.. Honestly though, I prefer chicken liver to beef liver, but I’ll eat any.
Thanks for sharing your heart kebobs.. Wish I had a bite of them myself.. I love heart. ♥
This might be a silly question, but what does it taste like? Does it basically just taste like any other piece of beef so that as long as one could get over the psychological resistence, the taste would be no problem…? Or does it have a totally different taste altogether?
I am asking because I would love to try to start eating organ meats, but I have this major psychological barrier that is reinforced every time I try something that ends up tasting “weird”. I know, it’s ridiculous!
This beef heart actually just looks like any generic piece of beef and so I was wondering if it just has a general beef taste? Thanks!
Linda
I want to start eating more organ meats if nothing else for Curiosity!
thanks for linking this in. I must start eating more offal. Cheers
Dinah-Marie, you rock when it comes to organ meats! You’ll get everyone eating them before too long. I’m sure you’ll chime in on Linda’s question, but since I tried beef heart a month ago, I thought I’d give my perspective too. Linda, I would say beef heart tastes like steak, but “more”. That’s vague, isn’t it? Put it this way – I don’t like beef liver at all; it’s too strong a flavor for me. However, I love beef steak. That said, I liked the heart (not loved it, but liked it.) For me & organ meats, that’s high praise. Since it’s a muscle, the texture is similar to steak, and the flavor is much milder than liver, but there’s something there – a strength of flavor that I associate with organs. In the heart, it’s just a hint. I recommend trying it.
Eileen, thanks for the information. That really does help! I think I would be more apt to give this a try than the liver then.
Have a good weekend!
Hi Diana Marie,
What great Kebobs, we would really enjoy this recipe. Hope you have a fantastic week and thank you so much for sharing with Full Plate Thursday.
Come Back Soon!
Miz Helen
Thanks for linking up at our Gluten Free Fridays party! I have tweeted and pinned your entry to our Gluten Free Fridays board on Pinterest!
Thanks for linking back to the Gluten Free Fridays post!
Cindy from vegetarianmamma.com
Wow! I’m again impressed. I would love to eat more organ meats but am still trying to convince myself that I will like the taste. If your four year old liked it, there’s hope for me!
I’m Peruvian and we have a specialty called Anticuchos de Corazon which is a beef heart kabob. It’s fantastic and even my gringo husband loves it. Thanks!
I think I’ll have to add beef heart to my list of new foods to try now! I just got a grass-fed beef liver that I’m excited to try.
Thanks for sharing with Old-Fashioned Friday! I hope you’ll stop by again!