Grilled Chicken Heart Skewers

 

 

This recipe is so simple, so delicious, and so crowd-pleasing. It’s also an friendly entry into the world of heart, since chicken hearts are mild and meaty and easy to work with. They are an excellent addition to a summer BBQ, a great protein-filled appetizer, or a quick Paleo-friendly entrée next to a mixed salad or cauliflower rice.

 

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Grilled Chicken Heart Skewers


  • Author: Jill Baker
  • Yield: 6 Servings 1x

Ingredients

Units Scale

1 lb. Chicken Hearts, cleaned *see here*

1 Red Onion, chopped into 1-inch pieces

1 Bell Pepper, any color or combination, chopped into 1-inch pieces

6 (10-inch) Wood Skewers, soaked in water for 1 hour

Lime Wedges, for serving

For the Marinade
1/3 c. Extra-Virgin Olive Oil

3 Tbsp. Red Wine Vinegar

1/2 tsp. Fine Sea Salt

1/2 tsp. Ground Cumin

1/4 tsp. Ground Black Pepper

1/4 tsp. Cayenne Pepper


Instructions

  1. Put all the ingredients for the marinade in a medium mixing bowl and mix well. Pat the hearts dry and add them to the marinade, tossing them to coat. Cover the bowl and place in the fridge to marinate overnight.
  2. Preheat a barbecue grill to high heat, or preheat a grill pan on the stovetop over high heat.
  3. Skewer the hearts with a slice of onion or bell pepper between them, for a total of 4 or 5 hearts per skewer. Grill until slightly charred on the surface and medium-rare inside, about 4 minutes per side, turning the skewers over midway through cooking.
  4. Serve immediately with a squeeze of lime.

Notes

Leftover skewers will keep for up to 5 days in the fridge.

Recipe is an excerpt from It Takes Guts by Ashleigh Vanhoute and can be purchased here.

How to Clean Heart

Farming website logo

 

For All Hearts, except chicken hearts: Trim the hard, white exterior fat and any visible membranes with a sharp paring knife, and cut out visible arteries, veins, or other non-muscle meat from the top of the heart, then rinse thoroughly with cold water. You should end up with a piece of relatively smooth, blood-red muscle meat. (Any further cutting or prep would be individual to the recipe.)

Note that most larger animal hearts will be sourced from a local farm and butcher, and you’ll notice they have already been cut or sliced open for quality control (to ensure the organ is healthy and safe and didn’t contain any bugs or parasites.)

For Chicken Hearts: Chicken hearts can be purchased at many grocery stores. They tend to be already cleaned and removed of any excess material and are generally ready to cook after being rinsed thoroughly in cold water. (Pro Tip: Squeeze the hearts while rinsing to ensure you get rid of trace amounts of blood inside them.)

 

This information is an excerpt from It Takes Guts by Ashleigh Vanhoute and can be purchased here.

Liver, Heart, and Kidney Tacos

 

 

Here’s a simple rule: When you’re dealing with things that people are afraid to eat, tacos are the way to go!

Hence this 2-day recipe for livers, heart, and kidney.

You can use any kind of liver, heart, and kidneys for this recipe-the method is the same-but I used chicken here, since these organ meats are widely available!

 

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Liver, Heart, and Kidney Tacos


  • Author: Jill Baker
  • Yield: Feeds 4-6 people 1x

Ingredients

Units Scale

Equal Parts, 4 oz. each: Chicken Liver, Heart, and Kidneys

2 Tomatillos, golf ball sized

1 Tomato

3 oz. Dried Mexican Chili Peppers

1 Red Onion

1 Jalapeño Pepper

1/4 Bunch (3 oz.) Cilantro, chopped but not picked

2 Cloves Garlic, minced

3 Limes

Pepper, to taste

1 Tbsp. Vegetable Oil

12 oz. Fresh Corn Tortilla

8 oz. Radishes, sliced

1 While Onion, diced small

Sea Salt


Instructions

Prep The Ground Meat

Set up the meat grinder, all metal parts from the freezer. Grind the liver, heart, and kidneys on a medium-size (1/4″) plate into a bowl sitting on ice. Mix the meat to combine.

Prep Your Veggies

Cut the tomatillo tomato in half. In a cast-iron pan, cook each half dry until charred black. Remove them, put in a bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap to steam. Cut the red onion in half, the char and steam the same way. Char the jalapeño on all sides, then wrap in plastic to steam.
For tomatillo, tomato, and jalapeño, scrape off all black matter and seeds and discard. Chop the charred onion.
In a blender, combine half of the cilantro, garlic and charred tomatillo, tomato and red onion. Squeeze in juice of 3 limes and blend until liquefied to make salsa. Season with sea salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.

