Beef heart is an offal rich in vitamins and beneficial microelements. Helps maintain the balance of these substances in the human body. The balance between the benefits and harms of beef heart depends on the quality of the meat and the frequency of consumption.

Chemical composition of beef heart

The product contains vitamins A, B1, B2, B5, B6, B9, B12, C, H. It also contains useful microelements such as:

• magnesium;
• potassium;
• zinc;
• phosphorus;
• sodium and calcium.

Nutritional value and calorie content of beef heart

The calorie content of beef heart per 100 grams is 96 kcal. This property makes the offal useful in diets. The nutritional value:

• 16 g proteins;
• 3.5 g fat;
• 2 g carbohydrates.

Benefits of beef heart

The beneficial properties of the product when used regularly lead to positive effects:

1. Strengthening the cardiovascular system. The zinc present in the composition promotes the formation of stronger heart muscles and blood vessel walls. And the properties of magnesium normalize heartbeat.
2. Regulation of mineral balance. Thanks to the combination of beneficial micro- and macroelements contained in the offal, the body is able to recover from illness in a shorter period of time. Mineral balance is maintained.
3. High stress resistance. The properties of B vitamins help a person cope with psychological stress more easily and prevent chronic fatigue syndrome.
4. Healthy appearance. The complex of beneficial vitamins and minerals strengthens nails and hair. Improves skin appearance and complexion.
5. Recovery and growth of muscle mass. Since the product is rich in proteins, consumption on a regular basis helps muscles grow and recover from damage.
6. Improving blood composition. The properties of iron increase the amount of hemoglobin and oxygen transport.
7. Good immunity. Vitamins C and B6, together with chromium, enhance the regenerating properties of tissues. The immune system becomes more stable - the human body can better resist infections and viruses. The healing of abrasions and cuts is also accelerated.
8. Improvement of the digestion process. Contains beneficial microelements that normalize the acid-base balance in the human body and speed up metabolism. The byproduct promotes favorable functioning of the digestive tract. Helps effectively combat intestinal disorders that can develop as a result of harm from vitamin deficiency.

Important! There are 140 mg of cholesterol per 100 g of beef heart, so you should not abuse it - it will be harmful.

Is beef heart good for weight loss?

Food made from beef heart is well suited for the diet, as the product is low in calories. A significant protein content will help you lose weight without reducing muscle mass. Only fat deposits are eliminated. The substances contained in beef heart, due to their properties, will benefit both women and men in the process of losing weight.

Beef heart in cooking

How to properly cook beef heart

The product is not often included in the regular diet, despite the fact that its properties allow the meat to be used as an ingredient in various tasty and healthy dishes. To avoid harm, before you start cooking, it is necessary to remove all layers of fat, large accumulations of blood vessels and blood clots. Sometimes the offal can be bought in stores already processed. In any case, the meat must be rinsed well under running water.

The next step in preparation is soaking. To do this, you need to slightly salt the ice water and leave the offal in it for 2–3 hours. After soaking is complete, cook for 1.5 hours. Thorough cooking will minimize possible harm.

Important! If the animal was old, then the heart must be soaked for at least 4–5 hours. You need to boil for 3 hours - otherwise the meat will be tough.

They are prepared either whole or cut into pieces. To enhance the taste of the dish, add onion rings or mushroom sauce. Vegetables are a good side dish, as the carbohydrates they contain balance the properties of beef heart proteins. This combination is optimal, benefits the digestive system and eliminates possible harm to health.

What can you cook from beef heart?

The healthy product can be consumed boiled, stewed, or fried. For dietary purposes, it is recommended to bake in the oven. Boiled offal is often used as an ingredient for snacks or salads. Can be used as a raw material for pate, filling for pies and pancakes. You also get delicious cutlets and goulash.

Beef heart broth, which is more effective than chicken broth, is popular among housewives. This additional medicinal product is beneficial only if the meat is lean. Fatty broth can be harmful.

