Beef Heart Stew - For even the faint of heart!

This tastes way better than it looks - and my son wasn't going to wait to eat for me to set up a shot!

All I can think of is that there must be a conspiracy. That there is a small group of people who are hoarding all the heart. They spread the false rumor that heart is gross. That kids won't eat it. That it is hard to cook. Why? So they can have it all to themselves. Oh, I am pretty sure this is happening.

Remember when I snuck a little heart in the not so sloppy joes? And no one noticed? Well I found some more heart in the freezer but just didn't want to make it that way. I have ground it and put it in ice cube trays and then added it to beef dishes. I didn't want to do that this time - I wanted to really eat it. So, I googled, and swagged and looked all over the internet for recipes for beef heart. There really aren't that many - I think it is all a part of the conspiracy.

The consensus to cooking heart is you either need to cook it fast - just moments on each side and pink in the center OR to cook it long and low and slow. I choose the second option to feed my family. I wanted it to be a little bit more disguised. I did tell anyone who asked that it was heart but asked them to keep the information to themselves. I have a reeeeaaaaalllllyyyy picky teenager who wouldn't even try it if she knew - although she watched me make it she never guessed it was heart LOL!! (She knows I serve cuts like this, she would just rather not know that is what she was eating.)

When I was browning the little cubes of heart I took a couple out that had been cooked just a bit - rare - and tasted them. Be.Still.My.Beating.Heart. They were amazing. I didn't think it tasted odd at all. Just like a rare filet mignon. Next time I cook just for my husband I will make us heart steaks - yummo!!


So, if you are a part of the conspiracy - I have blown your cover. This meal was devoured by my family and I can't wait to make it again!

Ingredients

•  2 lbs beef heart
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• salt and pepper to taste (lots of pepper)
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 2 cloves garlic chopped small
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 2 potatoes, chopped
• 1 leek, chopped into moons and rinsed well
• 2 teaspoons dried thyme
• 1 cup beef broth (I used vegetable because it is what I had)
• 1/2 cup red wine

Directions

1. Wash the heart and remove any fat and arteries. Slice the heart in half, then slice it into 1/2 inch thick slices.
2. Put the flour and salt and pepper in a bowl and then dredge the  heart in flour and season with salt and pepper.
3. Heat the butter in large dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the heart slices and cook for 30 to 45 seconds per side.Do in batches - you don't want to crowd them.
4. Eat a couple to be sure they are delicious and "not poisonous." (I always do this with anything that tastes amazing)
5. Stir in the onion, carrots, potatoes, leek, thyme, beef broth and wine. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for at least 90 minutes. Serve. 

In case you are wondering why we would eat heart -besides the awesome taste this is why:

Heart is an excellent source of a number of nutrients, including thiamin, folate, selenium, phosphorus, zinc, CoQ10 and several of the B vitamins. In addition, beef heart contains amino acids that are thought to improve metabolism and compounds that promote the production of collagen and elastin (thin and wrinkle free? Sign me up!)

This is just another step on our adventure to eat all the cuts of meat we got when we bought a quarter of a cow (or 3) we have cooked and eaten the tongue and the liver and now the heart.

So tell me, do you cook "unusual" cuts of meat? Does your family like it?

Oh, and if you think my dish is way out there - check out the Head Cheese my dear friend ButterpoweredBike has cooked up for us!

I am linking this to the Hearth and Soul Hop  and 
Tuesday Night Supper Club @ Fudge Ripple
Dr. Laura's Tasty Tuesday