When I was growing up, venison was a regular staple on the family dinner table. My father filled the freezer every deer season, and then my mother made her way through it the rest of the year, feeding us with steaks, burgers, pot roasts, and barbecue. Like many deer hunters, my father always left the heart in a gut pile. So while my family dined on almost every piece of meat to come off a deer, I didn’t try a venison heart until I was an adult.
Although it’s considered offal, the heart is a muscle, and when properly prepared, it’s can be as tasty as backstraps and tenderloins.
And since the heart is often considered symbolic of life, putting care into breaking it down, preparing it, and eating it is a great way to fully honor the animal.
There are plenty of ways to make a meal out of this superb-tasting organ. Here are some of my favorite ways to cook deer hearts. These deer heart recipes also work well for the hearts of any big game animal. Once you’ve tasted them, you’ll never want to leave a heart in a gut pile again.
How to Clean a Venison Heart
Venison heart is an incredible cut of meat. Don’t leave it in the field. Alice Jones Webb
The heart is an intricate organ, so you can’t just go hacking away at it with a knife and expect to end up with something worth cooking. To clean a deer heart for cooking, you have to deconstruct it, separating the chambers and removing the large arteries at the top. Once you have it open, you’ll also need to trim the connective strands that resemble “heart strings” inside.
When properly cleaned, deer heart becomes a beautfiul, lean cut of venison. Krissie Mason
Here is a complete step-by-step explanation of How to Trim and Prepare Deer Heart.
Once the heart is trimmed and sliced, it’s ready to go in your favorite deer heart recipe.
Chicken-Fried Deer Heart Recipe
You can chicken-fry anything and it immediately becomes comfort food. This one is incredibly kid-friendly and goes well with country gravy.
You can chicken-fry almost any cut of meat and it instantly becomes comfort food. Alice Jones Webb
Ingredients
1 deer heart, separated into flat steaks
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
2 eggs
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
Oil for frying
Instructions
Cut shallow cross-hatched slices into both sides of the heart steaks to help the breading adhere.
Mix flour, salt, pepper, and spices in a shallow dish
Beat together eggs and Worcestershire sauce in a separate bowl until well combined.
Toss heart in flour mixture to coat. Then dip in egg wash and back into flour, covering the meat thoroughly
Fry the heart steaks in hot oil until the coating turns golden brown.
Serve with mashed potatoes and country gravy.
Deer Heart Fajitas Recipe
This is my all-time favorite way to eat deer heart. It is incredibly flavorful and the meat cooks up in a way that will fool any heart skeptic.
Serve deer heart fajitas on warm tortillas and sprinkle with cotija cheese. Alice Jones Webb
Ingredients
1 deer heart, cleaned and cut into ¼-inch slices
6 slices bacon, coarsely chopped
½ yellow onion, thinly sliced
½ red pepper, thinly sliced
½ yellow pepper, thinly sliced
½ poblano pepper thinly sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
⅓ cup corn starch
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
¼ teaspoon cumin
Pinch of brown sugar
Flour tortillas
1 fresh lime, juiced
Cotija cheese
Instructions
Cook bacon in a hot cast iron skillet.
Add garlic and sliced vegetables and cook over high heat for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring constantly.
Remove veggies and bacon from the skillet, leaving grease in the pan.
Mix cornstarch, seasonings, and brown sugar in a bowl.
Add heart slices and toss to coat well.
Add heart to hot skillet and flash fry in grease over high heat for one minute. Stir and cook for one more minute.
Return bacon and veggies to skillet. Stir together cooking for one more minute.
Squirt the juice from one lime over the heart and veggie mixture.
Serve in warm tortillas and top with cotija cheese.
Note: The trick to great heart fajitas is to cook over very high heat. That way you get a good sear on the outside and still end up with tender, medium-rare strips.
Morning-After Deer Heart Breakfast Hash Recipe
This makes a perfect deer camp breakfast for the morning after a harvest.
Ingredients
1 venison heart, cleaned and cut into ½-inch cubes
3 tablespoons butter olive oil
2 cups diced potatoes
½ yellow onion, chopped
½ green pepper, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
½ teaspoon paprika
½ teaspoon rosemary (optional)
1 egg for each person
Instructions
Melt butter in a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat.
Add heart to the pan, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and cook until brown, but not well done.
Remove the heart from pan and set aside.
Add potatoes to the pan. Let cook for five minutes without stirring. Flip potatoes, scraping the bottom of the pan to loosen brown bits, and cook untouched for another three minutes.
Stir in vegetables, garlic, and seasonings to the pan. Continue to cook until potatoes are soft.
Add cooked heart cubes to the hash mixture. Stir and cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
Serve hot and topped with a fried egg.
Other Great Deer Heart Recipes
If you need more culinary inspiration, here are some other fabulous recipes — some super fancy, some utterly downhome, all delicious.
Venison Heart Bruschetta – This one makes a great appetizer or party fare.
Venison Heart Bolognese – A great way to introduce hesitant eaters to the culinary delight that is venison heart.
Glazed Smoked Deer Heart – Instead of a fast, hot sear, this one goes for low and slow.
Easy Pan-Fried Deer Heart – It doesn’t get any simpler (or tasty) than this one.
Final Thoughts on Cooking Deer Heart
The key to cooking venison heart is to not overcook. Strong muscles grow tough with use and the heart is the most-used muscle in the body. You’ll want to preserve a little pink to keep your heart steaks and strips from turning rubbery and unpalatable. But when cleaned and prepared with care, the heart will quickly become one of your favorite cuts of venison.
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