How to Make Beef Heart Cold Cuts

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posted on

July 5, 2018

An affordable and nutrient packed addition to any meal that’s easy to prepare and serve.

I had the honor of camping on the farm for four days this week – in a heat wave. Given that it’s an Amish farm, we had to find more old fashioned ways of beating the 101 F heat in between chores. We ate ice cream at nearly every meal, splashed in icy cold spring water, and drank fresh green icy smoothies.

For every meal, the farmer’s wife always had an awesome spread with plenty of fixings. Even in the heat, she knew what to do.

She loaded the table with easy foods that could be served cold – thick slices of homemade bread, radishes, fermented beets, onions, honey, sweet beef bologna, lettuce, salad with yogurt dressing, chunks of cheese, drinkable yogurt, milk with ice cubes, raisin cookies, ice cream... and beef heart.

The last one made me a bit nervous.

Knowing the nutritional benefits, I always look for ways to incorporate organ meats into my family’s meals. However, given the tendency to have odd flavors and textures, I always get a bit panicky when trying new organs for the first time.

I piled some slices of beef heart onto my plate and was quite surprised to find it delicious.

It was dense yet mild, tasting like a deep-flavored earthy roast beef. I immediately knew it was something I wanted to incorporate into my weekly meal plans.

Like other cuts of steak, beef heart is a muscle. Unlike other cuts of meat, it is extremely dense and has a greater amount of protein and nutrients.

Beef heart contains all essential amino acids, zinc, selenium and phosphorus. Compared to other cuts of meat, it has more than double the elastin and collagen. It is a highly concentrated source of coenzyme Q10. And, when 100% grass-fed, it has higher levels of omega-3 fatty acids.

It gets better. Beef heart lunch meat is extremely easy to make.

Boil a whole beef heart in water for 3 hours. Let cool. Slice thinly. It can be stored in the refrigerator for 3-5 days.

I made my sandwich with homemade buttered bread made with local Einkorn flour, beef heart, sweet beef bologna, sliced onions and radishes, and lettuce. Yum! I accompanied it with a cold shredded salad of lettuce, carrots, onions, cheese, and hard-boiled eggs with yogurt ranch dressing. And, of course, ice cream with fresh blueberries for dessert. An easy, cold, quick dinner.

Pastured Meat

Cooking

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Over the past few months a bunch of people asked us if we tested our bone broth for toxic heavy metals. When we get the same question a lot, we of course look into it. My first question was --- Is there an issue with toxic metals in bone broth? As it turns out, yes, there "can" be an issue! Heavy metals are naturally present in our environment. We need the "good" heavy metals to thrive: iron, zinc, magnesium, copper, etc. But, we can 100% do without the toxic heavy metals: arsenic, cadmium, lead, mercury, etc. Too many toxic heavy metals can lead to a host of pretty awful issues: nervous system damage, cardiovascular issues, cancer, endocrine disruption, kidney damage, and so on. Our body is designed to excrete heavy metals through urine (and a little bit through sweat, hair, and breastmilk too)... but only so much. There's a limit. If you're overloaded, your body will store those heavy metals in your bones, blood, tissues, and organs. 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This study found high levels of lead in organic chicken bone broth, which is quite concerning. And, in fact, this one study is still cited in articles written today! Let's dig a little deeper. Let's go farther than the short abstract. Here are the broths tested in the study and their test results for lead: (9.5 parts per billion): Broth made from tap water plus skin and cartilage(7.01 parts per billion): Broth made from tap water plus bones(2.3 parts per billion): Broth made from tap water plus meat(0.89 parts per billion): Tap water alone cooked for the same amount of time as a control. But, they only used organic chicken from one farm. And, there's zero information about that farm, their practices, the feed, and the broth recipe. Did they use vinegar or wine in the broth? Was the chicken's water contaminated with lead? What was the quality of the feed and the soil? Were the chickens raised indoors or outdoors? So many unanswered questions! All we get is that it was one "organic chicken" that created a lead issue with broth. Another curious thing is that the broth with skin and cartilage contained more lead than the broth made with just bones. Bones are where lead is stored, so why wouldn't the broth made with bones only contain more lead? It's an odd result. Moreover, the abstract of the study specifically called out "bone broth diets" like GAPS and paleo. They even go so far as to write, "In view of the dangers of lead consumption to the human body, we recommend that doctors and nutritionists take the risk of lead contamination into consideration when advising patients about bone broth diets." That's quite curious. Why are they worried about these diets? Are the researchers anti healing through food? Who funded the research? Is it political? My opinion? This study is not comprehensive. It does not speak to all bone broths. But it does cover a potential issue if the water or animals are overloaded with heavy metals. 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They said that it indicates their limit of quantitation (LOQ), the lowest concentration that can be accurately tested using the test procedure in that sample type. So the results simply report that none of the metals tested were found in the sample above the specific reporting LOQs. Whether or not they were present below this LOQ is information that is not provided by the test. When talking to the lab, I told them what we needed and assumed that this test would go below a 1 ppb. So, when the results came in, I assumed that a "mg/kg" was the same as a part per billion (ppb). Ummm... that math wasn't write! A "mg/kg" is actually a part per million (ppm). That means that the test we ran had results saying that the broth had less than 0.02 ppm (or 20 ppb) of arsenic and lead. And, it had less than 0.01 ppm (or 10 ppb) of cadmium and mercury. For some reference, the EPA says that less than 15 ppb of lead is safe in drinking water. Not saying that I agree, but it's a good reference point. These results are good. It means the broth definitely isn't overloaded with toxic heavy metals. But, it's not good enough!!! We need to test again! We really need to a lower LOQ. We need to know the results with an accuracy of as low as 1 ppb. It looks like the lab we sent the original samples to doesn't have an LOQ that low. So here I am on the hunt for a lab to do it again. As soon as I can, I'll send samples in again and paying for more expensive testing to get the info you deserve. Stay tuned! I hope to have the new results in by the end of April 2025. Do you worry about toxic metals (or other junk) in your food? Where have your fears stemmed from? I'd love to hear from you. You can comment below (no account required) or contact us 😊 ----- Sources The risk of lead contamination in bone broth dietsBone Broth and Lead Toxicity: Should You Be Concerned?Bone Broth and Lead Contamination: A Very Flawed Study in Medical HypothesesBone Broth, Collagen, and Toxic Metals: A Research Review

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How to Make Beef Heart Cold Cuts

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