Mesquite Grilled Beef Heart Burrito
Be sure to read Millie’s post about the nutrient value of traditional foods!
Grass-fed beef heart is marinated and grilled over a mesquite fire before being simmered with tomatoes, garlic and smoky chipotles en adobo..
Mesquite Grilled Beef Heart Burrito
.
For the Chile con Queso Asadero
1 cup fresh whole milk
2 cups grated Asadero cheese (substitute Monterrey jack)
2 fresh Serrano chiles, thinly sliced
1 fresh red jalapeño chile, thinly sliced
sea salt
freshly-ground black pepper
Heat milk and chiles over a double boiler, stirring frequently until small bubbles begin to break the surface. Slowly whisk in grated cheese and stir until thick and creamy. Season to taste with salt and pepper, reduce heat and keep warm.
For the Burritos (serves 4)
1 fresh grass-fed beef heart
2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
3 plum tomatoes, cored and diced
1/2 Spanish onion, diced
juice of 1 fresh lime
1/3 cup melted beef tallow (substitute leaf lard or rendered bacon fat)
1 teaspoon Mexican oregano
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 1/2 teaspoons roasted paprika
2 chipotles en adobo
sea salt
freshly-ground black pepper
4 large flour tortillas
Trim fresh beef heart of any sinew and gristle, rinse with fresh water, cut into 3-inch chunks and place in a colander set over a sink and allow to drain 20 minutes. Transfer heart to a non-reactive bowl and marinate in melted tallow, garlic and lime juice while you prepare the grill.
Transfer marinated beef heart to a medium-hot mesquite fire and grill to medium rare as you would a steak. Transfer grilled heart to a cutting board and allow to cool enough to handle, then chop roughly. Kill the fire, but leave grill covered to retain heat.
Place 2 tablespoons of the tallow marinade in a heavy skillet over medium heat. As soon as the fat begins to shimmer, add the onions, garlic and chopped beef heart and sauté until the onions are translucent, about 4 minutes. Reduce heat and add tomatoes, oregano, paprika and chipotles en adobo. Add 1/4 cup water, adjust seasoning with salt and pepper, partially cover and cook until thickened, about 10 minutes.
To assemble, heat fresh tortillas on the grill or on a comal then heap filling in the center. Spoon a little cheese sauce over the filling, then fold envelope-style. Place burritos back on the grill, cover and heat 5 minutes. Transfer burritos to plates and spoon cheese sauce over the top. Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve with pickled cabbage or pickled red onions for a nice contrast to the richness of the burritos.
This post is part of Real Food Wednesdays!
Follow me on twitter
lynn byrd said,
November 18, 2009 at 8:22 pm
OMG I could so go for that right now. Exquisite photo, Ren.
Ren said,
November 18, 2009 at 8:39 pm
Thanks, darlin’ !
Ann Marie @ CHEESESLAVE said,
November 18, 2009 at 8:41 pm
Good Lord, Ren – this looks astoundingly good. This is REAL Texas food.
Ren said,
November 18, 2009 at 8:51 pm
Thank a lot! Fresh beef heart is um, rather bloody, so its well suited to the open flame, backyard thing..
lynn byrd said,
November 18, 2009 at 8:54 pm
I’m cookin’ up some pastured pork neck bones and ribs in the crock pot right now with a guiness stout, a bit of organic apple cider vinegar, a splash of organic prune juice, 2 pints of home-canned tomatoes, and a healthy squirt of rooster sauce (as I don’t have the makings for a fine batch of homemade heat). I’ll add some frozen organic summer baby limas and silver queen corn from the garden, and maybe some of my garlicky chicken stock if it needs it, maybe a decent potato if I can turn one up, tune it up with some good coarse sea salt and call it mad scientist brunswick stew – hold the squirrel. Now, what else would you add to it?
Ren said,
November 18, 2009 at 9:07 pm
I don’t know, that sounds pretty darn good! Some green garlic/wild onion might be nice.
Marianne said,
November 18, 2009 at 9:03 pm
Thank you for this post! I’ve had the beef heart sitting the freezer from the cow we bought last spring waiting to find a recipe that would inspire me to defrost it. Now I have one (what are your thoughts on lard rather than tallow? we don’t have any tallow right now).
Ren said,
November 18, 2009 at 9:13 pm
You’re welcome, Marianne!
Lard would be perfectly fine. Another tasty way to cook heart is to skewer it on whole rosemary branches and grill it like shish-kebab. A little butter, garlic, fresh lemon & plenty of salt & pepper.
Marillyn @ just-making-noise said,
November 18, 2009 at 9:49 pm
We love beef heart around here. We usually add it to the ground beef for hamburgers, meatloat and more. Your burritos look really good… I’ll have to try something like that!
Ren said,
November 18, 2009 at 11:05 pm
Thanks, Marillyn! Isn’t it great? It reminds me of what a real hamburger tasted like 40 years ago, with that deep rich beef flavor.
Millie@Real Food for Less Money said,
November 19, 2009 at 12:53 am
I knew I was saving that beef heart in my freezer for something. Now if I can only find a place to grill that the wind won’t blow it out…
Ren said,
November 19, 2009 at 1:17 am
Hi, Millie,
You can also pan-fry it like steak or grind it and cook it like hamburger. Use a good animal fat & high heat to sear, season with smoked pepper & coarse salt. Add a dash of thinned Worcestershire and a three-fingered pinch of imagination and it will taste like it was grilled outdoors :-)
Millie@Real Food for Less Money said,
December 31, 2009 at 9:48 am
I used your recipe as a guide and made a beef heart taco filling a couple of nights ago (cooked indoors since we have about a foot of snow outdoors). It turned out delicious!
Ren said,
December 31, 2009 at 10:08 am
Oh, excellent!
Michaela said,
January 22, 2010 at 5:27 pm
Excellent!! I just picked up a small beef order yesterday, which included one tongue & one heart. I already knew I wanted to make Tacos de Lengua, but was looking for “just the right thing” for the heart. I have to wean the family gently. This is looking like it may be a winner.