Venison heart is pure short fiber muscle meat. It is delicious! If you hunt or if you're lucky enough to get your hands on deer heart, do cook it. You won't regret it. The texture is fabulous - soft, yet firm. There is no hint of a gamey taste. It's luxury meat.
I use only fresh heart. After harvest I leave it in the refrigerator until I'm ready to put it in a brine in the fridge.
Initial brine (uncleaned heart) is just water and a nice amount of salt. This will ensure that the heart 'bleeds' out all the blood and that blood clots are dissolved and released. And overnight soak in the refrigerator is perfect.
After that I clean the heart and put it in a second brine. The second brine is not necessary. You could cook it right away. But if there is time between cleaning and cooking, why not brine it. I use salt, crushed pepper, crushed garlic, clove and thyme in my brine. It's all up to taste though - be creative.
The best way to cook it:
Drain your deer heart well and dry it off with paper towels.
Use a skillet with high temp oil, such as grape seed and sear the venison heart pieces until internal temps reaches 130F.
Grilling is another option. There, too, go for high heat..
When the heart meat is cooked, cover and let rest for 8 - 10 minutes.
ENJOY!
17 сен 2024
