beef heart crockpot recipe

[kbchavez]

So, I've got this frozen beef heart that's been sitting in my freezer for months. I want to just stick it in the crockpot and do something very simple with it. Neither my dh or ds will eat it, so it only has to appeal to me. Can I cook it from frozen? Will it come out edible in the crockpot? I've never cooked one before, and I have no energy or motivation to do anything fancy. Thanks!

[bigknitwit]

No advice, but I'm definitely watching this thread. I have a heart and a tongue in my freezer, waiting until I finally cave and figure out what to do with them lol

[wendy1221]

I, too, had a heart and tongue in my freezer and didn't know what to do with them. My dh came home with 3 large turkeys last weekend, and then on Wednesday, my order from our buying club came in w/ LOTS of frozen foods (I have hyperemesis and can't cook much.) So we got everything stuffed into the freezer except for some spices and the beef heart and tongue. Dh says, lets feed them to the cats.

So this afternoon, I felt up to it, so I chopped up a bit of the heart and put it in a dish for the cats. THat heart actually looked realy good, so I sliced a thinnish slice (like the thickness liver usually is) and fried it in a pan. It was WONDERFUL! I expected it to be tough and stringy and gross, but it was actually tender and delicious. You have to trim off the outside and inside thin layers, but in between, the texture is perfect. Like a really good steak, but the flavor was a bit different. I think b/c there's so much blood. Screw the cats, I put the rest back in the fridge and we will stir-fry it or something. It's really good, no need to slow cook. I can't believe it's not a popular meat, it was really that good. I do like liver a lot, too, but dh HATES liver and tasted a bite of the heart and really liked it. He agreed that it was just like a good steak, but had a stronger flavor, again, he thought it was the extra blood. And I feel really good right now. It's really hard for me to eat anything, so this was just what I needed.

As for the tongue, I looked on Allrecipes.com and found a popular but simple recipe for tongue. Just cover in salted water and boil until the skin starts peeling off, about 3 hours, then peel off the thick skin and slice. We'll see how it goes. I have it boiling right now b/c it's been thawed for a few days and I wanted to cook it before it went bad.

[Metasequoia]

Me too! I have 6 beef hearts, 4 tongues & 12 livers! I took what nobody else wanted! I also have a few kidneys & 1 ground heart. When I prdered my cow share last summer, I asked for my heart to be ground so I could toss it in with a pound of regular ground beef - I figured it would be less noticeable that way.

Ex-dp is from Mexico & one of his favorite meals is tongue tacos. - sorry, couldn't help it.

[velcromom]

tongue tacos. lol.

no advice on the heart, but I have cracked two crocks by putting the meat in frozen - best let it thaw.

[Metasequoia]

Originally Posted by velcromom

tongue tacos. lol.

no advice on the heart, but I have cracked two crocks by putting the meat in frozen - best let it thaw.

Oy, really? I put my chickens in frozen all the time! I always put down a layer of carrots or celery first so that the chicken doesn't get soggy - maybe that's the trick?

[heket]

no crockpot recipe, but we always just marinated our beef heart in some red vinegar, lightly seasoned it and pan fried it...

But tongue, no can do. It was served whole on most occasions and i couldn't bring myself to eat it.

[wendy1221]

Yeah. I peeked at that tongue and I don't think I can handle "skinning" it. Blech!

[wendy1221]

I couldn't look at the tongue again after the first time. It was too disgusting. Dh couldn't handle it either and took the pot directly to the dumpster to dispose of it. Wish I had a better outcome for the tongue, but that's where it went at our house. If I weren't pregnant and sick, I probably would have at least tried it, but it was far too gross looking. And it didn't even smell good. *shudder*

[saratc]

While we're on the subject of organs, anyone had lamb liver? I have a lamb liver and lamb heart in my freezer from the 1/2 lamb we ordered and I've never cooked lamb liver before. I've had calf's liver and didn't like it. Is lamb liver anything like calf's liver?

[kbchavez]

I've eaten tongue! My MIL made tongue tacos, and I think I ate it before I knew what it was, and once I realized what I was eating, I was sort of grossed out, but it tasted good so I got over it. It still had the tastebud skin on top... that is what was so gross. My husband grew up eating traditional foods like that, but now won't even touch anything "weird" that I cook. He gets grossed out REALLY easily.

[WildIris]

Ackkkkk! Feeding beef heart to the CAT, are you CRAZY?!? : That is one lucky cat....

We are BIG FANS of beef heart around here! We just tried it a couple months ago for the first time, and it's become a favorite. We've been trying to make it about once a week, and, in fact, have one thawing out right now to cook up for New Year's Eve.

We cooked one for Thanksgiving and took it along to DH's family gathering as a cold appetizer...sliced very thin and served with a sour cream-horseradish sauce. Everyone loved it, as evidenced by the fact that it disappeared very fast!

This is how DH makes it:

Meticulously trim off all the excess fat, arteries, and "silver skin" as my DH calls it.
Soak it in heavy concentration of salt water (roughly 1 to 1-1/2 cups of kosher salt or sea salt per gallon of water) for at least 6 hours; soaking overnight is even better.
Remove from salt water, rinse lightly.
Optional: Pack the inside of the heart with minced garlic or sliced mushrooms, or both garlic and mushrooms, for extra flavor; tie together with butcher twine. (You could use bread or rice stuffing, too.)
Heat up olive oil in a skillet and quickly sear all sides of the heart.
Put it in a roasting pan or baking dish and cover it about halfway with beef broth.
Bake at 325-350 degrees for several hours (depends on size of heart; he bakes a 2-3 lb heart for 2-1/2 to 3 hours).
About every half hour during the baking time, turn the heart over so a different side is resting in the broth.
Remove from oven and let it rest for 5-10 minutes before slicing.

[kbchavez]

WildIris- do you think I could follow all the steps of your dh's recipe up the the oven part, and then cook it in a crockpot?

[WildIris]

I don't see why not... it would just take a bit longer, I think. Definitely worth a try!

ETA: If in a crockpot, you could skip the flipping-every-half-hour step, too, since it's going to be in a "moister" environment the whole time.

Good luck! Let us know how it turns out.

Iris

[heket]

Originally Posted by kbchavez

My MIL made tongue tacos, and I think I ate it before I knew what it was, and once I realized what I was eating, I was sort of grossed out, but it tasted good so I got over it.

I think I'd feel this way too. But unfortunately, my first instance was seeing it whole -- it looked like a pasty, gray tongue. :Puke But my dh loves tongue, tacos or not!

But I'm ok with other organs. Maybe if dh made the tongue, cut it up and didn't tell me til after what it was, I'd get over it...

[pnutS4us]

beef heart is so yummy! Dh loves it as stew, in chili and in meatloaf!!