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How to Cook Your Gut Pile

Nose-to-tail eating is, like hunting, about encountering the wilderness in all its visceral glory, and it's about the wild adventure lying at the big red heart of carnivorousness.

The Heart
"The heart," says Fergus Henderson, "encapsulates the beast that it comes from—the whole essence of the animal is in there." Hence the Native American hunting tradition of eating the warm heart of your prey in order to gain its spirit. For a muscle that never stops working, the heart is surprisingly tender, "firm and meaty but giving," says Henderson, "with just the right amount of bite." Besides containing your deer's spiritual essence, the heart is also loaded with protein and B vitamins and contains very little fat. In this recipe, adapted from The Whole Beast: Nose to Tail Eating, Henderson marinates the heart in a simple mixture of balsamic vinegar, thyme, and salt and pepper, and then sears it quickly over a hot fire. For a variation, amp up the marinade with some ground chile peppers and cumin seed in the style of Peruvian anticuchos, the grilled skewers of beef heart that street vendors hawk in Lima.

Grilled Marinated Venison Heart (serves two to four as an appetizer)

1 VENISON HEART
FRESHLY GROUND BLACK PEPPER
A HEALTHY SPLASH OF BALSAMIC VINEGAR
CHOPPED FRESH THYME
COARSE SEA SALT

[1] Trim the heart of anything that looks like sinew (this is easy enough to spot) and excess fat (which tends to be around the open top of the heart), and remove any blood clots lurking in the ventricles. Slice the heart open in order to lay it flat and complete the process. You want pieces 1 inch square and up to ¼ inch thick; if the flesh is thicker than that, slice horizontally through the meat before cutting the squares.

[2] Toss the pieces of the heart in the vinegar, salt, pepper, and thyme. Marinate for 24 hours.

[3] Cook the pieces on a grill over a very hot fire, for about 1 ½ minutes per side. (They're best served somewhere between medium-rare and medium. Overcooking produces tough squares resembling jerky.) Serve with a salad of watercress or white beans and shallots.

BUTCHERING NOTES
The heart is easy to identify and easy to trim—just cut away anything that doesn't look like muscle, slice it open, then trim whatever light-colored, spongy-looking bits you might have missed. As with all organ meats, try to cook the heart as soon as possible. In a pinch, however, it can be frozen.

Comments (21)

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from shootlikeawoman wrote 45 weeks 19 hours ago

Someday I will eat at Fergus Henderson's restaurant in London. Crunchy pig tails--how can you beat that? Did you know that duck tongues are delicious parboiled, marinated in soy, ginger, sugar and sesame oil, then steamed? Save up your duck tongues in the freezer, then when you have a bunch, give 'em a try!!!

0 Good Comment? | | Report
from Blind Scud wrote 45 weeks 2 hours ago

Strangest thing I've ever eaten is pig's snout. It was served on a bun and smothered with bbq sauce. It was very crunchy and tasty. I've heard that deer heart is delicious. One of these days I'll have to try it.

0 Good Comment? | | Report
from timmy2bears wrote 44 weeks 2 days ago

This isn't strange (like duck tongues--yech!), but I almost always eat the heart and liver of the deer I kill. Heart is really delicious and deserves special treatment at a special meal, but the best way to eat a liver is grilled over the coals of a fire, high on the mountain next to the buck you just killed. A little iron to stiffen your legs for the drag back to camp.

+1 Good Comment? | | Report
from Douglas wrote 44 weeks 2 days ago

I sing a little ditty each season to the ones I hunt with. It is "Save your Heart for me"!
I eat them with stews, pickled, or just sauteed in butter with onions and garlic.
As for the liver, no thanks.

0 Good Comment? | | Report
from Smitty77 wrote 44 weeks 1 day ago

I understand how in the old country every part of the animal had to be used. But eating liver or kidneys does not appeal to me. These organs are pretty much filters and I do not consider them healthy. Either way what one eats is their own buiseness and not mine. I respect it.

I have heard eating the heart of a deer is very tasty. I would be more than willing to try one if only I could get one that was intact.

I have the utmost respect for the game I pursue. I thank the lord for every animal I harvest and don't consider leaving the gut pile for the coyotes a bad thing. I also don't bring the deer back to camp with the vitals still inside. I think dressing the deer in the field right after the kill is one of the most important steps to good tasting venison. I've had to come back to find deer the next day and the meat didnt taste as good as it could.

0 Good Comment? | | Report
from Del in KS wrote 43 weeks 4 days ago

When I was a kid we ate lots of chicken feet. They were very delicious. My daughter in law is Chinese (from Singapore) she tells me the Chinese will eat just about anything thats protein including dogs and cats. At a Chinese resturant in London I saw intestines on the menu last Nov.

0 Good Comment? | | Report
from stu_manji wrote 42 weeks 3 hours ago

It is illegal now, due to new child labor laws, but from the time I was in junior high until I graduated high school I worked in a local butcher shop. There was a man who came and collected the chicken feet from us once a week and sold them to other people. Del, until you wrote that, I thought it was a mythe and he was using them for something else.

