Not unlike the shanks, too many deer hearts go to waste. It's a damn shame because it is surely the most delicious organ meat on the planet. I stopped wasting them years ago and have tried cooking them many different ways. Everything from marinating, grilling, sous vide/searing to pan frying in various ways. I had an epiphany sitting in a treestand a couple of days after killing this doe last Tuesday that was inspired by a sauteed Chicken of the Woods recipe I got from The Forager Chef Alan Bergo. I was going to post pics of this in the "What's for Dinner" thread, but this was so phenomenally good that I figure it deserves it's own thread. If you have never bothered to bring home a nice fresh deer heart, do yourself a favor and take the time to eat one. You will never let the Coyotes have another,
I seared the thinly sliced heart in beef tallow for about 1 minute on high heat, removed from skillet, turned down heat to medium, added about 3/4 cup each of sliced Poblano peppers (the last from the garden) and yellow onion (frenched), cooked until the onion was turning translucent and browning on the edges, threw in about 1 1/2 tsp. chopped fresh garlic (one large clove) and three sprigs of fresh rosemary. Let this cook while stirring a bit for about one minute, then poured in 1/4 cup of bourbon to deglaze for a few seconds then added 2T butter. Once the butter melted and I had everything combined, I added the seared heart back to the pan, tossed to combine, heated for a couple of minutes and turned it off. Served on a bed of Rosemary rice with fresh baguette Nancy baked today for this dinner. I'm not one to blow my own horn, but this is one of the best venison dinners I have ever put on the table. This is next level cooking for me. I'll be lucky if I can ever make it this good again, but I really have to kill another deer or two soon so I can try.
Pan seared deer heart with peppers, onions, rosemary, and whisky butter.
I seared the thinly sliced heart in beef tallow for about 1 minute on high heat, removed from skillet, turned down heat to medium, added about 3/4 cup each of sliced Poblano peppers (the last from the garden) and yellow onion (frenched), cooked until the onion was turning translucent and browning on the edges, threw in about 1 1/2 tsp. chopped fresh garlic (one large clove) and three sprigs of fresh rosemary. Let this cook while stirring a bit for about one minute, then poured in 1/4 cup of bourbon to deglaze for a few seconds then added 2T butter. Once the butter melted and I had everything combined, I added the seared heart back to the pan, tossed to combine, heated for a couple of minutes and turned it off. Served on a bed of Rosemary rice with fresh baguette Nancy baked today for this dinner. I'm not one to blow my own horn, but this is one of the best venison dinners I have ever put on the table. This is next level cooking for me. I'll be lucky if I can ever make it this good again, but I really have to kill another deer or two soon so I can try.
Pan seared deer heart with peppers, onions, rosemary, and whisky butter.
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