This is a wonderfully simple, delicious dish, the heart not, as you might imagine, tough as old boots because of all the work it does, but in fact firm and meaty but giving.
As a special and quick Valentine’s Day update, I figured I should make something appropriate. What could possibly be more romantic than a heart?
I was so shocked to find half a calf’s heart at my local supermarket that I did a little dance in the meat department. I’m sure that I had more than a few people slowly back away, but considering how tough it has been finding some of these cuts of meat I’d like to think I was justified.
In the recipe, Mr. Henderson asks for one to remove any excess fat and sinew. With the heart being cut in twain by the butchers, my job was significantly easier as most of the sinew and silverskin had already been cut off.
Moments later the heart looked like slices of lean flank steak.
Into the bowl went the heart, some salt and pepper, a bunch of thyme and a healthy splash of balsamic vinegar. This was covered tightly and left in the fridge overnight.
Since the slices were a bit small for my grill, I dropped them on a very hot cast iron grill skillet.
The heart plated with a salad of raw leek and vinaigrette. The meat was almost identical to flank steak in flavor and texture. It was surprisingly tender, and I could cut the squares with a butter knife.
This has been one of the easiest and most rewarding dishes from the book so far. I forgot to mention that I paid a whopping total of a dollar and twenty five cents for the heart half. If you want to cook on a budget and still eat well, look no further than a nice calf heart.
Happy Valentines day!
One down, one hundred and twenty seven to go.
