Ever tried heart?

To me, heart is probably the most under-rated part of an animal. Many disregard it and throw it with the rest of the offal. I used to as well, until I saw a recipe in a book and tried it. Now I’ll always keep it where practical. It’s got more protein, Phosphorous, Zinc and B-Vitamins than venison itself, why not give it a go? You will get some funny looks from your family cooking it up as well as getting called Bear Grylls, but that just means more for me! This is how I go about it:
Separate the heart from the lungs. Try leave it in the pericardium if you can (layer of fat around the heart). This will just stop dirt and other contaminants getting on the heart until its in the fridge. This usually works by cutting through the arteries and vena carva (bits at the top). Once you’ve got it home, chuck it in the fridge to cool it down. You can now cut out the pericardium.
Before you want to cook it, cut it open and pull all the blood vessels out and cut out some of the white membrane on top of the meat. This will only be chewy. It needs a bit of perseverance to get all the stuff off, but you get a knack for it. A sharp knife really helps. Then put the meat in a bowl of salt water overnight. This helps get all the blood out of the heart, which makes it taste hellishly strong.
The next day take it out and marinate in a bit of beer, or you can just fry it. Fry it up in butter, cook it the whole way through and serve with whatever you like. I would say a Fallow deer heart would serve about two people for a full portion of meat, and Red deer is likely four people.
Some people can’t get past the fact their eating heart, but reality is its no different to any other meat. It’s a lot less strong than liver. Give it a try if you haven’t!

---