0 Good Comment? | | Report
from patricksholl wrote 42 weeks 3 hours ago

I have eaten liver, beef and chicken, and rabbit kidneys. I do not like either of these organs and throw them out with the guts. My dislike has nothing to do with their functions but their taste. With birds I do usually save the gizzards and like them fried and as a base for gravies.

0 Good Comment? | | Report
from suburban bushwacker wrote 41 weeks 5 days ago

Good on you guys, american hunters have a poor reputation for wastefulness, I'm delighted to hear you say you'd like to try the 'ofally good' parts!
SBW

PS Hank is americas Fergus check out his blog
http://www.honest-food.net

+1 Good Comment? | | Report
from woofbarkenarf wrote 40 weeks 5 days ago

It's good to see that my upbringing wasn't so strange and uncommon as my wife says. Deer heart, and Liver were typically the first meals we made from a fresh kill. My father would get me to go down to the butchers place in deer and antelope season to collect the tongues, which he would cook in the crockpot or a dutch oven. These were all good eating. Even had some calf brains in with some scrambled eggs once and enjoyed it.

What I was taught by all of this is that you should appreciate the food in front of you for what it is, and not what you wish it to be.

+1 Good Comment? | | Report
from tourneyking734 wrote 37 weeks 3 days ago

one time we told a city boy that he was eating a cut of meat from a deer and it really was moose heart! He liked it till we told him what it was

+1 Good Comment? | | Report
from s-kfry wrote 36 weeks 5 days ago

I think I will leave it for the coyotes and have the warm feeling that I have contibuted to the circle of life.

0 Good Comment? | | Report
from jbird wrote 31 weeks 14 hours ago

I'm gonna try some deer heart this fall. I'll even have some liver, though I detest beef liver. Hey, if I don't like it, my dog's sure will!

0 Good Comment? | | Report
from cooner wrote 25 weeks 3 days ago

i have eaten deer heart and liver the night of a kill all my life . in my eyes it is some of best eating there is on the animal . and don't even get me started on a small black bears liver , my 12 year old son love's it as well

+1 Good Comment? | | Report
from hoveysmith wrote 23 weeks 6 days ago

Check out the recipes in the books Crossbow Hunting (Stackpole, 2006) and Backyard Deer Hunting: From deer to dinner for pennies per pound (AuthorHouse, 2009). These include items like Dear Heart soup (Pun intended. The author claims he wooed his wife with it.) as well as recipes for ground meat dishes and making sausage. Both books take the reader through the meat-preperation steps as well as cooking.

+1 Good Comment? | | Report
from GiantWhitetails wrote 20 weeks 19 hours ago

i wish i could have some deer hearts and livers right about now.

+2 Good Comment? | | Report
from yellowtail3 wrote 19 weeks 1 day ago

hmmm... girlfriend tells me venison liver is good. I think i may repent of my habit of leaving the entire gut pile in the woods, and try some next nov...

+1 Good Comment? | | Report
from snapperhunter wrote 18 weeks 4 days ago

def going to try the heart this season

+1 Good Comment? | | Report
from snapperhunter wrote 18 weeks 4 days ago

def going to try the heart this season

+1 Good Comment? | | Report
from TXBucksnort wrote 15 weeks 6 days ago

no way, no how, am I eating guts. Yuuuuuuuuuck!

0 Good Comment? | | Report
from Cranky Canauck wrote 15 weeks 4 days ago

THe moose we kill we save the heart and nose for the indian lady who lives on the lake she says no liver,that says it all for me.

0 Good Comment? | | Report

Post a Comment

from GiantWhitetails wrote 20 weeks 19 hours ago

i wish i could have some deer hearts and livers right about now.

+2 Good Comment? | | Report
from timmy2bears wrote 44 weeks 2 days ago

This isn't strange (like duck tongues--yech!), but I almost always eat the heart and liver of the deer I kill. Heart is really delicious and deserves special treatment at a special meal, but the best way to eat a liver is grilled over the coals of a fire, high on the mountain next to the buck you just killed. A little iron to stiffen your legs for the drag back to camp.

+1 Good Comment? | | Report
from suburban bushwacker wrote 41 weeks 5 days ago

Good on you guys, american hunters have a poor reputation for wastefulness, I'm delighted to hear you say you'd like to try the 'ofally good' parts!
SBW

PS Hank is americas Fergus check out his blog
http://www.honest-food.net

+1 Good Comment? | | Report
from woofbarkenarf wrote 40 weeks 5 days ago

It's good to see that my upbringing wasn't so strange and uncommon as my wife says. Deer heart, and Liver were typically the first meals we made from a fresh kill. My father would get me to go down to the butchers place in deer and antelope season to collect the tongues, which he would cook in the crockpot or a dutch oven. These were all good eating. Even had some calf brains in with some scrambled eggs once and enjoyed it.

What I was taught by all of this is that you should appreciate the food in front of you for what it is, and not what you wish it to be.

