How To Cook Beef Heart: Marinated & Grilled
Marinating beef heart is a great way to turn this organ meat into a flavorful and tender steak! Simply slice into half inch thick pieces and marinate overnight to build flavor, while tenderizing. This method works well on either a hot cast iron skillet or a sizzling hot grill. It’s so simple to make a marinade by combining 3 basic elements to amp up the flavor of any dish. Get creative with one of these flavor combinations or create your own to marinade.
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There are 3 basic components of marinating. Generally, a marinade ratio is about 3 parts fat, 1 part acid and 1 part flavor. That’s about 1/2 cup of liquid marinade for every 1 pound of meat, as the meat should be fully covered.
- Oil or other fat: This helps the flavors infuse into the meat and gives it a nice crust once cooked but keeps it juicy. Try olive oil, avocado oil, sesame oil, or coconut milk.
- Acid: This helps tenderize the meat and adds balance. Try vinegar, wine, lemon juice, lime juice, beer or buttermilk.
- Flavor: Try mixing up a marinade with something sweet, salty or maybe both. Add spices, herbs, soy sauce, honey, coconut aminos, minced garlic, onions, chiles, fish sauce or fruit juice.
- Fish sauce, soy sauce, lime juice, mirin, ginger & garlic
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Coconut aminos, honey, cumin, garlic, cilantro & lime juice
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Soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, honey, ginger, garlic & green onions
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Orange juice, soy sauce, chili powder, garlic, cilantro & salt
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Lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, garlic, honey & salt
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Balsamic vinegar, dijon mustard, garlic, onion & salt
Grilled Beef Heart
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Marinade: 24 hours
Cook Time: 5 minutes
Serves: 4-6
Ingredients
2lbs beef heart, sliced into steaks about ½” thick
See marinade flavors above
- Prepare the beef heart by trimming off any connective tissue, silver skin or gristle around the heart, plus trim off any fat. Since this will be a quick sear, the fat won’t have time to render without over cooking the heart.
- Make the marinade (choose from above flavors) by mixing everything in a small bowl. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.
- In a large glass dish, add beef heart slices and pour the marinade. Give it a good mix making sure the marinade is evenly dispersed over all the heart slices. Cover and let sit for 24 hours in the fridge.
- When beef heart slices are done marinating, either preheat a cast iron skillet on medium-high heat (until very hot) or get grill sizzling hot.
- Remove the beef heart slices from the marinade and place either on a hot cast iron skillet or grill.
- Quickly sear slices about 2 minutes a side (depending on thickness), making sure to get a nice brown crust on each side. These slices will cook fast with high heat! Since the heart is not marbled like a traditional steak, leave the slices on the rare to medium-rare side to prevent toughness.
- Enjoy hot with corn on the cob, sweet potatoes, cabbage slaw or your favorite type of vegetable!
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.