How and how much to cook beef heart

In order for the consistency of the product to become similar to boiled tongue, it must be cooked for at least 4–5 hours. However, 2.5 hours is enough for the healthy offal to become soft enough and suitable for slicing or grinding in a meat grinder. This time will minimize possible harm.

Boiling steps:

1. Cut into several pieces and rinse thoroughly.
2. Soak in cool salted water for 2-3 hours.
3. Boil water in a convenient container and place the chopped pieces there.
4. After foam forms, remove it, reduce heat and cover the pan with a lid.
5. Cook for at least 2.5 hours.
6. 40–60 minutes before the end of the process, add salt, onion, bay leaf and black peppercorns to boiling water with offal.

Damage to beef heart and contraindications

Beef heart can bring both benefit and harm to a person. As a rule, it can have a negative impact on the body due to low-quality meat or violations of storage rules. Consumption of the product in excessive quantities can also cause harm - provoke kidney diseases, digestive disorders, increased hemoglobin levels and arterial hypertension.

There is another serious contraindication - individual intolerance, which occurs in a small number of people. Beef heart is not recommended for children, as it can lead to early intestinal problems. And then instead of benefit, harm will be done.

How to select and store beef heart

To prepare a tasty and healthy dish from offal, you must take into account that it must be fresh. It is recommended to purchase meat only from a reliable seller who does not neglect sanitation standards and observes all required storage conditions. It is best to give preference to young veal heart, the benefits and properties of which are significantly superior to the meat of an old animal. You should select a product according to the following characteristics:

• nice smell;
• no stains on the surface;
• red-brown color;
• elasticity.

Between refrigerated and frozen product, you should always choose the first option. Beef heart in this form does not lose its beneficial properties, but it cannot be stored in the refrigerator for more than two days.

Conclusion

The benefits and harms of beef heart depend primarily on the freshness and age of the animal. It is recommended to consume dishes from this product no more than 3 times a week. Then there will be no harm, and the beneficial properties of the heart will help maintain the balance of vitamins and microelements necessary for the human body.

Did you find this article useful?

Few people know that the heart (like the tongue) is considered a delicious offal. Preparing main courses from beef heart is not difficult, but they take quite a lot of time: the muscle tissue of the heart is quite elastic and dense. It can take about 3 hours to cook the offal, and when preparing a beef heart salad or a filling that requires this ingredient, it is usually boiled in advance. But you can serve boiled beef heart as an independent dish.

Despite the time commitment, goulash or stew from the heart will always be worth the effort. But there is no need to talk about the benefits of this meat - constantly working muscle contains a minimum of fat and a huge amount of protein substances, accumulates various microelements throughout the animal’s life. Dishes from the heart are nutritious and supply the body with iron and zinc, selenium, magnesium and other substances necessary for the human heart.

Before you put the pan with the heart on the fire, you need to prepare this offal for cooking:

• remove a thin durable film and excess fat from the surface;
• cut the heart into quarters lengthwise and soak it for 2-3 hours in cold water;
• rinse thoroughly and remove blood clots from the chambers;
• remove arteries and white films of valves inside the chambers.

Place the offal in a saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring quickly to a boil and skim off the foam. Reduce heat to low simmer and simmer for about 1 hour. After this, add whole carrots (100-150 g), onion (about 100 g), bay leaf and celery or parsley root to the broth.

Cook for another 1-1.5 hours with vegetables. At the end of cooking, add salt to taste and cook for another 10-20 minutes. Remove from heat and cool in broth. The finished heart can be used to prepare meat salads or used on sandwiches instead of sausage.

On the festive table, the boiled heart can be served in sliced ​​meat along with the tongue. Hot, with white sauce or sauce with horseradish, mustard and a side dish of mashed potatoes or rice, the heart can be served as a main course.

The broth left over from cooking is a very tasty and valuable product, into which some of the nutrients from the meat are transferred. You shouldn’t waste it: you can use it to make a wonderful soup with mushrooms or vegetables.

How to make beef heart salad?

Beef heart salad contains boiled heart. It should be prepared the day before to allow time to cook and cool.

