One of my favorite organ meats is beef heart, and the way I really like it cooked is with bacon and onion.  We buy our grassfed beef a side at a time (from the Law Ranch Cattle Company) which makes the per pound price reasonable, although there is a substantial up-front investment in the cost of a freezer and the side of beef.  Here’s how I cook beef heart:

Ingredients:

1 beef heart, preferably grassfed beef
1/2 to 1 pound bacon, naturally cured without nitrites and nitrates, cut into approx. 2 inch pieces
1 onion, chopped
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preparation:

Cut the beef heart into 3/4 inch cubes.  If there are really hard bits you can cut them out, but this method of slow cooking usually tenderizes most parts of the heart.  I only removed about 1 square inch of this beef heart.

In a large skillet, cook the bacon over medium heat until slightly browned.  Add chopped onion to the skillet and cook until the onion is translucent.  Add the cubed beef heart and cook for about 5 minutes until beginning to brown, stirring occasionally.  Cover, and reduce heat to a simmer, and cook for about one hour. I don’t add any liquid, but you should check from time to time. If the mixture becomes too dry, add a small amount of filtered water or beef broth. Season to taste with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.

That’s all it takes!  Easy, simple, delicious, and very nutritious.  My family really loves this recipe for beef heart.

Beef heart is a traditional food, highly prized along with other organ meats like liver and kidney.  It is a significant source of many nutrients such as CoQ10, B vitamins, iron, selenium, phosphorus, copper, collagen, and elastin.

Beef heart with bacon was featured in one of our What’s For Dinner posts.

Sources for nutrition information:

Wikipedia, Coenzyme Q10
SelfNutritionData, Beef, variety meats and by-products, heart, raw
Livestrong.com, Is Beef Heart Healthy?
Kelly the Kitchen Kop, You CAN Eat Beef Heart
WolframAlpha, beef heart

This post is shared on Fat Tuesday at Real Food Forager