Have you ever tried beef heart? This slow cooker beef heart recipe is the perfect place to start! You’ll love it! After all, the heart is just another muscle.
I love using inexpensive cuts of beef. One of the best ways to keep the meat bill down is to use cheap, less popular cuts and organ meats. This slow cooker beef heart recipe makes it easy, and, it’s a naturally gluten-free recipe!
We don’t actually sell our beef hearts, because heart is Gabriel’s favorite part. He sells the choice steaks and eats the heart. Is that backward, or what? But really, heart is a muscle, just like other meat, it’s not funny tasting like liver, so it’s not a big leap from using beef roast, to beef heart in recipes.
Having kept the hearts from several cows last year, I was able to do some experimenting and find our favorite ways to cook it. This recipe has withstood the test of time, and we’ve made it again and again with each beef we process. We even purchase beef hearts from our friends after they process their own!
Not surprisingly, this slow cooker beef heart recipe took the top spot. I love being able to throw ingredients into a pot, and let it babysit itself until I’m ready to serve it for dinner.
Hearts tend to have quite a bit of fat on them, which you can save and render into homemade tallow. I usually freeze the fat, and save it until I’m ready to render a larger batch of tallow.
This slow cooker beef heart dish is perfect served over a bed of rice, to soak up the juices from cooking in the crockpot, and then top it with homemade sauerkraut. We like to serve with a side of salad, or steamed broccoli and thyme roasted sweet potatoes.
Slow Cooker Beef Heart Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 beef heart (approximately 1 pound)
- 1/4 t. pepper
- 1/2 t. salt
- 1/4 t. garlic powder
- 1/2 t. dried oregano
- 1/2 an onion, sliced
Instructions
- Prepare beef heart by trimming fat, and dicing into one inch cubes. How much time you want to take to devein is up to you. I find that once the meat is cooked, the veins are pretty much indistinguishable, so I don’t like waste much time on this part.
- Toss into slow cooker, and sprinkle with pepper, salt, garlic powder, and oregano. Stir to coat beef cubes.
- Top with slices onions.
- Cook on high for 4-6 hours.
- Serve over steamed rice, or quinoa
, or for a more low carb dish, riced cauliflower.
- Enjoy!
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Jay says
When you add the heart to the crockpot is there any sort of cooking fat/liquid you would add? Ive never used heart before so I wasn’t sure if it would excret any sort of liquid on its own, I’d hate for it to stick to my crock pot haha.
Elise says
No, I didn’t add any, The juices from the heart collect in the crockpot as it cooks, and I’ve found that to be enough without getting soggy. 🙂
Diane says
I recently read that in some cultures (hunter-gatherer types, I think), people used to eat the organs and discard the muscle meats, or feed them to their dogs. So they would think we were weird for eating dog food! Also, I just read a Chinese saying, “Eat the part you want to heal.” Seems like we Americans should be eating a LOT more heart! Thanks for the recipe–it sure looks easy! But I think I’ll need a BIT more than 1/2 tsp. salt. =) I use good salt and am pretty generous with it. Or is this a meat that shouldn’t be salted till afterward, to avoid affecting the texture? I’ve read such contradictory things about that.
Elise says
Hi Diane! So interesting! I wonder if they preferred the more pungent flavor of the organ meats, because if you think about it, their food would probably have otherwise been pretty bland!
I tend to salt pretty lightly so that everyone can salt to their own preferences afterward. My husband and I like fairly heavy salt, but the kids not so much, so use as much salt as you prefer!
I have read that adding salt directly to raw meat can cause it to be dry, but I haven’t actually experienced that personally.
Shasta Michaels says
That is correct….in our culture we have gotten away from eating organ meats but they contain a lot of nutrients we don’t get from muscle meat, which only offers protein for the most part. And I have read the same thing, that you should eat the part you wish to heal in your own body. Anyway, I recently purchased beef heart and want to start eating foods with more nutrition and this recipe looks pretty good to me, will be trying it soon!
Lorien says
Late response… my grandmother always prepared liver and other organ dishes with grits.. today I prepared Cow Heart in a mushroom and onion brown gravy cooked tender.. my Kids Loves it… until I told them it was cow heart????
