Venison Heart Fajitas

RebelYell · Sep 22, 2014

I took a doe with my bow on Friday and was excited to have some venison heart in the fridge again, as this was my first deer of this season. This time, I made some venison heart fajitas that turned out great. I just thought I'd share that you can make some great meals with this often discarded portion of the animal. Does anyone else enjoy the heart, or any other under utilized part of the deer, that may have some good recipes/ideas to share?

iH8DemLibz · Sep 22, 2014

Tried eating deer liver from my first kill. Went from the deer into a cooler. Pan fried with flour and butter with onion gravy, but tasted rancid from the get go. Not at all like calf liver. Have sworn off of liver and hearts since then. I can taste it while I'm typing this. Shudder!

That looks good though.

sclag22 · Sep 22, 2014

Those look great! Last year my buddy took the heart from my deer and said he'd eat it, but then he got cold feet and tossed it out. I was a bit disappointed because I am down to try any new food at least once. Compared to the traditional meat, what is it like? I imagine it being an even tougher meat.

RebelYell · Sep 22, 2014

sclag22 said:
Those look great! Last year my buddy took the heart from my deer and said he'd eat it, but then he got cold feet and tossed it out. I was a bit disappointed because I am down to try any new food at least once. Compared to the traditional meat, what is it like? I imagine it being an even tougher meat.

Since the heart is a muscle, it is not a whole lot different than other cuts of the deer. It's hard to explain, for me anyway, but it has a very rich venison flavor. If you don't normally like deer steak, tenderloin, etc., you won't like the heart.

It should definitely be eaten within a couple days of the kill. The sooner the better. I trim the hard pieces of fat off of the top of the heart as well as the large arteries that come through the top. Then separate the heart into a few steaks. Anything over medium rare is too much as there is absolutley NO fat and it will cook quickly. It's definitely worth a shot, and if you don't like it, your dog will LOVE it. Mine does anyway.

Speed3 · Sep 22, 2014

Looks good....not sure i'm gonna try it though. hahaha

Mike3888 · Sep 22, 2014

My brothers and uncles pickle it. Clean it good, chunk it up and boil it then toss in a jar of vinegar.

BigDaddy · Sep 22, 2014

sclag22 said:
Compared to the traditional meat, what is it like? I imagine it being an even tougher meat.

The good thing about heart is, (unless you are a pathologist) under a microscope it looks a lot like any other muscle.

That's a huge hurdle we bypassed because we are talking about a just another cut of meat instead of some other organ that existed to produce urine, bile or semen.

It benefits from quick cooking, is a little more dense than other muscles but I don't detect any unique taste to it. You have to clean it, meaning get rid of the valves, and what people call the silver skin, which is really the fascia or connective tissue that covers muscle. I stir fry it or grill it. Like all venison it cooks fast.

BossmanPJ · Sep 22, 2014

Those look good.

RebelYell · Sep 22, 2014

BigDaddy said:
The good thing about heart is, (unless you are a pathologist) under a microscope it looks a lot like any other muscle.

That's a huge hurdle we bypassed because we are talking about a just another cut of meat instead of some other organ that existed to produce urine, bile or semen.

It benefits from quick cooking, is a little more dense than other muscles but I don't detect any unique taste to it. You have to clean it, meaning get rid of the valves, and what people call the silver skin, which is really the fascia or connective tissue that covers muscle. I stir fry it or grill it. Like all venison it cooks fast.

This is a solid description. Especially regarding the density of the muscle.

joemac · Sep 22, 2014

I've hunted a long time but never used any of the organs. I plan to use the hearts this year. Tacos or the like as the OP made. I've also heard of them wrapped in fat and then roasted/grilled which helps prevent drying out and allows slower cooking.

mark71211 · Sep 22, 2014

Heart fajitas.....What Chevys closed??

rgramjet · Sep 22, 2014

The heart is one of my favorite parts of the deer. I like to cut it into thin strips, marinate it over night then skewer and cook over hot charcoal. Just enough to get a bit of char on the outside but not over cook it.

I need to get out there!

To the OP, where did you shoot the deer for the heart to be intact enough to eat?

RebelYell · Sep 22, 2014

rgramjet said:
The heart is one of my favorite parts of the deer. I like to cut it into thin strips, marinate it over night then skewer and cook over hot charcoal. Just enough to get a bit of char on the outside but not over cook it.

I need to get out there!

To the OP, where did you shoot the deer for the heart to be intact enough to eat?

Hit her above the heart. Both lungs. She ran about 30 yards and went down.

Devonian · Sep 22, 2014

Nice! I have a deer heart in the fridge. Not sure what I'm gonna do with it but was thinking about pickling it.

RebelYell · Sep 22, 2014

joemac said:
I've hunted a long time but never used any of the organs. I plan to use the hearts this year. Tacos or the like as the OP made. I've also heard of them wrapped in fat and then roasted/grilled which helps prevent drying out and allows slower cooking.

I recently watched a video of one of my favorite hunters, Steven Rinella, where he took the heart of a cous deer, wrapped it in the caul fat that surrounds the stomach, and cooked it over a camp fire in the field.

He's written a few books, one of which is called Meateater. He has a show with the same title. The book was great and I highly recommend it to anyone that's a hunter.

Here's the video:

http://youtu.be/LuDcydLG5gQ

RugerFan · Sep 22, 2014

iH8DemLibz said:
Tried eating deer liver from my first kill. Went from the deer into a cooler. Pan fried with flour and butter with onion gravy, but tasted rancid from the get go. Not at all like calf liver. Have sworn off of liver and hearts since then.

Try soaking the liver in milk first...an old chef's trick. It should vastly improves the labor and removes the 'rancid' quality.

BigDaddy · Sep 22, 2014

Does anyone else enjoy the heart, or any other under utilized part of the deer, that may have some good recipes/ideas to share?

The Food Network show "Chopped" has the contestants use odd ball cuts and foods. Cheeks, feet, tails of various animals. I have a friend who is an honest to god French chef and he wants pig ears, tails and neck.
In Zimbabwe the tracker milked the contents out of the intestines of my Kudu. I asked why, they use it, don't know if for sausage casing or something else.

AntiGun · Sep 22, 2014

Whether on hoof or wing, hearts are on the menu for me.

joemac · Sep 22, 2014

RebelYell said:
I recently watched a video of one of my favorite hunters, Steven Rinella, where he took the heart of a cous deer, wrapped it in the caul fat that surrounds the stomach, and cooked it over a camp fire in the field.

He's written a few books, one of which is called Meateater. He has a show with the same title. The book was great and I highly recommend it to anyone that's a hunter.

Here's the video:

http://youtu.be/LuDcydLG5gQ

That was my source. The scavengers guide to haute cuisine is also an excellent read. I believe Rinella is one of the best role models in outdoor sports in a long time.

CrabbyMcNab · Sep 22, 2014

RebelYell said:
I recently watched a video of one of my favorite hunters, Steven Rinella, where he took the heart of a cous deer, wrapped it in the caul fat that surrounds the stomach, and cooked it over a camp fire in the field.

He's written a few books, one of which is called Meateater. He has a show with the same title. The book was great and I highly recommend it to anyone that's a hunter.

Here's the video:

http://youtu.be/LuDcydLG5gQ

A fantastic author, American Buffalo and Meat Eater. His show is one of the only true outdoorsman who also hunts. I respect his views and the fact that his show has him getting skunked every now and then. I recommend every Hunter who watches hunting shows check him out. I'm dying to try the fire roasted heart, but I keep busting them.

Venison Heart Fajitas

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