Ox Heart – Three Ways – Burgers , Salad and Stir Fry

My local butchers sell a lot of strange cow parts , feet and stomach are a bit beyond me a the moment. I struggle with looking at my own feet, not sure I want to give something I am going to eat a pedicure.  But heart and tongue I can work with , first up Ox Heart so big I needed two hands to hold it and super-cheap at just £1.50 for 1.5kilos. It takes a little preperation, easier than filleting a fish , harder than shaping a burger.

Remove any tubes and sinews, even the heart strings ( Yes, they really exist)  You can also remove the obvious fat and save it for basting if you want the meat leat in your recipe , but for burger or stewing it’s good to leave a little on.

My first stop was Odd Bits by Jennifer McLaglan  definitely worth a read if you are considering experimenting with offal. Her reccomendation with heart is to either cook it for a very short or very long time with recipes for kebabs , braises even a heart tartare. But for trying heart for the first time . You need to mix  it with beef mince , I used my standard burger recipe half Ox Heart and half mince.

Ox Heart and Beef Burgers

4 fat burgers
150g of beef mince
150g of Ox Heart
6 tbsp of breadcrumbs
1 medium onion finely chopped
1 clove of garlic
1/2 tsp of english mustard
Pinch of salt

1. Mix together the beef , onion and mustard
2. Divide into four and shape into burgers 1cm thick
3. Place in the fridge for at least a hour
4. Place under a  hot grill 8 minutes on one side 4 on the second.

The next time I created Ox Heart Salad to ensure I could really test the texture of the Heart, it’s amazingly delicate soft like fillet steak with a hint of liver but not overpowering. Grilled very quickly and served with a great ingredient just coming into season pepper watercress.

Ox Heart , Watercress and Onion Salad with Horseradish Dressing

200g of  Ox Heart finely sliced 1/4 cm
1 bunch of watercress
1 red onion finely sliced
Freshly ground pepper
3 tbsp of horseradish sauce
1/2 tsp of sunflower oil

1. Toss the Ox Heart in the oil and  the black pepper
2. Fry in a hot pan for 30 seconds , turn over and turn the heat off
3. Remove the heart to a plate to rest for 30 seconds this will allow the juices to run off ( this is more for presentation)
4. Scatter the plate with watercress , then scatter over the Ox Heart , onion slices and drizzle with horseradish sauce

Finally with heart still left it goes a long way Stir Fry Purple Sprouting Broccoli with Ox Heart

1 hanful of purple sprouting broccoli
100g of Ox Heart finely sliced
1 tsp of crushed red chilli
1 clove of garlic finely chopped
1 tbsp of oil
5 tbsp of soy sauce.

1. Soak some rice noodles in boiling water
2. Heat a frying pan add the oil , garlic and chilli
3. Finally add the purple sprouting and fry for a few minutes til softed
4. Finally add the Ox Heart , fry on both sides for a few seconds
5. Add the noodles and a large slosh of soy sauce