Anticuchos--Barbecued Beef Heart
Mom cooked heart a few times when we were kids, but I'd not found it more than a time or two after we married. When we went to Colorado in 1993, we bought heart at the commissary. I had to search through about fifteen books before I found a recipe. This is South American and apparently quite popular there.
Heart is really a nice meat. We've just become snobbish about organ meats and many people I know won't even try them. This will make a believer out of nearly anyone.
List of Ingredients
- 1 beef heart, rinsed, trimed of fat, veins, and membranes
- 3 cloves garlic, peeled
- 1 1/2 tablespoons coarse salt
- black pepper
- 2 tablespoons ground cumin
- 3 dried red chiles, seeded
- 1 dried ancho chile, seeded
- 3/4 c. red wine vinegar
- 2-3 strips bacon
- 1/2 cup aciote oil*
Instructions
- Cut heart into 1 1/2" cubes (approximately). Set aside.
- Make a paste (with mortar and pestle or blender) of garlic, salt, pepper and cumin. Set aside.
- Make achiote oil.* Set aside.
- Combine chiles and vinegar. Let soak until the chiles are soft, about 15 minutes. Blend until liquid-y. Let sit about 10 minutes. Add the achiote oil. Marinate cubed heart overnight or for several hours in this liquid. Keep refrigerated while marinating. Drain and reserve juices.
- Heat about 1/4 cup of the reserved marinade in a large skillet. Add bacon and saute until done. Set heat to high. Add the heart cubes and cook quickly on all sides.
- Serve immediately as an appetizer or over rice as a main dish.
Final Comments
* achiote oil.
1 cup olive oil
1/2 cup annato seeds (available in Chinese groceries)
1 dried chile, crumbled
1 bay leaf
Combine ingredients in a small saucepan and let sit about 30 minutes. Place pan over low heat and bring to a gentle boil while stirring constantly. Remove from heat and cool thoroughly, stirring occasionally. Pour through a fine sieve. Reserve oil. Discard residue.
This will keep supposedly indefinitely in the refrigerator. Use it in other Mexican dishes. Be careful that the yellow color doesn't stain something you treasure.
Serve these with bread or tortillas to sop up the good juice.
Cook the bacon when you're alone. The hordes circle if they smell it cooking. You'll never get even a sample if you give someone else a taste.
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