Heart the one you love -- in the kitchen

• 
  Leigh Beisch
  Thump-thump: Peruvian Heart Kebabs from "Odd Bits: How to Cook the Rest of the Animal" by Jennifer McLagan.
• 

Share with others:

Tweet

Ah, Valentine's Day. Ah, my skewered heart.

A spicy heart kebab is surely a dish to set before any beloved brave enough to try it.

It also is a fast and flavorful way to get on board with eating more of the animal than the easy parts.

So when Kevin Costa of Crested Duck Charcuterie offered me the heart of a cow he was butchering, it was a challenge. Do I in fact "heart" heart as much as I've led myself to believe? How would it be, holding the thing in my two hands in the kitchen sink?

I had tasted char-grilled brochettes of beef heart at a national Slow Food conference where one of the missions was to introduce cuts other than steaks, roasts and ground meat. Those morsels were not tough, not gamey, but beef-ily good.

Fergus Henderson, global pioneer of snout-to-tail eating and chef/owner of the famed St. John in London, puts it this way:

"[T]he heart is not, as you might imagine, tough as old boots, due to all the work it does, but in fact firm and meaty but giving."

Last month at one of Legume Bistro's occasional Offal Nights, the menu featured lamb-heart sausages. They were earthy and nearly as dark as blood sausage, offering a hint of rich gaminess that was deliciously offset by a garnish of pickled red onion.

My gift from a butcher was literally "the heart next-door"-- grass-fed, from farmer Michael Kovach in Mercer County.

Hearts of various animals abound in Pittsburgh. You can find them fresh daily at Salem's Market in the Strip District, or preorder them fresh from Kennedy's Meat Stand at the East Liberty Farmers Market Cooperative and Clarion River Organics. You can buy them at Strip District Meats (fresh Greene County Elysian lamb hearts by preorder), Whole Foods Market and Wholey Fish Market.

I turned to Jennifer McLagan's excellent "Odd Bits: How to Cook the Rest of the Animal." These lessons on cooking other than prime cuts are a follow-up to Ms. McLagan's award-winning "Bones," and "Fat," which was a James Beard Foundation Cookbook of the Year.

The "Odd Bits"' chapter on heart includes detailed and supportive instructions on how to prepare and cook hearts from various animals, poultry and waterfowl. You need not limit yourself to beef for the book's recipes included here. Lamb or veal, even duck hearts, would be excellent substitutions.

Ms. McLagan summarizes the approach:

"When cooking heart you have two choices, slow or fast. Anywhere in between will result in a very tough piece of meat."

With my gift weighing in at 4 pounds plus -- plenty for a couple of meals -- I could try it both ways. I would use half for Peruvian Heart Kebabs, the famous anticuchos, or street food -- skewers of quickly grilled meat.

The rest would go into a gentle braise with Moroccan spices, preserved lemon and dates. The author describes this make-ahead dish as an "easy way to introduce heart to the novice." That's me.

After finding "other things to do" for a day, I stiffened my spine, sliced open the vacuum-sealed bag and slid out the heavy object -- dark, gleaming and dense.

I gave it a rinse, wishing for someone, anyone, at my elbow, to dispel a shiver of transplant-team-gone-wrong. What fixed that was the meat itself, smelling reassuringly fresh and sweet.

I had watched Mr. Costa open the heart flat and trim out connecting tubey things. White fat crowned the top. I would use a little of that fat to brown the scraps and veggies to simmer for a braising liquid. The melted fat left in the skillet would serve to brown the half to be used for the Moroccan braise. I left some fat on that part, so it could self-baste.

The portion used for kebabs I trimmed aggressively, wanting no hint of gristly texture. These trimmings, along with flaps too thin for kebabs, yielded 3/4 pound of scraps, plenty to make 2 cups of braising stock. (I'd considered using chicken stock or water. I don't like the unbeef flavor of canned beef stock.) The oven-browned heart trimmings were ample to make a well-flavored stock, not a bit livery, and as tempting as any beef stew.

The rest was easy.