Cook Your Meat

In a cast-iron pan with vegetable oil, cook off the ground meats. Remove and discard the seeds of the dried Mexican pepper, then chop the pepper and add to meats while cooking. Add 1/2 of the pureed salsa to the meat while it’s cooking. Add water if needed. Cook until the dried pepper is tender. Season with salt, pepper, lime juice, and salsa to taste.

Prep The Tortillas

Lightly oil a nonstick pan. To warm up tortillas, lightly dampen them on one side, then put the damp side down in the pan and cook on low heat.

To Serve

Assemble each tortilla on a large platter with 2 Tbsp. meat mixture in the middle and top with salsa and chopped cilantro. Scatter sliced radishes and diced white onion around the platter.

Notes

Feel free to add in your favorite toppings; avocado, cojita cheese, sour cream, spring (green) onion, slaw, etc. The sky’s not the limit! Use the Salsa Verde sauce found here!

Information contained within is an excerpt from The New Charcuterie Cookbook by Jamie Bissonnette. Purchase the book here.

Beuschel

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Beuschel


  • Author: Jill Baker

Description

Beuschel is one of the classics of Austrian cuisine. Often compared to a ragout, this hearty dish is made with offal, usually heart and lungs, and it is served in a delicious, dark brown sauce. Usually, calf offal is used in the dish, but offal’s of other animals can also be utilized.
Due to the consistency of the offal, beuschel is a time-consuming dish found only in traditional and notable Austrian restaurants. Even though it can be found in all parts of Austria, it is usually associated with Vienna and represents a real example of the old Viennese cuisine.
It became popular in the 19th century, during the Austrian Empire, when animal offal was introduced on the menus of numerous high-end Viennese restaurants. Its importance has recently slightly faded, but for true experts, it is still regarded as a delicious heritage of the Austrian Empire.
To achieve the creamy and mild consistency, the dish is usually finished with cream, and is most commonly served with traditional, aromatic bread dumplings.


Ingredients

Lungs

Heart

Carrots

Celery

Fat

Flour

Thyme

Parsley

Onions

Lemon Juice

Mustard

Bay Leaf

Water

Vinegar


Instructions

To Prepare Lungs & Heart:

  1. Clean the lungs and heart, pierce the heart to ensure water gets inside thoroughly.
  2. Soak in water.
  3. Remove vessels.

To Prepare Broth:

  1. In a pot, place carrots, celery, and parsley in a pot with water and dash vinegar in it, set aside.
  2. Sauté sliced onions in melted lard, set aside.
  3. Place cleaned heart and lung, with herbs (bay leaf and thyme,) in the pot with the vegetables. Boil for no less than an hour.
  4. Remove lungs (cool under cold water,) but allow the heart to boil for another 30 minutes.

Final steps:

  1. With both the lungs and heart removed from the broth, bring back to a boil until reduced (thickens)
  2. Cut lungs and heart into cubes or smaller.
  3. Remove the bay leaf from the reduced stock.
  4. In a separate deep skillet, place butter and flour to create a roux.
  5. Add in the reduced stock and stir until thick.
  6. Add in the cut up organs and any preferred spices (salt and pepper) along with mustard and lemon juice to taste.

Pour over homemade dumplings and enjoy!

Notes

For a great dumpling recipe, visit: Homemade Dumplings

Add in sour cream and/or heavy cream for a creamier alternative.

Since both lung and heart can be rich in vessels, ensure you’ve removed them manually.

Note the whole boiling takes a long time. Talk about a labor of love! Ensure you’ve allowed yourself the proper time and attention to ensure a successful Beuschel!

Recipe comes from friends of Baker’s Green Acres.

Chicken Fried Heart

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Chicken Fried Heart


  • Author: Jill Baker

Description

This simple, yet nutrient dense recipe is one of the best ways to eat heart! Traditionally done in an old seasoned cast iron skillet, I’m sure you can certainly try out those new air fryers and these will still turn out perfect!


Ingredients

Heart (1/4″ thick pieces)

Seasoned Flour, season with whatever herbs and spices you enjoy

Fat, lard is perfect here

Hot Water


Instructions

  1. Dip in seasoned flour. Brown on both sides in hot fat.
  2. Add a small amount of hot water. 
  3. Cover and simmer 20-30 minutes.

Notes

Source of IRON, magnesium, phosphorous, zinc, selenium, all the B vitamins, but especially B12 (383% of the USRDA). Collagen, elastin, amino acids; all that equals energy, mental clarity, good immune function, and good cellular function.

In addition, heart is full of CoQ10 and and peptides specific to heart function. In natural healing there’s a principle of “like treats like.” Beef, chicken, pork, and lamb heart (and any others) help strengthen your heart! And a stronger circulatory system equals many things, including better fertility.

This recipe is brought to you from Baker’s Green Acres’ very own Jill Baker.