How To Cook Beef Heart: Marinated & Grilled

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.

  1. 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.
  2. Acid: This helps tenderize the meat and adds balance. Try vinegar, wine, lemon juice, lime juice, beer or buttermilk.
  3. 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.
Marinade Flavors for Beef Heart
  • Fish sauce, soy sauce, lime juice, mirin, ginger & garlic
  • Coconut aminos, honey, cumin, garlic, cilantro & lime juice
  • Soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, honey, ginger, garlic & green onions
  • Orange juice, soy sauce, chili powder, garlic, cilantro & salt
  • Lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, garlic, honey & salt
  • 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

Instructions
  1. 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.
  2. Make the marinade (choose from above flavors) by mixing everything in a small bowl. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. Remove the beef heart slices from the marinade and place either on a hot cast iron skillet or grill.
  6. 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.
  7. Enjoy hot with corn on the cob, sweet potatoes, cabbage slaw or your favorite type of vegetable!
  8. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.