Common wisdom calls to treat heart like steak: frequently pepper-crusted, often seared or grilled. An overcooked heart(a degree above mid rare), the cook is warned, is tough and unpleasant. More adventurous cooks will slice or dice it and serve it as a carpaccio or tartare.
At the start of deer season, a good friend’s father shot a doe, and the processor recovered the heart, lungs, and liver for me. The heart itself was in perfect condition, and leaner than beef heart, so quicker to trim.
Raw, the heart was less bouncy than beef heart. It was very fresh, so the flavor was rich and clean. It was only about six ounces though, so I had to stretch it, and sliced it thin into a slightly intimidating pile. My excessive farmer’s market tendencies came in handy: I had a refrigerator full of vegetables. Profanely, I decided I would stir fry.
I wish I had the kind of wok setup that can produce a screaming hot metal bowl that kisses carefully marinated meat with char. My Lodge wok only occasionally acknowledges the magnets in our induction range, so it mostly holds onions and looks impressive. Instead, I turned to the all-clad skillet that is my second or third most useful pan ever and sees near-daily usage.
A legit wok would have considerably improved the modest sauce, but the ingredients were fresh and assertive: onions, garlic, and ginger, (OGG, a great base for glazing most vegetables) sweet red peppers and mustard greens. Probably there were scallions, maybe Thai basil.
The heart lost some flavor among everything else, but the texture was still fantastic, present without being intrusive. Nothing dry or difficult to chew about it.
