I ate heart and you should too.

Have you ever watched Iron Chef or any of those other cooking shows where they bring out  a secret ingredient that is usually a bit bizarre?  Or I should say a little bizarre to the average American guy sitting on his couch watching cooking shows.  They’ve brought out theme ingredients such as river eel and blowfish, both of which are major American delicacies and inspire such thoughts as “what the…” or “how the heck…”

I had such thoughts go through my own mind last night when it came to our own personal dinner menu.  Unfortunately I wasn’t set up in the Kitchen Stadium, just my humble kitchen.  And there was no animated Japanese announcer, just my 18 month old baby girl singing ring around the rosey, mainly just “ashes, ashes, ashes”.

However there was a chef present.  He may have not been an Iron Chef, perhapsan Aluminum Chef at best, but he was present.  He was me..or I…I’m fairly certain it’s me.   Semantics be damned in this Aluminum Chef competition.  No amount of  questioning the English language could prepare me for what was next.  Out of our freezer came the not so secret ingredient, it was (insert drumroll here) pork heart!

You see, we went halfsies on a half pork share a few months back and our freezer has been steadfastly stocked with an assortment of pastured pork products.  I had ground pork, breakfast sausage, skin, roasts, pig feet, pork chops, half a pig face (ya that’s a thing), and the aforementioned heart.  

We’ve gone through most of the sexy stuff: the ground pork, chops, roasts.  All thinking that ONE DAY we’d get to the heart and face and we’d deal with then.  Yesterday became that day.  I had all the same thoughts most of you have now. “Ewwww” “uhhhhhh” “how do I even…?”

I did what we all need to do from time to time, ask the experts.  I asked my chef and farmer friends on the best way to prepare the heart.  It was interesting how simple they made it all sound but you have to trust the experts and their sage wisdom right?

I got out the ol Giada knife and cast iron skillet and went to work.  I cut up some rosemary from the from the front yard, minced some garlic, and butterflied the heart.  Sprinkled on a little salt and pepper seasoning and threw some bacon grease in the hot skillet.  I think its important to note here that there is no better sound than fat hitting a warm pan.  I gave the heart a little sear on each side than put into the oven for a good 7-8 minutes to cook.

All in all, it was a nice little dish.  I’m proud to say I cooked it AND ate it.  Add it to the list of organ meats I’ve made.

First liver, now heart.

So that’s my story.  But what does it mean for you?  Organ meats are nutritional powerhouses and tend to be cheaper than their more mainstream counterparts.

Take heart for example.  It is full of phosphorous, zinc, thiamine, folate, selenium, CoQ10, and B-vitamins.  It’s cheaper than other cuts because quite frankly, not many people have heart first on their list.  My favorite farm, The Barry Farm, sells pork heart for $4/ lb compared to the the $8 for ground pork.

Organ meat is especially good for pregnant ladies so all my pregnant friends, start frying up some hearts.  Think of organs like nature’s multivitamin.

To wrap it all up in a pretty little package, buy organ meats.  It’s cheaper, more nutritious, and better overall for all parties involved.  You get healthier, the farmer you purchase from gets to sell some of their more unpopular items, and none of the animal goes to waste!  Don’t be intimidated or scared of things you are unfamiliar with.  That’s where the good stuff is. 😉

PS. Funny thing, Pinterest doesn’t have any pins for pork heart recipes.