Lisa says
Years ago I copied a recipe from a friends crock-pot cookbook on a pickled heart… It was very tasty and very close to the pickled heart my father would make…. He would also cook the beef tongue in a pickling spice and then skin the tongue after it was cooked & slice these for sandwich meat…. I’ve since lost this recipe and have looked for years for it with no such luck… Never thought of it till I saw this post… Maybe I can find it again on the Internet… Thanks!!!
Abby says
I have found a tongue recipe like that in a cookbook called Long Way On A Little
Miss Vicki says
Lisa did you ever find that pickled heart recipe? I’d love for you to share it. Thanks. I’d like any recipes like that… You mentioned pickled tongue? Please share.
Wayne says
No liquid?
Elise says
Nope. Although it won’t hurt to add it, your finished dish will be a bit more soggy if you do.
Von says
These are phenomenal! I buy these all of the time, since they are super cost efficient, yet have the taste of a nice cut piece of steak. They have a very light liver taste, which is overpowered by the nice rich buttery taste of any steak. I cook my beef hearts in pasta dishes from pasta salads, yak (lo mein), to gravy with egg noodles and in a tomato sauce. ????????
Elise says
Sounds delicious! thank you for sharing. 🙂
Annabell Bell says
I love beef heart. My mother used to cook it when I was a child in the 40’s/50’s and her recipe included concentrated orange juice. She sliced the meat very thinly, and called it Mock Duck – much nicer than the other Mock Duck recipes which used sausagemeat or pulses.
I use my slow cooker, thinly sliced heart with onions, carrots and slices of whole orange, oregano and thyme.
Elise says
That sounds delicious! Thanks for sharing. 🙂
Connie says
There is no added liquid in this recipe?
Connie says
Disregard my question I didn’t see the other comments thank you.
Tom says
Easy and delicious, moving towards hour 6 on high. The meat gets increasingly tender and the broth more flavorful. Thank you
anne glasser says
I added 1/2 water and put it into the slow cooker…. Boy, is it smellin’ good! Thank you!!
Lisa says
I’ve been making beef heart roast for quite a while &my family really likes it.
Here’s the recipe:
–beef heart (No need to cut off fat or Devin! It’s just a waste of time, as it All melts away in the cooking process)
–2 Tbs. Beef bullion
–1 tsp. of each: seasoned salt, garlic powder &
onion powder.
–1/2 tsp. of pepper
Put all in crock pot. Cover with water. This will not make it soggy, but tender! Let it cook on Low for 6 hours.
**I like to add potatoes to the beef heart. ( I love stewed potatoes!)
Brett says
I am trying this this tomorrow!
Kathleen says
I may have to try this with the hearts I’ve stashed in our freezer! I didn’t know what to do with them but this seems simple.
ER Jo says
I find all of these comments quite humorous as my father was a hunter and every winter went deer hunting. The one part of the deer I look forward to eating was the deer heart. Most of my friends thought it was gross but a sandwich of deer heart was my absolute favorite. I don’t believe my mother did much fussing to cook it, may have even just boiled it, I’ll have to ask her. We bought several pounds of beef at our local farmers market from a rancher, in the assortment of cuts was the heart. I look forward to trying out your slow cooker recipe with mushrooms added-a must!
Marvin Raber says
how long do I cook it if I have 4.5 pounds of heart? is it still 4-6 hours?
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Elise says
I would say six hours should be enough. As long as the internal temperature reaches 160º, you’re good.
Phil says
I’ve done beef and deer heart this way by following this recipe. My favourite dish by far!
★★★★★
Phil says
I like it better at the four hour mark but I add liquid.
Elise says
Yay! So glad you like it!
Marilyn Balding says
Making this now! I’m looking forward to talking it to church tomorrow. Thanks for an easy recipe!!
★★★★★
Liz says
I am making this recipe for the first time. My husband bought 1/4 beef and we got the hurt in some liver. I have never cooked either , and I’m wondering if you have some recipes for liver as well.
Elise says
Sadly, I don’t. I still haven’t found one the whole family likes.
Joetta Serio says
I found that replacing the oregano with cinnamon makes a much nicer taste in sandwiches. I’m not a fan of oregano except in
Tomato sauce . I’m trying adding turmeric this time for its reported healing properties and will let you know how it comes out.
