Anticuchos de corazón – Peruvian beef heart skewers
Beef heart: most people flinch away in disgust, but everyone that’s ever eaten anticuchos knows better
The streets of Peru are teeming with anticucheras, tiny streetfood stalls happily grilling away with local for them, exotic for us ingredients bursting with flavor.
The most famous streetside snack is anticuchos de corazón, skewers with beef heart flavored with an aji chili marinade. That kind of pepper is hard to find this far from Peru, but you can replace it with smokey chipotle powder or peppers in adobo sauce.
Beef heart is easy to find in most places, so only substitute that if you’re a really picky eater. The texture of the heart in this spicy marinade with a refreshing green sauce will surprise you. In the best way.
The ingredients:
1 beef heart, around 28 ounces
Marinade
- 3⅓ fl oz (100 ml) soy oil
- 1⅔ fl oz (50 ml) red wine vinegar
- 2 tbsp dried oregano
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tbsp chipotle peppers, dried and ground
- 1 tsp molasses
- salt to taste
Peruvian green sauce
- 1 jalapeño
- 1 bunch of cilantro
- ¼ bunch of basil
- 2 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 tbsp fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
- 1 tsp honey
- 1 clove of garlic
- 1 tbsp sunflower oil
- juice of 1 lime
- 4½ oz mayonnaise
- salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Gear:
- BBQ with cast iron grill grate
- Skewers
- (Hand) Blender
How to make:
Duration: prep 1 day
Cooking about: 1 hour
Clean the heart by cutting away the fleeces and tendons with s small, sharp knife. Cut the heart into half inch cubes. For the marinate, simply combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl. Add the beef heart to the marinate and make sure it’s thoroughly coated. Refrigerate overnight. The next day, divide the heart evenly over multiple skewers.
For the Peruvian green sauce, combine all ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend until the sauce is smooth. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Prepare a BBQ for direct grilling and heat to 180 °C (356 °F). Grill the beef heart skewers until the meat is nicely browned on all sides. Serve with the Peruvian green sauce.
