Beef Heart Braised in Sour Cream Sauce

Cooking method

1. Step 1:

   

   How do you braise beef heart in sour cream? It's a very simple, budget-friendly dish. Start by gathering the ingredients on the list. You can use fresh or frozen heart. Fresh is preferable, of course, but it isn't always easy to find. I had a frozen heart, already cut into a few pieces, which I thawed on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator. Use sour cream of any fat content.

2. Step 2:

   

   Rinse the beef heart well, cover it with water, and let it soak for 2 hours to draw out all the blood. If there's a lot of fat on the heart, you can trim it off.

3. Step 3:

   

   Then drain the water and cut the heart into small pieces.

4. Step 4:

   

   Peel the onion and slice it into half-moons.

5. Step 5:

   

   Finely chop the herbs. Besides parsley, use whatever fresh herbs you like — dill, cilantro, and so on. A mix of herbs tastes especially good.

6. Step 6:

   

   Peel the garlic and finely chop it, or press it.

7. Step 7:

   

   Heat the vegetable oil in a skillet and add the chopped heart and onion. As it braises, the onion softens the meat fibers, making them more tender and aromatic.

8. Step 8:

   

   Pour 200 ml (about 3/4 cup) of water into the skillet and bring it to a boil over high heat, skimming off the foam. Once you've skimmed off all the foam, lower the heat and simmer the heart at a gentle boil, covered, for 1–1.5 hours, depending on the size of the pieces. You can add the onion after skimming the foam, or leave it out entirely.

9. Step 9:

   

   While the heart simmers, combine the sour cream with the remaining water and the flour, stirring thoroughly until smooth. Diluted this way, the sour cream won't curdle into lumps — instead you get a smooth, tasty sauce. If you want more sauce, increase the water and sour cream by half.

10. Step 10:

    

    Season the heart with salt and pepper. Add other spices to taste if you like — a special offal seasoning blend, bay leaves, allspice, and so on.

11. Step 11:

    

    Pour the sour cream mixture into the skillet and stir thoroughly. Simmer over low heat for another 8–10 minutes, until the sauce thickens.

12. Step 12:

    

    Add the garlic and parsley to the skillet. Warm everything together, stirring, for a couple of minutes.

13. Step 13:

    

    Take the finished heart off the heat. Serve it with any side dish. Enjoy!