For this mushroom salad you will need:

• ready heart - 500 g;
• turnip onion - 150 g;
• fresh carrots - 100-150 g;
• dried porcini mushrooms - 100 g;
• vegetable oil - 3 tbsp;
• vinegar - 2 tsp;
• mayonnaise - 150 g;
• salt, pepper, seasonings to taste.

Soak the mushrooms in advance and boil them in the same water, cool and chop as desired. Cut the onion into half rings and marinate about half of the amount received. Fry the rest of the onion and grated carrots until golden brown. Cut the heart into thin strips, add fried and pickled onions, season with mayonnaise and spices.

Boiled heart can be added to any salad where recipes call for meat or sausage. Elastic, juicy pieces will be an excellent replacement for them in any case.

Heh from the heart

Or you can make heh, a Korean beef heart salad. The specificity of this dish is that the meat is not boiled or fried, but marinated in vinegar, softening at the same time.

Cut 500 g of beef heart into strips and mix it with 5-6 tbsp. vinegar (9%), salt and black pepper powder. Marinate for 10-12 hours in the refrigerator. Squeeze out the liquid and place in a deep bowl.

Then add carrots grated on a special grater (about 150 g), onions cut into feathers (100 g), bell pepper and cucumber (150 g each) into thin strips. Press 3-4 cloves of garlic and ½ tsp through a press. ground red pepper. Pour 100 g of vegetable oil into the frying pan and heat it very hot. Pour over vegetables, stir, add 1 tbsp. soy sauce. Leave for 2-3 hours and serve.

Main courses: recipes with beef heart

There is nothing better than making goulash from the heart: the meat is stewed in a sour sauce and becomes soft quite quickly.

Need to take:

• heart - 500-600 g;
• onion - 100 g;
• flour - 2 tbsp;
• tomato paste - 2 tbsp;
• vegetable oil - 3 tbsp;
• salt, pepper, bay leaves to taste.

Chop raw beef heart and fry in vegetable oil. Add the onion and fry for 5 minutes along with the onion. Sprinkle the meat and onions with flour, mix well so that everything is evenly coated, add water or broth so that the meat is covered with liquid, and simmer over low heat for about an hour.

Add tomato paste, bay leaf, salt to taste and sprinkle with pepper. Simmer for another half hour and serve with a side dish of rice or mashed potatoes.

Cutlets

You can make minced meat from the heart and fry cutlets.

Both boiled and raw offal are suitable for them.

• heart passed through a meat grinder - 1 kg;
• onion - 150-200 g;
• raw egg - 2 pcs.;
• semolina - 2-3 tbsp;
• flour for breading;
• vegetable oil for frying cutlets;
• salt, pepper, spices.

Chop the onion and fry until transparent, mix with minced beef heart. Scramble the eggs with salt and pour into the minced meat. Add semolina, stir, adding spices to taste.

Leave the minced meat to sit, and then take it with a spoon and bread it in flour. Heart cutlets can be fried in the usual way in a frying pan or baked in the oven, topped with your favorite sauce, for which every housewife has recipes. You can serve them with potatoes and vegetables, rice, buckwheat and any other side dish of your choice.

Pate - a quick and healthy breakfast

This pate can be made only from the heart, or you can add other offal:

• heart, liver, lungs - 200 g or 600 g of heart (optional);
• onion - 150-200 g;
• carrots - 200 g;
• garlic - 2-3 cloves;
• hot chili sauce or adjika;
• dill or other greens;
• ground walnut - 150 g;
• salt, vinegar, spices - to taste.

Cut the offal into small pieces and simmer in a small amount of liquid until soft with carrots and onions.

Pass everything together with vegetables and liquid through a meat grinder with a fine grid. Add the remaining ingredients and stir. The pate can be stored in the refrigerator for several days and used for sandwiches or served at the holiday table in tartlets and as a separate dish.

Recipes for dishes prepared from beef heart by different peoples are very diverse. But the basic cooking techniques remain the same: you can boil, stew and prepare minced meat from the offal. By combining different combinations of dish ingredients and experimenting, you can get amazing results.

