Grilled Deer Heart
An Easy Recipe for Venison Heart
When field dressing a deer, most folks just remove all the internal organs and leave them in the woods. If this is you, STOP! Several internal organs are well worth keeping for various recipes. This recipe for grilled deer heart is at the top of my personal list. So the next time you punch your deer tag, save the heart.
Quick Recipe Reference
Just the steps, no frills
Extended Recipe
with pictures and detailed description of steps
Step 1: Keep the Deer Heart Clean
While field dressing the deer, remove the heart and set aside. There is a sack of fatty tissue surrounding the heart inside the deer. When removing the heart in the field, leave the heart in the fatty sack to protect it from dirt and leaves. You can keep it in this protective tissue until you get home. Alternatively, I like to remove the protective tissue in the field and just turn my field dressing glove inside out over the heart. This gives me a nice clean pouch with the heart inside. I can then take the heart home and prepare it right away.
Step 2: Remove the Top of the Deer Heart
The top of the deer heart is where arteries connect into the organ. Cut off the top of the heart carefully with a sharp knife. You’ll want to cut basically where the heart is the widest at the top. This will allow you to retain as much meat while getting rid of the large arteries and connective tissue. Don’t worry about the heart chambers, valves, and other non-meat items inside the organ, we’ll take care of those later.
Step 3: Slice the Deer Heart (or cut into chunks)
Starting where you just cut the arteries off, begin slicing the deer heart. I usually shoot for 1/2″ slices, but make them as thick or thin as you like. Keep in mind that heart is very lean meat with no fat, so it will cook much faster than steak. For this reason, I keep my heart slices much thinner than my steaks, so I don’t overcook the outside while waiting for the inside to get done.
If you prefer large chunks of meat to slices, you can cut the deer heart into chunks. If you look on the outside of the heart, you’ll see several lines separating the chambers of the heart. Cut along these lines to open up the heart, then separate along those lines. You’ll end up with 4 or 5 different sized chunks of meat. As you cut, try to make them similar in thickness, so the grilling time will be the same.
Step 4: Remove the Valves
Once you have the deer heart cut up, you need to trim what used to be the chambers of the heart. The chambers contain valves, which look like spider webs or long thick strings going across the chamber. Also, depending on your shot placement, there could be blood clots or other undesirable stuff inside. Use your knife to trim around the edge of the chambers on each piece of meat, removing any non-meat items as you go. You should end up with beautiful, lean meat.
The choice of how to cut up the heart is yours. In my personal opinion, slicing the heart makes for a better presentation and easier cooking. Also, grilled heart slices can be reheated the next day for sandwiches. However, if you prefer larger cuts of meat with less carmelized outer edges, go for the chunks.
Once you get into it, the heart is just a large muscle, much like any other meat from a deer. The heart is pure, lean meat, similar to backstrap in texture. There is absolutely no fat or connective ligaments/tendons inside the heart, meaning it will be good, pure, non-chewy meat if cooked properly.
Step 5: Soak the Meat
Place the deer heart slices (or chunks) in a bowl and cover with cold water with salt added. Cover the bowl and place in the fridge for at least an hour. This brining process will draw blood out of the meat and add a hint of salt, making the meat better tasting and helping it retain moisture during grilling.
Step 6: Season the Meat
From this point forward, you’re just dealing with meat. The fact it came from the deer heart doesn’t really matter. Season it however you like. My personal preference is to marinate the meat in either Worcestershire sauce or in Dale’s seasoning sauce for at least 1/2 hour. I’ll drain the marinate, apply seasoned salt and pepper, and let the meat sit for a couple of minutes while the grill heats up. Be adventurous here, try out different seasonings and marinades.
Step 7: Grill
Now it’s time to get cooking. Get the grill pre-heated on medium-high. Put the deer heart pieces on the grill and cook until at least medium rare, but not more than medium. If cooked too long, heart can become a very tough cut of meat. Cooked right, however, it ends up very tender and flavorful. Once the desired doneness is reached, remove the heart from the grill and let it rest for at least 5 minutes.
Step 8: Enjoy!!!
You worked hard for that deer. You prepared all year long, you scouted, got up early, nearly froze your toes off, and took the time to make a perfect double lung shot. The heart was saved, and now you get to enjoy it. Sure, the time will come for tenderloins, backstrap, deer burgers, and all the other good stuff. But grilled deer heart is an excellent dish all on its own. Pair it with some traditional vegetables, like mashed potatoes and corn, or put the slices on some bread and make a sandwich. You earned it, now enjoy it.
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