Fried Deer Heart

[doublej]

Hope none of ya'll are throwing this goodness out with the guts! Atleast throw it in the pile to be ground up!
Anyway take the heart out of the pericardium and then trim off all white fatty parts and slice into long thin slivers.
Soak in buttermilk or ice water whichever you prefer for a few hours or a day.
Dip in egg then flour and fry till golden brown! Season with salt/pepper/cajun seasoning

It is awesome on a sandwich with the works on it..And like most fried foods better the next day, just warm up in the oven rather than the microwave so it isn't soggy.

Don't knock it till you try it, you'll be aiming away from the heart from now on haha

 

[bowhunter1023]

I want to try the heart this year. Never done it. This way seems like as good as any to pop my deer heart cherry.

 

[Big_Holla]

We used to fry it up back when I was in college. My buddy talked us into doing it one year and boy was I surprised. Was also the first year we did deer liver too and that was even better. Problem with the deer liver was the next time we tried it we found a liver fluke in it about a third of the way in while several slices were frying. Might have to remember to do it this year if I get one.

 

[doublej]

Liver is great too but I like to use it for catfish bait!

 

[Bigslam51]

I ate the heart from a doe a shot last year. We fried it up and it was good.

 

[Joel]

I tried the heart from the last doe. Sliced it and threw it on the grill. Felt pretty manly eatin it but didn't care for the taste lol. It wasn't bad though honestly. Some seasoning or a good marinade might have made it better.

 

[Big_Holla]

Joel, give it a try frying it up with onions doing it the way DJ showed above!! I also recommend using butter to fry it up in LOL!! Just don't over cook it too!

 

[Redhunter1012]

I love deer heart. Most of my buddy's save theirs for me as well. I slice mine up and run it through my meat cuber to tenderize it a little. The like above, I flour it and fry in butter with some ton chachere's Cajun seasoning

 

[jagermeister]

My uncle always cooks deer heart the day of a kill, or the day after. It's frickin tasty!

 

[DJK Frank 16]

Never tried it, but from the sounds of it I've been missing out!

 

[Joel]

Frying it in flour sounds good, I will have to try that.

 

[Archertl]

Its realy good if you grind it up and use them in goetta sausage.

 

[Strother23]

Not for me lol.. I will probably never try it. No matter how I would cook it I would still know what it is

 

[bowhunter1023]

So this thread got me thinking about deer heart in a new light and I tried my first deer heart during gun season. I seasoned it lightly so I could taste the true essence and was pleasantly surprised. It definitely had a different texture, but was tasty nonetheless. Despite being a good meal, I knew I could do much better. This past weekend a few of us got together and I wanted to test my new concept on some folks I knew would both try it, and be honest with how it tasted. I'm here to tell you right now that what I made would convince ANYONE that deer heart is worth eating.

I had a heart from an adult doe and a button buck in the freezer. I thawed them on out Thursday night and put together a marinade that consisted of Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, Sriracha, garlic, salt, pepper and some of my uncle's homemade spicy pepper sauce. I sliced the deer heart fajita style and vacuum sealed in to mellow out for 48 hours. I have Ron's fish batter, so I took that and seasoned it up with more salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and a healthy dose of Cayenne pepper. When it was time to cook, I got my oil to 375, dredged the heart in the batter (dry) and fried the heart in 30 seconds intervals for a total of 3-4 minutes. Dip, remove, dip, remove. Same method I use for my fries if you have ever had those. I made a spicy garlic dipping sauce that was really unnecessary.

There is little that touches good backstrap, but this comes close. Very close...

 

[Big_Holla]

Definitely looks spicy there Jesse! Really need to remember to do this in the future and try a few different recipes like that.

 

[bowhunter1023]

Really wasn't as spicy as I expected. Adam even ate some and he is a spice sissy. lmao

 

[Redhunter1012]

That looks amazing. I still have 1 heart in the freezer. I think the recipe looks perfect. I also have 5 lbs of chicken gizzards and hearts that would be tasty to do as well

 

[Big_Holla]

Chicken livers would be GOOOOOD that way too!!

 

[Buckmaster]

I'll have to try it as I have 8 hearts in the freezer. Typically I grind up the hearts into my end of the year "meat grind fest" however this year I forgot about them.
Needless to say....I have 8 hearts I'm not sure what to do with. I may have to try Jesse's newfound recipe. My son and I would be the only consumers as I know the girls would not touch it.

I had a buddy named Larry once (but like Hoot's buddy...(he died in house fire)). Anyways, I worked with Larry and he made this amazing tasting pickled deer heart. All I can remember is a slight hint of vinegar and onion taste. There were many other herbs and spices within the canning jar as well. Larry brought a jar into work one day and we just simply ate it cold "as is" straight from the jar. The stuff was to die for no pun intended. I never was able to obtain Larry's recipe for said process or mixture because Larry's death was a sudden and surprise event. I did try to recreate the recipe once but my version tasted like shit. I hesitate to try (self made by me) pickled deer heart again but I know it can be great!

RIP Larry.

 

[bthompson1004]

Didn't get one this year, my mouth is watering after reading this...plus it's lunch time and I'm starving. thanks for the recipe!