The Book of Latin American Cooking/Elisabeth Lambert Ortiz

Skewered Beef Heart (Anticuchos)
Servings Prep. Time Cooking Time Calories % from Fat Fat Sodium Carbohydrates Protein Cholesterol
8-10 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A


INGREDIENTS:
1 beef heart, weighing about 4 pounds 1 head garlic (about 16 cloves), peeled and crushed 1 tablespoon fresh hot red or green peppers, seeded, coarsely chopped, and pureed in a blender or food processor
1 tablespoon ground cumin salt, freshly ground pepper 1 cup red wine vinegar
FOR THE SAUCE: 1 cup dried hot red peppers 1 tablespoon ground annatto (achiote) seeds 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
salt



1 Remove the nerves and fat from the beef heart, and cut it into 1-inch cubes. Place in a large bowl. Combine the garlic, fresh hot peppers, cumin, salt, pepper, and vinegar, stir to mix, and pour over the beef heat, adding more vinegar, if necessary, to cover. Refrigerate, covered, for 24 hours. Remove the beef heart from the marinade and set them both aside.
2 Shake the seeds out of the dried peppers and soak in hot water to cover for 30 minutes. Drain the peppers and put them into a blender or food processor with the annatto, oil, and about 3/4 cup of the reserved marinade. Season to taste with a little more salt if necessary and blend until smooth. The sauce should be quite thick. Thread the beef-heart cubes on skewers. Brush them with the sauce, and boil, turning to cook all sides, either over charcoal or under a gas or electric broiler, about 3 inches from the heat, for about 4 minutes. Serve with the remaining sauce on the side. Accompany with boiled corn, sweet potato, and yucca.

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