This tender and flavorful beef heart stew is slow-cooked and seasoned with cumin, garlic powder, paprika, and oregano. It's the perfect way to enjoy a beef cut that can be tough and gummy. Slow cooking makes it wonderfully tender!
This stew is one of my favorite offal recipes. It's easy, hearty, and flavorful. It's a simple recipe: you cube the heart, add spices and broth, and slow-cook it. Reduce the cooking liquids to create gravy (like I do in this beef shanks recipe), and serve! The heart has a milder flavor than beef liver, so it's a good way to venture into eating internal organs.
Ingredients and Variations
See the recipe card for exact measurements. Here are my comments on some of the ingredients.
- Beef heart: You can't typically find it in the United States in supermarkets. I usually order it online.
- Beef stock: Store-bought is fine.
- To season: Kosher salt, garlic powder, cumin, paprika, and oregano. Smoked paprika is a good substitute for regular paprika. I like the smoky flavor it adds.
- Butter: I use it to thicken the cooking juices into rich gravy.
- Cornstarch: A small amount to help thicken the cooking liquids.
- Chopped parsley: Used as a garnish. Sometimes, I use cilantro instead of parsley. I enjoy its peppery flavor.
Instructions
The detailed instructions and step-by-step photos are included in the recipe card. Here's a quick overview.
Cut the heart into 1-inch cubes and place the cubes in your slow cooker pan. Add beef broth and spices. Cover and cook on high for 4 hours.
Use a slotted spoon to temporarily transfer the cooked heart to a plate, and strain the cooking liquids into a saucepan. Return the meat to the slow cooker, cover, and set to warm. Cook the liquids with butter until they reduce into rich gravy. You can add cornstarch to speed things up.
Serve the stew with the gravy, garnished with parsley.
I tried this recipe as is, except I added a can of mushrooms. It was delicious! It’s my first time cooking heart, and hopefully not my last.
Tina
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I tried this recipe as is, except I added a can of mushrooms. It was delicious! It’s my first time cooking heart, and hopefully not my last. Recipe Tips
How To Tenderize the Heart
The heart is a tough muscle. To make it edible, you need to either slow cook it as we do here or slice it into "steaks" and flash fry them - no more than 30 seconds per side, keeping the meat rare. Overcooking will make this cut tough and inedible (note that the USDA says to cook beef organ meats to 160°F). In contrast, chicken hearts can be simply pan-fried in olive oil and spices and come out tender and delicious.
Trimming the Heart
Beef heart is huge - it can weigh as much as 2 pounds. When you buy it at the butcher's or order it online, you'll typically get it cut into two halves and trimmed. As you can see in the photo below, the heart you get will likely have a fat layer. You can trim some of it before cooking the heart if it's very thick.
Some recipes instruct you to devein the heart, which is helpful when you flash-cook it. But slow cooking softens the tough parts, so trimming them is unnecessary.
Storing Leftovers
You can keep the leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days. Reheat them gently in the microwave, covered, at 50% power. You can also freeze the cooled leftovers in a freezer-safe container for up to three months. Thaw them overnight in the fridge before reheating.
Serving Suggestions
Since this is a saucy dish, I like to serve it on top of something that would soak up those yummy juices. Here are some great options:
- Mashed cauliflower
- Cauliflower rice
- Zucchini noodles
- Baked spaghetti squash
- Mashed butternut squash
- Shirataki noodles
- Hearts of Palm pasta
I also add a green side dish, such as roasted Brussels sprouts, roasted green beans, or oven-roasted broccoli.
Recipe Card
Slow Cooked Beef Heart Stew
Video
Ingredients
- 1 beef heart - 1.5 pounds
- 1 cup beef stock
- ½ teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt - or ¼ teaspoon of any other salt, including Morton kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons parsley - chopped, for garnish
Instructions
- Using a sharp chef’s knife, cut the heart into 1-inch cubes. If they have a thick fat layer, you can trim some of it. Place the cubes in the slow cooker pan.
- Add the beef stock. Sprinkle the meat with salt, pepper, garlic powder, cumin, paprika, and oregano.
- Cover and cook on HIGH for 4 hours.
- Use a slotted spoon to temporarily transfer the heart to a plate, and strain the cooking liquids into a saucepan. Return the meat to the slow cooker, cover it, and set it to warm.
- Mix the cornstarch with 2 teaspoons of cold water. Stir this cornstarch slurry and 1 tablespoon of unsalted butter into the liquids in the saucepan. Cook over medium heat, whisking often, until the sauce thickens, about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat as soon as the sauce thickens.
- Transfer the stew to plates. Top with the sauce, garnish with parsley and serve.
Notes
- The heart is a tough muscle. To make it edible, you should either slow cook it as we do here or slice it into "steaks" and flash fry them.
- Some recipes instruct you to devein the heart, which is helpful when you flash-cook it. But slow cooking softens the tough parts, so trimming them is unnecessary.
- Instead of steps 4-5, you can thicken the cooking liquid by adding a tablespoon of cornstarch mixed with 2 tablespoons of cold water directly to the slow cooker pan at the end of cooking. Mix in this slurry, cover, and cook on HIGH for 30 minutes.
- You can keep the leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days. Reheat them gently in the microwave, covered, at 50% power.
- You can also freeze the cooled leftovers in a freezer-safe container for up to three months. Thaw them overnight in the fridge before reheating.
Nutrition per Serving
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Tina says
I tried this recipe as is, except I added a can of mushrooms. It was delicious! It’s my first time cooking beef heart and hopefully not my last.
Vered DeLeeuw says
I'm glad you enjoyed this recipe, Tina! Thank you for the comment.
will says
I love beef heart.
Vered DeLeeuw says
Me too, Will! 🙂
Michelle says
I’ve been eyeing the beef hearts at my local grocery store for some time, wondering how it tastes. (The grocery store I go to sells a lot of “unusual” things.)
I pulled up a recipe while standing there to see what came up, and here I am!
I am really glad I found your website, because wow! These recipes all look fantastic!
I will be back for that ox tail recipe and many more.
Thank you for sharing!
Vered DeLeeuw says
You're very welcome, Michelle! I hope you enjoy these recipes.
Mark Grady says
As a Brit , I've always added diced spuds, carrots, parsnips, sliced onion, and finely chopped mushrooms.
Vered DeLeeuw says
Sounds delicious, Mark!
Nona says
Wanting to find something other than liver to enjoy for high nutrient content, I was delighted to "meet" this recipe. I decided to give it a whirl. Glad I did!
I used fresh, chopped oregano (not dried) and fresh garlic (not garlic salt). I used a little tooooo much beef broth (won't make that mistake next time). Lots of chopped parsley made this really delicious when served.
Noting other cooks' comments, next time I'll probably try using mushrooms and thinly sliced onion.
Thank you for presenting this recipe and -- especially -- for the detailed, CLEAR, well-written directions.
Vered DeLeeuw says
I'm so glad you enjoyed this recipe! Thank you very much for the review.
Kelsey says
This is a great recipe! The heart turned out perfect.
Vered DeLeeuw says
So glad you enjoyed it, Kelsey!