Go Back
Anticuchos

Anticuchos - Peruvian Grilled Beef Heart Skewers

Ian Benites
The classic Peruvian street food dish.
3 from 2 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 40 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Marinating the beef 3 hours
Course Appetizer
Servings 4

Equipment

  • Wooden Skewers
  • Blender
  • Grill or cast iron pan

Ingredients
  

Green Sauce (yields 2 cups of sauce)

  • 2/3 cup sliced jalapeno, with or without seeds, depending on your preference for heat 75 grams
  • 1 large clove garlic 6 grams
  • 6 cups roughly chopped cilantro, leaves and stems 200 grams
  • 1.5 cups mayonnaise
  • 3 Tbsp fresh lime juice
  • 1 tsp kosher salt

Salsa Criolla

  • 1 medium red onion, thinly julienned
  • 5 Tbsp finely chopped hot pepper of your choice I used habanero)
  • 1/3 cup chopped cilantro, stems and leaves
  • 2 Tbsp fresh lime juice
  • 1.5 tsp kosher salt (may need less if using table salt or fine salt)

Anticuchos

  • 2.5 pounds beef heart, or steak cut of your choice (beef heart can be whole or in pieces)
  • 1/2 cup very roughly chopped garlic 55 grams
  • 2 tsp ground black pepper 5 grams
  • 2 Tbsp freshly ground cumin 12 grams
  • 4.5 Tbsp soy sauce
  • 1/2 tsp dark soy sauce (optional, its mostly for color)
  • 3 Tbsp red wine vinegar
  • 3.5 Tbsp neutral flavored cooking oil (canola, vegetable, corn....etc)
  • 1 dry ancho chili, stems and seeds removed about 10 grams
  • 1 tsp kosher salt 4 grams

To serve

  • 2 russet potatoes
  • neutral oil, salt, and chili powder or black pepper

Instructions
 

Green Sauce

  • Place all of the ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth.
  • Adjust seasoning with more salt and lime juice if necessary. Sauce should be very well seasoned and very bright in flavor. This will make more sauce than you need for this recipe but it goes well on almost everything. It will keep for up to a week in the fridge.

Salsa Criolla

  • Place all of the ingredients in a mixing bowl and toss together. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Anticuchos

  • If the beef heart is frozen, thaw overnight in the refrigerator or under cool running water until thawed.
  • Steam or gently simmer the whole, unpeeled russet potatoes until completely cooked. You can check if the potato is done if a skewer easily punctures the whole potato. This will take 1- 1.5 hours. I prefer steaming because the potatoes are less likely to break apart. When the potatoes are done cooking, allow the potatoes to cool in the fridge for at least 1 hour or up to overnight.
  • Soak the ancho chili in boiling water for 10 minutes.
  • Soak 6-10 wooden skewers in water for at least 30 minutes, keep them soaking until you are ready to skewer the meat.
  • Note that there are 2 openings (ventricles) in each heart. Try to cut the heart in 3 flat pieces. Two pieces from either side of the heart, and one piece that is the muscle in between the two ventricles. If you have trouble, don't worry because you will be cutting the heart into small chunks anyways.
  • Here I have removed one side of the heart.
  • Here I am separating the other side of the heart from the muscle in between the two ventricles.
  • Take each piece of heart (it doesn't matter how many pieces you ended up with), and use a sharp knife to "shave" away the gnarly-looking, veiny, inner part of the heart.
  • The heart should look like smooth muscle when you are done.
  • flip the heart over and cut away any fat on the outside of the heart. If you can carefully peel away the very outer membrane of the heart, awesome. If not, no big deal.
  • Repeat this process with the rest of the pieces of heart until they look like clean pieces of meat.
    Beef Heart
  • Cut the beef heart into chunks that are roughly 1.5 inches long and wide but no more than 1/2 inch thick. Set the heart pieces aside in a mixing bowl.
  • Remove the ancho chili from the water it was soaking in (discard the soaking water) and place it into the blender with all of the rest of the ingredients listed under "anticuchos" above (not including the heart, obviously). Blend very well.
  • Pour the contents of the blender onto the chunks of beef heart and mix well. Cover with plastic wrap and marinate in the refrigerator for a minimum of 3 hours, or up to overnight.

To Serve

  • Get a grill hot. Alternatively you could cook the anticuchos in a hot griddle or cast iron pan
  • Cut the cooled potatoes into 1 inch thick rounds.
  • Season both sides of the potato rounds generously with salt and chili powder (or black pepper). Rub the potatoes generously with neutral oil. Set aside
  • Skewer the pieces of marinated beef heart onto the soaked wooden skewers.
  • Grill the potatoes over medium heat for about 4 minutes on each side OR until they are hot and have your desired level of browning/grill marks.
  • Place the beef skewers over a hot part of the grill.
  • Cook the skewers for about 2-3 minutes on each side, or until they have nice browning. These skewers are delicious cooked anywhere between medium rare and well done, so don't be overly concerned with the doneness. As long as you don't let them cook way past well done (more than 10 minutes) you should be fine.
    Anticuchos
  • Serve the hot skewers immediately with the grilled potatoes, green sauce, and salsa criolla on the side. ENJOY.
    Anticuchos