Learn how to transform a whole beef heart into a delicious, nutritious meal. All the tricks to clean, cut, prepare, and cook the best pan-seared beef heart. A simple and affordable recipe for tender, juicy and flavorsome beef heart that deserves a spot in your weekly dinner rotation.

A plate of pan-seared beef heart slices garnished with fresh herbs, served alongside steamed green beans. The dish is presented on a rustic wooden table with garlic, rosemary, and a halved lemon, cast iron skillet, and striped cloth in the background

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Beef heart: an easy way to eat organ meats

If you’ve been following around, you might know that I love cooking organ meats for my family. It’s a great way to eat nose-to-tail, fuel your body with an extra boost of nutrients, and even save some money on groceries. Read more about all the benefits of eating organ meats here, and find a collection of organ meat recipes here!

If you’re new to organ meats, however, the idea of cooking and eating liver or kidneys might intimidate you. Beef heart is the easiest way to start your nose-to-tail eating journey and incorporate more organ meats into your meals.

Heart is, if you wish, the organ meat that’s most similar to muscle meat in terms of texture and taste. In this post, I’ll guide you through how to source, clean, prepare, and cook the best pan-fried beef heart. With these tricks you’ll get a meal that’s easy to make, delicious, affordable, and full of extra nutrients!

The benefits of eating beef heart

Compared to muscle meat, beef heart contains extra nutrients such as B vitamins, coenzyme Q10 (a potent antioxidant), alpha-lipoic acid, selenium, zinc, and more! Find more about the nutritional value and benefits of beef heart and other organ meats here.

Not only beef heart is highly nutritious, but it’s also usually more affordable than most muscle meat! That’s an extra reason to incorporate it into your weekly dinner rotation, and save some money on groceries!

Beef heart is also easy to prepare and highly adaptable. You can pretty much use beef heart in place of muscle meats for a variety of recipes. Try for example this delicious beef heart stew slow cooked in the Instant Pot!

Sometimes the simplest foods are the best, and so is this simply seasoned and pan-fried beef heart. Tender, juicy, and full of flavor, this recipe comes together in just a few minutes. Serve it with a side of steamed greens or sautéed veggies for a grain-free, low-carb dinner perfect if you’re following the Primal Diet (or not!). You can also serve this pan-seared beef heart with a side of roasted or mashed potatoes or rice for a more filling, comforting meal.

Overhead view of a white plate with pan-seared beef heart slices garnished with herbs and served with green beans. The plate rests on a rustic wooden table alongside garlic cloves, lemon halves, fresh rosemary, a cast iron skillet with more beef heart slices, and gold large fork and spoon

How to source beef heart

You can typically buy beef heart at you local grocery store or butcher shop. For the best health benefits and taste, however, I always recommend buying meat and organs, including beef heart, from a local farm from grass-fed, pastured animals raised without hormones and antibiotics. We usually buy a quarter cow and ask for extra organs to go with it. This is the best and most affordable way for us.

How to clean and cut beef heart

If you buy your beef heart from a grocery stores, chances are that it comes already clean and cut. But if you are getting it from a local farm, you would probably get a whole heart. Let’s learn what to do with it!

Whole raw beef heart on a wooden cutting board

Step 1: Cut the heart open lengthwise. Rinse it under cool water to remove any blood.

Step 2: Remove the fibrous connective tubes, arteries and inner membrane inside the heart. If you want, also remove the silver skin on the outside. You’ll need a sharp knife (like this one) for nice clean cuts. If you don’t want to remove the silver skin completely, you can just make some incisions so that the slices won’t curl up during cooking. You can keep all these collagen-rich parts for adding to bone broth or homemade sausage.

Raw beef heart cut into sections on a wooden cutting board, with labeled parts including arteries, connective tubes, and silver skin. The image highlights anatomical structures to guide trimming and cleaning before cooking. — Inner part of a beef heart showing parts that should be trimmed off, including connective tubes, arteries, and silver skin.

Step 3 (optional): If desired, remove any excess fat on the outside of the heart. I recommend leaving at least some of the fat for extra nutrition and taste. If your beef heart as a very thick fat layer, however, you can trim some off. You can use that fat to add to homemade sausage (such as in this organ meat sausage here), or you can render it out into tallow.

