Beef Heart in the Slow Cooker

Cooking method

1. Step 1:

   

   Gather your ingredients. Fresh, unfrozen heart works best. Use medium carrots and onion. You can swap the tomato paste for tomato sauce or canned tomatoes in their own juice. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and add any favorite spices you like.

2. Step 2:

   

   The beef heart should be fresh, with no off smell and an even, healthy color, free of thick membranes and large veins. Rinse it under running water and pat it dry. Trim off all the fatty bits and clean out the blood vessels thoroughly. Cut the meat into medium cubes.

3. Step 3:

   

   Peel and chop the carrot and onion. Pour the vegetable oil into the slow cooker insert and sauté the vegetables on the "Fry" setting for a few minutes. Add the cubed heart to the vegetables.

4. Step 4:

   

   Fry everything together for a few minutes, until the meat changes color.

5. Step 5:

   

   Stir the tomato paste with a little water and pour it into the insert — the liquid should come about halfway up the meat. Season with salt and pepper to taste and stir. Switch to the "Stew" setting and braise everything together for about two hours.

6. Step 6:

   

   The finished heart is tender with a firm texture. Serve it with any side you like — rice, buckwheat, or potatoes. We had ours with mashed potatoes. Pickles are a great match for organ meats.