My Followers are the Greatest! I just love them!

Monday, February 21, 2011

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

22 comments:

  1. Really? It tastes like filet mingnon? Cause I think I probably have beef heart in the freezer. Along with beef tongue. And beef liver. They scare me. Especially the tongue. Have you seen the size of the things???

    ReplyDelete
  2. I don't think I have eaten beef heart but chicken heart, yes.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Wow, amazing. I really have to try this. Have you tried beef tongue too? Yeah I have had chicken heart but not any other kind of heart that I know of... Beef tongue is delicious, but yeah--as farmgirl cyn says rather scary looking--oh so juicy though. I used to love beef tongue tacos--back in the days when we lived in LA.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I love your adventurousness with regards to out-of-the-norm beef parts. This stew sounds great!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I don't think I've ever had heart alone. You make it sound so delicious! One of these days... Thanks for hosting and posting on the hearth and soul hop =)

    ReplyDelete
  6. What an interesting Stew. I don't think I have ever had Beef Heart Stew, but I would love to try it. Thank you for sharing and you have a nice day!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I had beef heart long time ago when I was little. I don't remember the taste at all, but all that great ingredients I bet make it taste yummy.

    ReplyDelete
  8. i have never tasted it...but you do give it a good sell. hubster always brings the heart home when he hunts and i make him throw it away. i won't be doing that again ;) thank you for sharing with tuesday night supper club.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Hey Christy bo bisty! I am laughing so hard at this recipe because as a kid, i remember my mother going to the butcher and BEGGING him for any hearts he had. she would stew some and grind the other and use it as hamburger meat! I actually really love the taste if you can get over the cleaning issue and the idea, but since I have eaten every part of an animal except the MOOO its no biggie to me! Love that you are eating up all that cow! hugs! Alex

    ReplyDelete
  10. Beef tongue is delicious! I tried cooking it at home, but not quite right. try a lengua taco at a mexican grocery. it is very tender, tastes great. Thanks for the heart stew recipe, that's how I got here

    ReplyDelete
  11. Anonymous - I will have to try that - there is a Mexican Grocery Store not too far from here!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Your adventurous culinary spirit has can convinced me to try this dish. I happen to have half of a beef heart in the freezer.

    ReplyDelete
  13. A pot of beef heart stew is simmering on the stove. I did that "make sure it's not poisonous test" It tastes amazing! Thanks for sharing your recipe and inspiring me to make it.

    ReplyDelete
  14. fleurdesal: I hope you like it as much as we do - it is a yummy addition to our menu! Thanks for commenting! I hope you let me know what the verdict is!

    ReplyDelete
  15. I made a lambs heart tagine. Lamb is so pricey and I can get 3 lambs hearts for £2.00. This was enough for 2 for dinner and leftovers fir us both for lunch!!!tonight we are trying this stew! 500G of beef heart for £2.20!! Can't go wrong

    ReplyDelete
  16. I checked your recipe out, but then decided to cook this recipe[1] instead, because I felt 'curryish'. Also, I'd have to open another demi-john of homemade Gamay(ye olde kitwine) too and this would have been too tempting. But it's on the list :)

    [1] I halved this recipe: http://www.indiacurry.com/lamb/kolhapurlamb.htm and used a lot less dried chillies, but as almost all his recipes, it's wonderful.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Erm, to clarify, I used beef heart :)

      Also, the 'black cumin' mentioned is just caraway seed, and I used this a lot as a base spice that gives broad flavour in French/Italian style recipes. Lime juice is a bit expensive, I find bottled lemon juice works just as well ;)

      When I try your recipe I will almost certainly add 1/4 spoon of ground caraway seeds (not roasted in this instance, because that definitely intensifies it a lot!)

      Delete
  17. I am part of the conspiracy. You found me out. Beef heart is one of my family's favorite meats. I cook it every which way: ground for burgers or sausage, cubed for stew, and sliced for fajitas or stroganoff. Ah-mazing. I can get pastured beef heart in my area for $1.30/lb. The butcher will grind it for me for free. The best!

    ReplyDelete
  18. Want to try something really great. Family tradition!
    Beef Heart Soup
    In a large kettle,(I use a 6 qt slow cooker) Cook Heart until about tender. Take out heart and strain the broth. Return heart to broth and add one chopped onion, 2 ribs of chopped celery, a bay leaf, salt and pepper. Cook until veggies and beef is tender.
    Take beef out and cool to cut into bite sized pieces, discard any fat and gristle. Add 1 quart of stewed tomatoes, desired amount of homemade noodles (can use any desired kind of pasta) Cook until done. Add 1/2 to 1 cup sour cream just before serving
    Add desired salt and pepper as needed.
    Donna from South Dakota January 30,2013

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Donna that sounds delicious! We just got another heart today - this might be the perfect way to go! Thanks for stopping and commention.

      Delete
  19. I know I'm late to the party, but...
    Don't blow the conspiracy, join it! If you go telling people about it, you're going to drive the price up. Just look what happened to cheap fajita meat.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That is my fear ;-) But I think we are safe - something about the word "heart" grosses people out - mwhahahaha! Thanks for taking the time to comment!

      Delete