cooking ox heart?

[Stella]

someone mentioned yesterday that they cooked up some ox heart and it was the most tender tasty meat, similar to

Anyone else tried it?

I tend not to eat much fresh meat as it is expensive, also I rarely eat red meat as I was brought up a veggie and it just isn't on my stomach radar, but I am rather tempted to try this.

[Sophia]

am not sure how one could go from eating meat rarely to eating offal and enjoy it. The texture is not 'meaty' usually and if cooked too long will be rubbery and unpleasant.

Personally I haven't tried ox heart but have eaten liver from time to time. If it's in a sauce with other things that provide more texture I will eat it. Otherwise I don't eat it as I am fussy. On the other hand offal can be high in protein so you can eat a small portion and still get lots of nutrition.

[Stella]

I guess that does sound slightly odd. I do eat fresh meat just not often, and I wouldn't know what to do with red meat. I am used to cutting up the hearts and they don't creep me out now.

Heart is just another type of muscle, I wouldn't be keen to eat liver or kidney, which are different tissue altogether. (A flatmate once cooked a pig kidney - the flat smelled of hot concentrated urine for ages! urgh)

[Joshlikesfish]

My ex girlfriends dad once made this spicy rice meal with chicken bits and chicken liver !drool:

Her dads cooking is what I miss the most about her :lol:

I've thought about trying beef heart. Wouldn't really know what to do with it. The internet suggests grilling it though

[Sophia]

Usually you slice offal thinly and fry quickly so they retain their tenderness but still get cooked. The italians also do a creamy marsala sauce for liver which is yummy too. You could also cut it finely and add to meat for the innards of a pie, another way to eat cheap meat but not feel like you were eating offal. It definitely has a different taste to meat. Chopped parsley is a good accompaniment to offal.

[firefish]

I haven't tried ox heart but absolutely love cooked sheep hearts. Really nice meat - especially cold on sandwiches !drool:

[blueether]

do it

Ox heart is one of the best meats that created. Get it fresh and slice into about 10-15mm thick steaks and cook as such, lightly salted and peppered.

Liver is also very nice, if fresh and not over cooked.

[ally07]

Once you've gone through heart, take the next step and have tongue. Don't knock it till you've tried it! Take any beef stew recipe and replace the beef with chunks of tongue (you'll need to skin the top layer off first though - not pleasant!); stew for 2-3 hours minimum and add 1 bottle of Guiness per litre of stock added. The most tender stewed meat you will ever eat in your life - guaranteed.

Alternatively, just slice it real thin, skewer it, salt&pepper and quick grill on the barbie.. !drool:

[spoon]

the thought of eating something deemed as "offal" is revolting to me but then i love pate which is normally chicken liver , i will eat a steak and kidney pie and have eaten lambs fry. also revolting i have friends that are deep sea fishermen and will eat a frozen orange roughy fillet like an ice-block :-?

[ally07]

also revolting i have friends that are deep sea fishermen and will eat a frozen orange roughy fillet like an ice-block :-?

:sick: I saw a recent episode of Million Dollar Catch which showed one of the ship captains eating raw octopus. He just cut a chunk of live octopus, put it between two slices of bread and chowed down. It is as gross as you picture it in your mind now. *shudder*

[repto]

was reading an old alison holst cookbook the other day and she recommended slicing oxheart diagonally to give the appearence of steaks,bang it with a meat hammer to modify the texture to make it more like steak note,don`t tell your geusts what cut of steak they are eating!

[ally07]

was reading an old alison holst cookbook the other day and she recommended slicing oxheart diagonally to give the appearence of steaks,bang it with a meat hammer to modify the texture to make it more like steak note,don`t tell your geusts what cut of steak they are eating!

lol, well, considering the amount of movement the heart undergoes, you'd think it would be the most "tenderised".. Just my hypothesis! :roll:

[Caryl]

Beef heart tends to constrict and solidify when cooked, rather than turn into loose stringy bits like other meats.

They make good kebabs according to a recipe I found...

Marinated overnight in ground cumin, garlic, chilli and oregano mixed with olive oil and red wine vinegar, the thinly sliced heart is then concertinaed onto wooden skewers before being grilled over hot coals.

Cooked quickly like this means the meat has little opportunity to constrict and toughen up. The light charring of the barbecued meat adds a warm, deep savoury note and the marinade, pepped up with the sharpness of vinegar, really lifts the dish.

After 5-6 minutes over hot charcoal, the meat was picked off the skewer onto a hot flatbread and served with rocket, a few spoonfuls of mayonnaise and the leftover marinade cooked down with some tomato puree.

And here is a recipe for spiced ox heart...

serves 6

1 kg (2 lb) ox heart, hard parts and sinews removed, cut into cubes

1 tbsp cooking oil

3 tbsp (1 1/2 oz) 40 g butter

2 large onions, chopped

1 clove garlic, crushed

2 tsp salt

freshly ground black pepper to taste

375 ml (12 fl oz) meat stock

2 bay leaves or lemon leaves

3 whole cloves

1/2 tsp each Mixed Spice (All Spice / Pumpkin pie spice) and grated nutmeg

2 tbsp lemon juice

4 tbsp plain flour

method

1. Brown meat in heated cooking oil and butter in a heavy-based saucepan.

2. Add onion and garlic and saute until onion is translucent. Season with salt and pepper.

3. Heat meat stock and add to meat together with remaining ingredients except lemon juice and flour.

4. Cover with lid, reduce heat and simmer for 2 1/2 to 3 hours or until meat is tender.

5. Remove bay leaves or lemon leaves and stir in lemon juice.

6. Thicken sauce with a flour and water paste.

[Sophia]

Stella did you take the plunge and try it yet?