The meat in its braising liquid flavored with bay leaves, onions, cinnamon sticks, cilantro stems and cumin perfumed the house. Carrot slices, preserved lemon and dates were added later, melting in. With a final toss of fresh chopped cilantro, you had before you a velvet sauce in which you could probably have enjoyed the parings of a devil's hoof.

The chunk of heart was sliced generously, say 1/2-inch slices, and returned to this bath to reheat.

On a plate the slice looked a bit like brisket, but finer-grained. It appeared as if the side of your fork would cut it, but you needed a knife. Still you couldn't call the texture tough, or even chewy. More like Mr. Henderson put it, "firm but yielding." My husband and I liked it. I had seconds. More gravy, please.

I cut the meat into 3/4-inch "mini-cubes" to marinate overnight (this turned out to be two nights) in oil, red wine vinegar, chiles and cumin. I threaded them on small bamboo skewers, and set them on a very hot oiled grill for not more than 4 to 5 minutes total. As they charred lightly, I gave them a pinch to make sure the inside stayed soft and got no more than rare.

We ate the baby kebabs with sliced red onion, escarole and a flour tortilla. Damn. This was a dish that needs no excuses. The meat was silk and juice, with a bit of outside crunch -- beef without weirdness. We each had seconds.

These kebabs are a favorite of Shelbin Santos, Peruvian owner of Chicken Latino (chickenlatino.com) in the Strip District. She puts anticuchos on the menu "when people get a craving for it." Her approach is identical to this recipe.

"My country's tradition is 'you don't waste anything.' The heart is just another part of the cow. There are little corner stands all over Lima selling anticuchos. The most popular is heart."

My husband, whom I "hearted" two days in a row, agrees with Ms. Santos: "Tell them afterward what they've eaten."

Peruvian Heart Kebabs

PG tested

These spicy morsels, lightly charred and juicy inside, says the author, "are a seductive introduction to heart." I agree. They should be cooked to rare or medium rare and no more. For the marinade, I used dried arbol chiles, medium hot, and ground the toasted cumin, salt, pepper, chiles and garlic in a mortar and pestle.

-- Virginia Phillips

• 13 ounces trimmed beef heart
• 1 teaspoon cumin seed
• 1 teaspoon coarse sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns
• 2 serrano chile peppers, stems removed
• 1 clove garlic
• 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

Cut the heart into 3/4 inch cubes and place in a bowl. Toast the cumin seed in a small frying pan until fragrant, about 1 minute. Place in a spice grinder with the salt and peppercorns and grind.

Add the chiles and garlic and grind again, then transfer the mixture to a small bowl and whisk in the vinegar and olive oil. Pour the mixture over the heart pieces in the bowl and toss to coat, then cover and refrigerate for 24 hours.

Preheat the grill to high. Thread the heart pieces onto 8 to 10 skewers and grill over high heat for about 4 minutes total, turning once.

Alternatives: Veal, lamb or poultry hearts or gizzards.

-- "Odd Bits: How to Cook the Rest of the Animal" by Jennifer McLagan (Ten Speed, 2011)

Moroccan-Style Braised Heart

PG tested

This make-ahead dish creates a rich aromatic gravy. (Recipe follows.)

• 1 3/4 pounds beef heart, in one piece
• Coarse sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons beef dripping or lard, or in a pinch, olive oil.
• 2 onions, halved and sliced
• 2 stalks celery, sliced
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed
• 6 cilantro (coriander) stems, preferably with roots attached
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon cumin seed
• 2 5-inch cinnamon sticks
• 1 fresh bay leaf
• 1 1/2 to 2 cups beef stock (in a pinch, substitute chicken broth), divided
• 2 large carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch slices
• 1 preserved lemon, quartered
• 6 Medjool dates, pitted and cut into quarters
• 1 cup cilantro leaves, chopped

Preheat the oven to 275 degrees.

Pat the heart dry and season with salt and pepper. In a heavy flameproof casserole or Dutch oven just a little larger than the heart, melt 1 tablespoon of the dripping over medium-high heat. Add the heart and brown, then transfer the heart to a plate. Add the remaining drippings to the pan with the onions and celery and cook, stirring, until the onions begin to brown.