How to cook beef heart Beef heart is an offal of the first category, that is, in its nutritional value it is almost as good as meat, and in some aspects even surpasses it: for example, the heart has 1.5 times more iron and 6 times more vitamins B (B2, 3, 6,9 and 12) than in the beef itself. Many consider this offal to be heavy, but this is not entirely true: the heart contains 4 times less fat than beef, but the same amount of protein, many vitamins and minerals, and at the same time it is also low in calories (100 g of heart contains only 87 kcal). In addition to those already noted, the heart contains the following useful substances: vitamins A, E, C, PP, K, minerals such as magnesium (improves the functioning of the heart muscle; if it is deficient, a person is irritable), zinc, phosphorus, calcium, sodium, potassium. Doctors recommend eating this product to everyone who faces increased physical activity, as well as older people. Of course, in order to appreciate all the benefits of using this product, you need to choose it correctly. Let's say right away: a chilled beef heart contains many times more useful substances than a frozen one, which is usually cheaper, so it is better to choose the first option in stores (usually they are brought from local farms, and frozen ones from abroad). In appearance, this offal, like other meat products, should look fresh and smell like fresh meat, there should be no plaque or stains on it, and it should not be overly moistened. The color should be dark red, it’s good if there is some blood in the heart chambers - this indicates the freshness of the product, but the fat that covers the heart in the thickest part is usually removed along with the hard tubes before sale. In general, the structure of a fresh heart is very elastic; it should immediately take its previous shape after pressure. The weight of a beef heart is usually 1.5-2 kg; it is believed that the hearts of young cows and bulls are tastier. Before cooking, the heart must be thoroughly rinsed with running cold water, cut in half lengthwise, and all blood clots and vessels removed, as well as fat if you bought an unprepared product. It will be better if you soak it in cold water for 2-3 hours before starting cooking. But whether it needs to be boiled depends on the dish that will be prepared. Beef heart is cooked like this: pour cold water over it and boil for 1.5-2 hours, changing the water every half hour. You can prepare a lot of dishes from the heart, including baking it, frying it, stewing it whole or chopped. A variety of salads and snacks, pates, fillings for pies and other culinary products are usually made with boiled heart. Among the dishes that come perfectly from the heart are goulash, meatballs, chops, stews, etc. How to prepare these dishes? Very simple. Recipe for making goulash from beef heart You will need: 500g beef heart, 1 onion, 1 tbsp. tomato puree, vegetable oil and flour, pepper, salt, bay leaf. butter, tomato paste, garlic and salt to taste, roots for cooking the heart. Prepare the heart, cut it lengthwise, cover with cold water and boil, adding roots and onions, until tender. Finely chop the boiled heart into cubes, fry in oil, add chopped carrots, parsley root and onion, fry a little more together, add diced cucumbers (peeled and seeds removed), medium-sized chopped potatoes, pour in tomato paste, simmer until the potatoes are ready, add chopped and mashed garlic with salt, mix, sprinkle with herbs before serving. Recipe for beef heart stewed with mushrooms and ginger You will need: 500g beef heart, 50g dried mushrooms, 4 tbsp. vegetable oil, 2 tbsp. chicken broth, 1 tbsp. soy sauce, 1 tsp. chopped garlic and ground ginger, black pepper, salt.

Beef heart can be used wonderfully in the kitchen. In addition to its great usefulness, you can cook simply amazing dishes from it. They are perfect for the holiday table and everyday. Let's look at several options for what dishes you can prepare from beef heart.

Salad from the heart

Ingredients:

• 2 pieces of beef heart;
• 1 red onion;
• 2 tablespoons of soy sauce;
• 1 laurel;
• 5 grams of black peppercorns;
• salt - to taste;
• ground black pepper - to taste;
• ground red pepper (hot) - to taste;
• mayonnaise - to taste.