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Salina says
I love beef heart. Going to try this simple preparation. Thank you. Also, beef heart is the highest food and CoQ 10 ( I may not be spelling that right ) . Beef heart is good for out heart
★★★★★
Regina says
I am gone for most of the day, so a 6 hours on high might be difficult. How long do you cook it on low?
Elise says
I’d say at least 8 hours, probably 10.
Carla says
Looking forward to trying this. Do you add water to the pot?
Dale Ruthenberg says
Excellent way to cook beef heart. I grew up eating organ meats as my father was a butcher. I was exposed to a lot of different meats and this recipe rates as one of my favorites for beef heart.
Janet Marunde says
How much water do you use?
Jonukas says
You shouldn’t need any. I don’t add water when cooking beef roasts or whole chickens in the slow cooker. I haven’t tried slow cooking beef heart, but definitely intend to.
Patricia Sillix says
Why won’t you answer the question about whether or not to add water and how much?
roj says
how much water
John says
Another recipe I read used a cup of beef broth/stock per heart, approx 1.5 pounds, which is kinda small for a beef heart. I would likely stick to that same measurement of a cup per heart provided it’s been somewhat prepped and rough cut for cooking with the onions. Speaking of which I would usually put those onions on the bottom and layer the heart over the top.
rebecca L owens says
I have never tried heart until last night. Used this recipe, and couldn’t have been more impressed with the flavor and texture. I cooked it for 5 hours on high. I followed the recipe exactly, and it came out awesome! We will definitely make this again!
★★★★★
Elise says
That’s great! Thanks for sharing.
Lydia says
HI! I am trying out new recipes and I noticed this one. I am new to using a slow cooker, so my question is this doesn’t call for any liquid? Thank you
Mark Grenyer says
What is going on here? Beef cubes are not mentioned in the list of ingredients.’Stir to coat the cubes’ suggests some liquid is involved – what liquid? None is mentioned.
‘Top with slices onions’: top with sliced onions?
John says
…. First step is to slice heart into cubes… The cubes will be moist enough for the spices to stick. And top with sliced onions could possibly be anymore self explanatory.
Hate to come off as rude but it’s like you spent more time commenting than actually reading the very concise recipe.
Linda says
An ideas of what I can do with all the fat and silver skin I trimmed off the heart?
Colleen says
Render the fat into lard and freeze the silver skin as bonus connective tissue to throw into your next batch of bone broth or meat stock
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jennie A misinay says
simmer till soft and add bird seed. shape to fit your feeder. or you can just shape and freeze, the birds seem to love the scraps of meat. if you don’t like feeding birds, it is always a lovely treat cut up and cooked to add to your dog or barn cats food. i am sure they appreciate it, in the winter, just as much as the birds.
Tatiana says
Hello,
Do you add any water to the recipe or oil to the heart? I started cooking with the crackpot and had things burn at the bottom at times, and worry that maybe it is self-explanatory here.
cerezaxoxo says
why would you trim the fat?
Editha Cayanan says
mine, i didn’t trim the fat. My first time cooking beef heart. I learned a lot from this website. Thanks! once mine is done, i’ll share it to this website. I’m just now boiling 2 beef hearts with salt, garlic, while peppercorns and ginger, to remove bad taste, and to removed the bad smell, i don’t like the smell. When tender already, i’m planning to sauté with onion and garlic, and put some seasoning. and veggie like green or red pepper, carrots and a can of green peas. i’ll see how things work.
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Mariane Culek says
Is this dry? I haven’t made heart in years but I always heard you had to be careful to not dry it out
Elise New says
In my experience, no. I’ve had some older hearts that were difficult to get tender, but never had one get dry.
jennie A misinay says
in the 40 years that i have been preparing and trying different recipes for beef heart, this has to be the best. if not to say the easiest.(if i can keep my husband from lifting the lid to take a sniff). i love to modify recipes, sometimes with success, other times i get the response “can’t you leave well enough alone”. i want to try adding baby bella mushrooms. what do you think? should they go in at the start or later on? can’t wait to experiment! i do like the peas and quinoa. thanks for a great recipe. and yes you can teach an old dog new tricks!
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