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venison heart preparation

VAspeedgoat

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Ok, after years of wanting to try the heart my boys have finally talked me into trying one. My oldest son got a young buck this evening and we were able to salvage the heart with no damage. I have rinsed it and got out as much blood as I could. I currently have it soaking in the fridge. Where do I go from here?

I was planning on slicing and frying with onions like has been suggested in other threads. What I don't know is how to handle the blood remaining in the heart. Is it already too late? I was hoping I could clean it as I sliced it. Also do I have.to do anything with the valves or outer membrane etc. Sorry if I'm showing my ignorance. Watching meat eater has inspired me to branch out. Thanks for any guidance.
 
Hopefully soaking in salt water. We would squeeze as much blood out as possible then put in a bowl of salt water for a couple of hours, rinse, slice cross ways, flour and put into a couple of TBPs of hot bacon grease with onions.
Old school, but how we do it.
 
Salt water does the trick. Let it soak and change the water every hour and a half to two hours or so. Kosher salt works the best, in my experience.
 
Wash it after you slice it up and trim off the white membrane. I generally take mine directly from the field to the frying pan. It's my favorite post kill meal...fried heart and sweet pickles from my garden. This past Oct on my elk hunt we just cooked it over an open flame and it turned out fine. Treat it like any other piece of meat.
 
Slice thin and trim off all of the white membrane, soak in milk overnight, rinse off and tenderize with a meat hammer. Dip in egg flour then egg again and fry in olive oil. Season to taste.
 
Getting rid of all the tough stuff is important. You just want the muscle. It should look like a cored out bell pepper.
 
I am partial to slicing it fairly thin and then soak it in a slurry of water and baking soda for about 20 minutes. Rinse it well and then use it in stir fry. It is amazing.

Nemont
 
Last edited:
Focus on just the exterior of the heart, think bell pepper. All you are after is the outer shell.

Slice the top off


Peel the pericardium (outer membrane off)





Core out the atrium and ventricles (insides)




Slice down one side to open and lay flat.





Once open and flat remove any remaining connective tissue on the inside.

Season to your liking and sear hot.
 
Wow, thanks for the help. JR the video and pictures were awesome. In hindsight I should have done that last night and then soaked probably. I think it will still be ok......I hope I didn't screw it up already. John, I will be making a trip to store for buttermilk too. Thanks to all of you, I sure do appreciate it.

Also I said it was soaking in water but yes it was salt water.
 
Great video. Any venison heart (deer, elk, moose, etc.) is great fixed several different ways. We usually just boil ours with spices, but have tried fried and baked also. Big hearts stuffed and baked are great.
 
Chicken fried with gravy and mashed potatoes is good too. I've cut it up into chunks and beer battered it and deep fried it before too and liked it.
 
Wow jryoung, first time for me to see full screen GIF on HuntTalk. Picture > 1000 words.
 
Wow, finally got a chance to cook due to harvest season. It was a huge hit with the kids. Following some of your advise this will likely become our new tradition. Just floured and fried but can't wait to try soaked in buttermilk. Has anyone tried grilling or is fried the best way. Thanks to all for your help.
 
Focus on just the exterior of the heart, think bell pepper. All you are after is the outer shell.

Slice the top off


Peel the pericardium (outer membrane off)





Core out the atrium and ventricles (insides)




Slice down one side to open and lay flat.





Once open and flat remove any remaining connective tissue on the inside.

Season to your liking and sear hot.
Slick pics and videos. I think I have that same 'set' of plates. We be fancy... :D
 
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