Recipe-Beef Heart Stew

Looking for a daring but delicious dish perfect for these cold winter nights?  This one could come in handy - especially if you have a CSA membership where you sometimes get "extras," such as beef heart!  I had one in the freezer for a while, and finally decided to pull it out and find something to do with it. Image via WikipediaHowever, after looking around online, I couldn't really find anything that sounded like what I wanted. So I came up with my own, and it was AMAZING! (Sorry I forgot to take an actual picture, so this one isn't of my stew....)

Heart is typically considered an organ meat, but in reality, it is a muscle. Well prepared beef heart tastes like an extremely fine-grained, tender steak. It takes a bit of cooking time, but is really a pretty easy and simple recipe. Once you put it on to cook, you just need to stir it, and turn the heart from time to time.

Give it a try, and let me know how you like it!

Beef Heart Stew
Difficulty Level: Intermediate
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cook time: 3 hours
Serves: A lot! (Or 4-6 really hungry people)

Ingredients:
1 beef heart (2-3lbs)
2 TB flour
2 TB butter
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1 large onion
1 cup dry white wine
2 cups water (you can also use beef broth, but don't really need to, as this makes it's own amazingly flavorful sauce)
2 TB prepared brown (preferably whole grain) mustard
2 bay leaves
3-4 stalks celery
3-4 carrots
4 small (or 3 medium) potatoesSalt, to taste

Instructions:
1. Rinse the beef heart and trim off as much fat as you can. (Some recipes say to scrape off the outer membranes, but you can do this much easier after cooking if you like.) Coat with flour on all sides. Melt butter in large dutch oven and brown heart on all sides.
2. Add diced onion and saute for a couple of minutes.
3. Add white wine and stir well to get browned bits off the bottom of the pan (just push the heart around with the spoon to get it out of the way). Cook and stir a couple of minutes, until onions begin to soften.Then stir in mustard and bay leaves. Add broth. Stir well, sprinkle heart with black pepper, lower heat, and cover.
4. Cook covered for 2 hours, turning heart over every 1/2 hour.
5. Meanwhile, clean celery and chop into 1" pieces. Peel carrots and slice into 1" slices. Peel and dice potatoes (you can use a few more if you like - I love potatoes, and wished I had put in more than I did, as they picked up the flavor and were wonderful).
6. Add vegetables to pot, stir, and cover. Cook 1 more hour, stirring and turning heart about every 20 minutes.
7. Check heart for doneness. You should be able to slice off little pieces pretty easily, and when you bite it, it should be tender. Remove heart from pan, and let cool on cutting board for about 10 minutes. If there is any membrane or fat left on the heart, you should now be able to scrape it off easily with a sharp knife.
8. Cut heart in half lengthwise, then dice into cubes of desired size. (If it looks like too much meat, you can also slice some thinly and use later on salads, sandwiches, or in pita pockets with lettuce, tomatoes, and sour cream or other dressing - delicious!)
9. Return meat to pot, stir well, and add salt to taste. Serve hot, with crusty bread and a green salad.

A full-bodied red wine will go best with this rich, hearty, flavorful stew.