Raw beef heart cut into sections on a wooden cutting board, with labeled parts including excess fat and silver skin. The image highlights anatomical structures to guide trimming and cleaning before cooking. — Outer part of a beef heart showing silver skin and fat that can be trimmed off before cooking.

Step 4: If your recipes calls for slices, cut the heart lengthwise against the grain. Note that some portions of the heart are thinner and some thicker. You can slice the thicker parts horizontally to make thinner slices. 1/2 to 1/4 inch slices are best for pan frying.

Slicing raw beef heart into thin slices with a black knife on a wooden cutting board

Cleaned slices of beef heart on a white plate — Cleaned heart slices ready to be cooked.

Trimmed parts of beef heart such as connective tissue, arteries, silver skin and excess fat in a white bowl — Trimmed parts of the heart (connective tissue, arteries, silver skin and excess fat). They can be added to homemade sausages or bone broth.

If you don’t want to use the whole beef heart at once, you can freeze unused cleaned and cut portions for later use in zip lock bags or freezer-safe containers.

How to cook beef heart

Beef heart can be cooked in many ways: grilled or pan seared like steaks, in stews, grounded into burgers, sausages, or tacos, or even roasted whole.

Today, we are learning one of the easiest ways to cook beef heart: pan-seared in a cast iron skillet.

Does beef heart need to be soaked?

No, beef heart doesn’t need to be soaked before cooking. You can, however, marinate it in your choice of oil, lemon juice and seasoning to add flavor to your recipes.

Ingredients for this pan-seared beef heart

Beef Heart. An incredibly lean and nutrient-dense cut, rich in protein, B vitamins (especially B12), CoQ10, and iron. Despite being an organ meat, its texture is very similar to steak and it’s surprisingly mild in flavor. Great for beginners exploring nose-to-tail eating.

Butter, Ghee, or Tallow. These traditional fats not only enhance flavor but also support nutrient absorption. Ghee and tallow are perfect for high-heat cooking, while butter gives a more mellow taste.

Sea Salt. Essential for seasoning and drawing out the natural flavor of the beef heart. I love Redmond Real Salt for its flavor and health benefits.

Black Pepper (Optional). Adds a gentle bite and enhances savory depth.

Dried Sage or Herbs of Choice (Optional). Earthy herbs like sage, thyme, or rosemary pair beautifully with beef heart, lending a comforting aroma and helping to balance the rich flavor.

Ingredients for pan-fried beef heart including slices heart, butter and seasoning displayed on rustic wooden table

Equipment You’ll Need

Cutting board, best if wooden.

Sharp knife for easily trimming and slicing the heart.

Cast iron skillet or stainless steel pan for cooking. Avoid non-stick coated pans for their potential health hazards.

How to cook this pan-seared beef heart

Step 1: Clean and slice the beef heart into 1/2 to 1/4 thick slices (refer to post instructions above).

Step 2: Generously season the meat with salt, pepper and/or herbs (optional) on both sides.

Step 3: Heat your cooking fat of choice in a cast iron or stainless steel skillet over medium-high heat.

Step 4: Once the pan is hot and the fat melted, add the beef heart slices. Work in batches if necessary and avoid overcrowding the pan.

Slices of beef heart seasoned with salt, pepper and sage in hot cast iron skillet with butter being cooked

Step 5: Cook for about 3 minutes on each side, flipping the meat only once. Aim to cook your heart to medium-rare and still slightly pink in the center to avoid a tougher result. You can check the internal temperature with a thermometer if you wish: aim for 130-145 °F (55-65 °C).

Freshly cooked beef heart slices in cast iron skillet ready to be served

Step 6: Remove from the pan, allow to rest for a couple of minutes, then serve warm with your favorite sides.

Freshly pan fried beef heart slices on white plate garnished with fresh herbs

If you give this recipe a try, I’d love to hear how you liked it! Drop me a comment below and, if you enjoyed it, don’t forget to leave a 5-star review to help others find it too.

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