Best Beef Heart Recipe
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This beef heart recipe is so delicious and tender with a perfectly crispy crust; it’s seriously one of my favorite beef heart recipes!
This is one of those recipes; if making organ meat is a little out of your comfort zone, it will make it much easier to enjoy. I would much rather have a pan-seared beef heart resembling a steak than a slow-cooked beef tongue.
That is something you may need to warm up to before trying. That and chicken liver, in my opinion.
If you love beef heart, be sure to try my roasted beef heart recipe next!
To be honest, I used to shy away from organ meat, but I was also one never to throw out food. That’s where, by the way, my fried beef liver recipe came to life!
So whether you’re learning how to cook beef heart for the first time or looking to add a new recipe to your carnivore lunch ideas, you’ve come to the right place.
Anyway, if anyone asks where we are, we’ll be in the kitchen.
Table of Contents
Why you will love this recipe
- It’s incredibly tender and packed with flavor!
- Beef hearts are typically quite large, so we almost always have leftovers for the week—a big win in my book!
- It’s super quick to make—just season, sear, let it rest, and enjoy!
Recipe Ingredients
- Beef Heart: They are pretty large, so make sure you cut them into two or three pieces so they fit nicely on your skillet.
- Oil: You can use your choice of cooking oil or even butter. I used peanut oil this time, but it doesn’t really matter.
- Salt & Pepper: This is all I use to season it, most of the time. You can always make a dry rub for it, depending on the occasion!
Beef Heart Recipe
Step 1: Remove any fat or gristle from the meat, then season generously with salt and pepper. Set it out to come to room temperature.
Step 2: Sear each side in a hot skillet with a touch of oil for 4-5 minutes per side.
Step 3: Remove from heat to rest for 7 minutes before slicing and serving.
Expert Tips
- Make sure to trim off any fat, arteries, or connective tissues. It doesn’t have to be perfect, but the more you get off before cooking it, the better.
- Set the heart out beforehand so it can come to room temperature to ensure it cooks evenly. Basically, we are cooking this the same way you would any steak.
- Have the skillet piping hot before adding the heart to ensure a nice, quick sear.
- The heart should release easily from the skillet when it’s ready to flip. If it seems to stick to the skillet, give it another 10-20 seconds before flipping it over.
- If you are cooking a whole beef heart, it will probably not fit on a single skillet. You will either need two or cook one half at a time.
If this is your first time cooking beef heart:
The first thing you’ll notice after cooking beef heart in a skillet the first time is that it is hard to screw up. One thing to watch out for is if you have multiple pieces cut up to fit on the skillet that vary in thickness, you will need to adjust cook times to ensure each is cooked through.
The next thing you may notice is regardless of how well done you cook the meat, it will stay pretty tender. It’s less juicy if it’s well done versus medium, but it’s still tender overall.
Lastly, If you cook it well done, you may notice the texture is somewhat rubbery. It’s not bad; it’s just something to be aware of.
Recipe FAQs
You’ll find cooking beef heart on the stovetop or grill is very comparable to cooking a beef steak of similar size—usually about ten minutes total of cook time, depending on the desired level of doneness.
Yes! Beef heart, though it is lean, it is quite tender.
I suggest keeping it in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 3-4 days.
The USDA recommends cooking all beef organ meat, including beef heart, to a minimum of 160°F. A lot of people do, however, cook beef heart to medium rare only.
Serving suggestions
When I think of beef heart sides, I feel somewhere along the lines of what I would serve with a steak. Here are a few of my favorite beef heart sides.
- Baked or fried potatoes
- Boiled asparagus spears
- Dutch oven baked beans
- Boiled Okra
- Fresh homemade artisan bread
- Roasted vegetables
If you enjoyed this recipe style, be sure to check out my crispy beef tongue and my fried pork liver recipe next. I just love anything fried!
And, of course, if you are looking for a few more fantastic, and I do mean fantastic recipes, try one of these next!
Related Recipes
If you tried this Beef Heart Recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting!
Easy Beef Heart Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 beef heart
- 3 tbsp cooking oil
- 1 tsp sea salt
- ½ tsp ground pepper
Instructions
- Open the heart up if it has not been done already and cut away any excess fat, gristle, arteries, etc.
- Next, cut the meat into 3 or 4 smaller pieces so it can fit in the skillet better. (it probably won't all fit in one skillet, so you can cook half of it at a time if needed)
- Generously season both sides of the meat with salt and pepper.
- Leave the beef heart to rest on a plate and come to room temperature. (about 20-30 minutes)
- Heat your cooking oil in a 12" cast iron skillet on medium-high heat.
- Once the skillet is hot, add the beef heart, being careful so the hot oil doesn't splatter out of the skillet.
- Cook for 4-5 minutes on each side, flipping once.
- Check the internal temperature with an instant meat thermometer for the desired doneness before removing it from the heat to rest for 10 minutes before serving.
Notes
- Make sure to trim off any fat, arteries, or connective tissues. It doesn’t have to be perfect, but the more you get off before cooking it the better.
- Set the heart out ahead of time so it can come to room temperature in order to ensure that it cooks evenly. Basically, we are cooking this the same way you would any steak.
- Have the skillet piping hot before adding the heart to ensure a nice, quick sear.
- The heart should release easily from the skillet when it’s ready to flip. If it seems to stick to the skillet, try giving it another minute before flipping it over.
Simply delicious! This beef heart recipe is my go-to!
I have been eating Beef heart for years. Pan fried or stuffed and roasted. It’s good food!
Years ago while I was in Peru I was served beef heart that had been sliced and marinated and grilled. It was delicious. do you have a recipe that would replicate that?
Thanks for putting this recipe out there!
Hi, I do not yet, but a grilled beef heart recipe is on the books!