1. For the salad, the hearts need to be boiled. Before doing this, rinse them thoroughly and remove any blood clots. Boil the hearts in a small amount of water. You need to put salt, bay leaf and peppercorns in it. After they are cooked, cool them.

2.Now peel the onion and cut it into half rings. Pour soy sauce over them. You should marinate it until you think its spiciness is enough. Taste it.

3.Now squeeze out the onion from the soy sauce. Place it in a bowl. Cut the hearts and also add it to the onion.

4. Season everything with mayonnaise, add ground pepper. If necessary, add salt. All is ready.

Braised beef heart

Ingredients:

• 500 grams of beef heart;
• 1 tablespoon wheat flour;
• 1 onion;
• 2 tablespoons vinegar;
• 2 tablespoons of tomato puree;
• 1 teaspoon sugar;
• 2 bay leaves;
• vegetable oil.

1.Rinse the heart and cut it into pieces. Add salt and place in a heated frying pan. Fry.

2. At the end of frying, put the flour in the pan and fry for another two minutes.

3.Place the hearts in a saucepan, pour water into the frying pan and boil it. Then strain into the lined hearts and add another one and a half glasses of water. It should simmer over low heat for two or three hours.

4. Meanwhile, fry the chopped onion, then add tomato puree, sugar, vinegar, and bay leaves. Simmer everything until done.

5. Five minutes before the end of stewing the heart, add the onion and tomato to the saucepan. Taste for salt and add if needed. All is ready.

fried heart

Ingredients:

• 200 grams of beef heart;
• 1 teaspoon flour;
• 1 teaspoon melted butter;
• 2 teaspoons of tomato paste;
• ¼ onion head;
• parsley, garlic - to taste;
• bay leaf - to taste;
• ground red and black pepper - to taste;
• salt - to taste.

1.Wash and cut the heart into medium pieces. Add salt and pepper to taste, place in a frying pan, add chopped onion and fry everything together.

2.Add tomato paste and simmer a little.

3.After some time, drain the liquid from the pan. Fry the flour and put it in it. Stir.

4.Pour this sauce over the heart again and bring to a boil. Add garlic to taste and salt. At the end of cooking, add bay leaf. Sprinkle the parsley over the heart already laid out on plates. All is ready.

If you've never tried fried beef heart, now is the time to correct this culinary oversight. Contrary to popular belief that the dish tastes dry, we will debunk this myth, because we will marinate the beaten product for at least 4 hours in table red wine. That is why, after beating and marinating, the heart pieces will turn out perfectly fried, juicy and soft in taste. Well, if you want to supplement them with a small pinch of spices or seasonings, then the dish will sparkle with new flavor notes.

Be sure to remove fat from the heart, as it has a very unpleasant taste!

Ingredients

• 1/2 pcs. beef heart
• 1 tbsp. table red wine
• 20 ml cognac
• 40 ml vegetable oil
• 3 pinches dried thyme
• salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

1. First of all, we wash the heart, clean it of fat, carefully cutting it out, especially from the top of the offal. Then cut the half of the heart horizontally into two parts. We will remove films, cores, etc.

2. After this, placing each piece of the heart in a plastic bag, carefully beat it with a special hammer with small notches, trying not to turn the offal into a rag, so that it holds its shape. We will fight from both one side and the other. It’s very convenient to do this in a bag, as there will be no bloody splashes and you won’t have to wash the entire kitchen.

3. Then place the broken pieces of heart in a deep salad bowl and pour in wine. You can also use table white wine, but not sweet or semi-sweet wine! Leave the heart in the marinade for about 4 hours. During this time, tartaric acid will slightly stretch the fibers of the offal, making it softer and more tender, and the blood will remain in the marinade - the pieces of the heart will become lighter in appearance.

4. After the specified time, heat the vegetable oil in a frying pan, dry the broken pieces with paper napkins, add salt and pepper. Place in hot oil and fry for 2-3 minutes on each side over medium heat. Sprinkle with dried thyme. Pour cognac into the frying pan and steam the heart pieces for about 2-3 minutes in it so that the alcohol evaporates.