+1 Good Comment? | | Report
from tourneyking734 wrote 37 weeks 3 days ago

one time we told a city boy that he was eating a cut of meat from a deer and it really was moose heart! He liked it till we told him what it was

+1 Good Comment? | | Report
from cooner wrote 25 weeks 3 days ago

i have eaten deer heart and liver the night of a kill all my life . in my eyes it is some of best eating there is on the animal . and don't even get me started on a small black bears liver , my 12 year old son love's it as well

+1 Good Comment? | | Report
from hoveysmith wrote 23 weeks 6 days ago

Check out the recipes in the books Crossbow Hunting (Stackpole, 2006) and Backyard Deer Hunting: From deer to dinner for pennies per pound (AuthorHouse, 2009). These include items like Dear Heart soup (Pun intended. The author claims he wooed his wife with it.) as well as recipes for ground meat dishes and making sausage. Both books take the reader through the meat-preperation steps as well as cooking.

+1 Good Comment? | | Report
from yellowtail3 wrote 19 weeks 1 day ago

hmmm... girlfriend tells me venison liver is good. I think i may repent of my habit of leaving the entire gut pile in the woods, and try some next nov...

+1 Good Comment? | | Report
from snapperhunter wrote 18 weeks 4 days ago

def going to try the heart this season

+1 Good Comment? | | Report
from snapperhunter wrote 18 weeks 4 days ago

def going to try the heart this season

+1 Good Comment? | | Report
from shootlikeawoman wrote 45 weeks 19 hours ago

Someday I will eat at Fergus Henderson's restaurant in London. Crunchy pig tails--how can you beat that? Did you know that duck tongues are delicious parboiled, marinated in soy, ginger, sugar and sesame oil, then steamed? Save up your duck tongues in the freezer, then when you have a bunch, give 'em a try!!!

0 Good Comment? | | Report
from Blind Scud wrote 45 weeks 2 hours ago

Strangest thing I've ever eaten is pig's snout. It was served on a bun and smothered with bbq sauce. It was very crunchy and tasty. I've heard that deer heart is delicious. One of these days I'll have to try it.

0 Good Comment? | | Report
from Douglas wrote 44 weeks 2 days ago

I sing a little ditty each season to the ones I hunt with. It is "Save your Heart for me"!
I eat them with stews, pickled, or just sauteed in butter with onions and garlic.
As for the liver, no thanks.

0 Good Comment? | | Report
from Smitty77 wrote 44 weeks 1 day ago

I understand how in the old country every part of the animal had to be used. But eating liver or kidneys does not appeal to me. These organs are pretty much filters and I do not consider them healthy. Either way what one eats is their own buiseness and not mine. I respect it.

I have heard eating the heart of a deer is very tasty. I would be more than willing to try one if only I could get one that was intact.

I have the utmost respect for the game I pursue. I thank the lord for every animal I harvest and don't consider leaving the gut pile for the coyotes a bad thing. I also don't bring the deer back to camp with the vitals still inside. I think dressing the deer in the field right after the kill is one of the most important steps to good tasting venison. I've had to come back to find deer the next day and the meat didnt taste as good as it could.

0 Good Comment? | | Report
from Del in KS wrote 43 weeks 4 days ago

When I was a kid we ate lots of chicken feet. They were very delicious. My daughter in law is Chinese (from Singapore) she tells me the Chinese will eat just about anything thats protein including dogs and cats. At a Chinese resturant in London I saw intestines on the menu last Nov.

0 Good Comment? | | Report
from stu_manji wrote 42 weeks 3 hours ago

It is illegal now, due to new child labor laws, but from the time I was in junior high until I graduated high school I worked in a local butcher shop. There was a man who came and collected the chicken feet from us once a week and sold them to other people. Del, until you wrote that, I thought it was a mythe and he was using them for something else.

0 Good Comment? | | Report
from patricksholl wrote 42 weeks 3 hours ago

I have eaten liver, beef and chicken, and rabbit kidneys. I do not like either of these organs and throw them out with the guts. My dislike has nothing to do with their functions but their taste. With birds I do usually save the gizzards and like them fried and as a base for gravies.

0 Good Comment? | | Report
from s-kfry wrote 36 weeks 5 days ago

I think I will leave it for the coyotes and have the warm feeling that I have contibuted to the circle of life.

0 Good Comment? | | Report
from jbird wrote 31 weeks 14 hours ago

I'm gonna try some deer heart this fall. I'll even have some liver, though I detest beef liver. Hey, if I don't like it, my dog's sure will!

0 Good Comment? | | Report
from TXBucksnort wrote 15 weeks 6 days ago

no way, no how, am I eating guts. Yuuuuuuuuuck!

0 Good Comment? | | Report
from Cranky Canauck wrote 15 weeks 4 days ago

THe moose we kill we save the heart and nose for the indian lady who lives on the lake she says no liver,that says it all for me.

0 Good Comment? | | Report

Post a Comment