Easy Pan Fried Deer Heart Recipe
This Easy Pan Fried Deer Heart Recipe is for all you lovers of flavorful, tender, and juicy venison! This recipe makes delicious use of the often-underutilized organ meat from your deer, elk, moose, or antelope harvest.
Servings: 2 servings
Ingredients
- 1 deer heart (or 1 antelope, elk, or moose heart)
- kosher salt
- black pepper
- 2 tablespoons canola oil
- 2 tablespoons butter
Instructions
- After you clean and trim the heart (see directions above), pat dry with a paper towel and place the pieces on a cutting board and tenderize them using a Jaccard meat tenderizer.
- Now using a sharp knife, score both sides of each deer heart cutlet by making shallow slashes about an inch apart.
- Preheat your oven to 450 degrees F and place a large cast iron skillet in the oven for about 5 minutes until it's smoking hot. Turn on a stovetop burner to medium-high heat.
- Generously season the venison heart cutlets with kosher salt and black pepper.
- Using an oven mitt, carefully remove the hot cast iron skillet from the oven and place it on the hot stovetop burner. Add the canola oil to the skillet, carefully swirl it around to coat the pan, and then add the deer heart cutlets. If you are using a bigger heart from an elk or moose you'll need to cook the meat in batches - don't overcrowd the pan.
- Let the venison heart cutlets sizzle for about 2 minutes, then use tongs to flip it over and cook about 2 more minutes. Press down gently to ensure even contact between the meat and the pan.
- When the meat has developed a dark brown crust on both sides, add the butter to the skillet and immediately remove the skillet from the heat and transfer it to a cutting board and tent lightly with foil. Let rest 5 minutes. The meat will continue cooking after being removed from heat.
- When ready to serve, thinly slice with a sharp knife, cutting away from your body and with the top edge of the knife leaning toward your body. Make sure to slice across the grain of the meat.
- Serve immediately with your favorite sides such as sauteed spinach, mashed potatoes and gravy, sauteed mushrooms, or asparagus.