Add the garlic, cilantro stems, ginger, cumin, cinnamon and bay leaf and stir until you can smell the spices. Deglaze the pan with 1 cup of the stock, scraping up the browned bits from the bottom with a wooden spoon. Add the heart and enough stock to come halfway up the meat, and cover the meat with a piece of wet parchment paper and the lid. Transfer to the oven and cook for 2 1/2 to 3 hours, or until very tender. Meanwhile, cook the carrot slices in boiling salted water and then drain and refresh under cold running water. Remove and discard the pulp from the lemon quarters, then dice the peel; set the carrots and lemon aside.

Remove the pan from the oven and lower the oven to 200 degrees.

Transfer the heart to a cutting board.

Strain the cooking liquid through a sieve, pressing on the vegetables to extract all the juice. Discard the vegetables and spices and let the cooking liquid stand for 5 minutes. Skim off fat and set aside for another use.

Return the cooking liquid to the pan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Continue to boil until the liquid is reduced to about 11/4 cups.

Cut the heart into thick slices and add them back to the sauce along with the carrots, lemon and dates. Place in the oven for about 20 minutes or until everything is heated through, and serve. (I reheated the dish on the stove top.)

Alternatives: Lamb heart, neck, shanks, or shoulder; beef cheeks, shank or shoulder; veal heart, shank or shoulder.

Serves 4 to 6.

-- "Odd Bits: How to Cook the Rest of the Animal" by Jennifer McLagan (Ten Speed, 2011)

You can use heart trimmings for stock and drippings for browning.

To make drippings: Trim about half the fat from the heart and render on low heat in a heavy skillet. Reserve.

For stock: Toss about 3/4 pounds trimmings, a cut-up carrot, celery stalk, onion and a handful of parsley with stems in 1 tablespoon of the rendered fat (or lard or olive oil).

Roast 1 hour at 375 degrees till well browned. Simmer browned bits and vegetables in water to cover for an hour or two. Strain.

-- Virginia Phillips

Salem's Market and Grill in the Strip District supplies beef, veal, lamb and goat hearts fresh daily from locally killed animals and often chicken hearts as well. Abdul Salem: "We sell enough organ meats to various ethnic groups that we usually have it fresh. We prefer organ meat not to have been frozen. When we roast a lamb for an Arab family, say, we'll lay the animal on a huge tray with the sauted organ meats on top." 412-235-7828.

J. L. Kennedy Farm Meat Stand in the Saturday morning Farmers Market Cooperative in East Liberty. You can preorder fresh beef and pork heart to pick up every Saturday for $4.20 per pound. Also lamb and veal hearts, periodically, at market price. For availability and ordering information: farmersmarketcooperativeofeastliberty.com .

Says Valarie Kennedy: "Our Middle European customers prize the beef heart, Asians request the pig."

Strip District Meats can supply frozen duck and beef hearts and fresh lamb. Owner Ray Turkas II: "If you order by Wednesday, we can get fresh Elysian Fields lamb hearts. We can also order veal hearts." Prices vary. 412-391-1762.

Clarion River Organics' Nathan Holmes: "With an email order we can often do goat, chicken, pork, lamb and a few cows each month. It depends what is being butchered.

The price is about $4 a pound for organ meats." EatCRO@gmail.com .

Wholey Fish Market in the Strip District has frozen beef, $1.59 per pound, and frozen pork hearts, $1.79 pound. At Wholey's, beef is popular with Hispanic customers and pork with Asian. wholey.com . 412-391-3737

Whole Foods Market will order grass-fed beef hearts from White Oaks Pastures of Georgia, $4.99 per pound. Allow two weeks. 412-441-7960.

Generally hearts are trimmed of the top flap and any connecting tubes. If not, cut off these and any fibrous tissue around them. Give the heart a rinse under cold running water to remove any blood. There is a layer of fat around the top of the heart, often sweeping down the sides; in most cases you can leave this on, as it helps baste the heart while it cooks. If you are preparing the heart to be grilled you should cut most of it off and set it aside to render.