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Game, Paleo, Meats

Venison Heart Pastrami

This delicious pastrami can be made with a variety of different large animal hearts including beef, pork or elk. Thin sliced it is hands down amazing!

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Recipe source/Photo Credits

Total Time
Difficulty
Simple Tasty Recipes

Ingredients - Serves

  • 1 gallon (4 litres)
    water
  • 1-2
    venison hearts
  • 3/4 cups (200g)
    kosher salt
  • 1/2 cup (100g)
    sugar
  • 5 cloves
    garlic, smashed flat
  • 2 Tbs
    pickling spice
  • 2 tsps
    sodium nitrite/pink curing salts (NOT Himalayan salt) (optional)
  • 1 Tbs
    peppercorn (amount as needed)
  • 1 Tbs
    coriander seed (amount as needed)

Goes Great with

Step by Step

  1. In pot large enough to hold the heart combine 1 gallon/4 liters of water with kosher salt, sugar, sodium nitrite (pink salt), garlic and pickling spice.

    Bring to a simmer, stirring until salt and sugar are dissolved.

    Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature, then refrigerate until chilled.

  2. Place heart(s) in brine, weighted with a plate to keep it submerged and cover.

    Refrigerate for 2-6 days if it’s thin

  3. Remove heart (s) from brine and rinse thoroughly.

    Be sure to get your fingers down in the valves then squeeze it out until you get all of the blood clots out

  4. Replace it for another day in fridge, uncovered on a rack for 24 hours to allow it to form a pellicle.

  5. Mix peppercorns and coriander seeds and gently toast without burning.

    Remove from heat, grind and spread over the hearts

  6. Smoke the hearts until 160 degrees inside.  

    Pull from smoker put in pie pan half filled with liquid (a good beer for example) and put back in until 160 internally again.

Notes:

Slice thinly and serve.  

Can be done in an over at 240 for 3-4 hours as well.

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