Why it works: Beef and vinegar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 28% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,895 recipes. Both carry beta-damascenone, which smells apple, rose. The science ↓
Baked Heart
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a hot oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare
Soak the beef heart in salted water with vinegar for 12 hours.
Wash and drain the heart.
Place the heart in a pot with enough water to cover and boil for 30 minutes.
Cook the heart
Transfer the heart to a fireless cooker.
Let it cook for 8 to 12 hours, reheating if necessary.
Alternatively, simmer the heart on the stove for 5 hours.
Stuff and bake
Prepare a dressing as you would for a fowl.
Stuff the heart with the dressing.
Bake the stuffed heart in a hot oven at 400°F (200°C) for 1 hour.
Use the broth
Set the cooking liquid aside to cool.
Skim off fat.
Use the liquid for soup stock.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Explore the science
The flavor team
The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.
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Beef + vinegartop 28% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,895 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Beef heart
- Is the main meat, cooked slowly until tender and then stuffed and baked.
- Vinegar
- Added to the soaking water to help mildly firm and season the meat before cooking.
- Dressing
- Fills the heart during baking, adding moisture and flavour to the inside of the meat.
The step that matters
Long, gentle cooking until tender. Heart is dense, tough muscle. Slow, moist heat over many hours breaks down collagen, so cutting the time short leaves it chewy. Keep the water at a gentle simmer rather than a hard boil.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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