beef heart, pork heart and lamb heart

[HankB]

What would you do with these? Our kids (son and D-I-L) have animals processed from time to time and I get what they don't know how to cook. The lamb shanks were great! But I made the mistake of showing them how I prepare them and I may not see any of those any more.

I just pulled a bunch-o-parts from the freezer including

• pork hocks
• neck bones (pork?)
• pork heart
• lamb heart
• beef heart

My intent is to cure the hocks and neck bones, smoke them and use them like ham hocks to make split pea soup. I'm wondering if I should cure the hearts too. Or should I just smoke them and use that to make chili? I might not have enough space to cure all of this so I might smoke some of the pork hocks and use them for chili too.

If it matters, I'm a new owner of one of those fancy pressure cookers called Instant Pots. I'll use that for a quicker process with the chili or pea soup. It's the bees knees for stuff like that! Pinto beans in 30 minutes. Chick peas soft enough for Hummus in 10. Just don't forget the gasket in the lid. :roll: Don't ask.

Incidentally, I did the lamb shanks by smoking for a while (until the meat shortens on the bone) and then braising until it falls off the bone. Yum!

Incidentally.2 I also have a pretty good selection of pork, beef and lamb liver. But that's a task for another day. Liver sausage. :becky:

 

[Debmar]

I made antichuchos with beef heart. While not all in the family liked them I enjoyed them. I agree with your assessment of lamb shanks, awesome. Entire family likes them. While not smoked, chef johns jinx proof lamb shank recipe is really good. I use the same recipe with beef roasts and it’s always a hit

 

[gcs]

We used to have beef heart fairly regularly as a kid, I guess because it was cheap..The only way we cooked it was as a stew, Old Bavarian farm food, it was a lightly sour stew sort of like a mild sauerbraten finished with a medium roux...I still make it today if I have enough deer hearts, but other game meats work well also.
Served over egg noodles, absolutely delicious....:grin:

 

[Hamdrew]

I have only cooked beef heart out of those. It was very much like a steak, so you could do anything similar to it. Cure for a lean top round-esque pastrami, smoke as is for pit beef, marinate and grill for carne asada tacos (or my favorite, carne asada fries). Chicken-fried.. etc.


I got some beef liver the other day myself; hoping a cure yields something like braunschweiger. If not, grinding and cooking in a meatloaf pan sure should.

 

[16Adams]

Absolutely any meat can be converted to Chili

 

[harknii]

Absolutely any meat can be converted to Chili

This right here. Truth!


-A chili purist.

 

[Titch]

I have eaten chicken heart only, I just cant bring myself to eat the others.
I may have eaten them in our comercial produced pies Bit?

 

[thirdeye]

I can't help on the heart questions, but since you have an InstaPot I can share how I do pork neck bones.

First I season the neck bones and smoke them for a couple of hours.

I have conventional pressure cookers, and I add some pork broth and process for 30 minutes at 13 psi.

Now I have all this pullable meat and upwards of a quart of broth. The meat can be used like any other pork, but I use the broth for soup or cut with Coca-Cola for my butt injection.

 

[Hamdrew]

^Cajun/creole gold (broth) right there

 

[lzbcook]

I have eaten LOTS of beef hearts. Mom fixed them for school sandwiches as they were inexpensive and I liked them. I carried on the tradition and still do one occasionally.
I clean up (remove) all the slick looking material on the inside, including those connective things. Remove all fat on the outside. Cover with water in the crock pot ( have not done one in an Instapot) add a cheesecloth bag with some pickling spice, and simmer for a few hours.
Remove, cool, slice thin and sandwich away with mustard and sliced onion.
I like it, but if you don't, your dog probably will.
It's really lean, dense meat with a little chew, but not stringy.

 

[Ron_L]

Testing 1... 2... 3...

 

[HankB]

I want to reply but the board S/W balks on a more detailed reply. hocks are curing with Tenderquick and fire is lit for hearts and neck.

 

[NickTheGreat]

I usually fry up my turkey organs when I'm doing my turkeys. Would would happen if you fried up a beef heart? Still be too tough and rubbery? I've never had heart, as my mom never liked eating it as a kid!

 

[legendaryhog]

Beef heart is great. Clean all the ventricles off, flatten it out, and grill it like a steak. It can use a marinade if you like, it is all lean and no fat so you have to be careful not to overcook it. Sliced thin is the way to go.

 

[HankB]

Thanks to Ron_L for his help sorting out my posting issues. I just can't use the word "from". :shocked:

I decided to smoke the neck bones and hearts for chili. They're smoked and presently decompressing in the Instant Pot with most of the rest of the chili ingredients. (I'll add pinto beans later. Yes. You heard me right. My chili and I'll put beans in it.)

I'm curing the hocks using Tenderquick and plan to cure for 3 days before smoking.

Thanks all for your suggestions and experience. :thumb:

 

[BobBrisket]

Haven't had heart in a long time. I don't know if the pics still show up for you in this old thread, but here it is: https://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=76738&highlight=beef+heart

Heart and liver usually get the garlic, onion, jalapeno, cilantro, and diced tomato treatment. Makes for a great taco. We usually cook it up on the disco or flat top. Using in a stew works great too.

Pork necks may get a red chile/Mexican spaghetti treatment.

https://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=93858&highlight=neck+bones

https://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=172124&highlight=neck+bones

Bob

 

[HankB]

I thought I should follow up with the results. After a 15 minute pressure/coast cycle the meat was nearly falling off the neck bones but the hearts were still firm. I gave it second and third 15 minute cycles and the heart seemed a little less firm and the meat on the neck bones was falling off. At that point I pulled the meat & bones from the sauce and separated the bones. I chopped the hearts but that was not necessary for the neck bone meat. I added them back to the chili along with the pinto beans and cooked a little longer to bring it all together. I thought the hearts tasted a little like liver and that seemed to carry over to the chili. Nevertheless, we both enjoyed the chili along with some corn bread baked in a cast iron pan.

Thanks again for the help.

I cured the hocks with Tenderquick for three days, leached out the salt for one and they are on the smoker now.