Chicken Hearts Recipe

If you’re looking for an easy recipe to ease yourself into eating organ meat, start with this pan fried Chicken Hearts recipe. You’ll love the simple ingredients which transform the chicken hearts and give it almost a beefy flavor.

Is eating chicken heart good for you?

According to Dr. Sarah Ballantyne, chicken hearts are a highly nutrient dense food. [source] Offal or organ meats are in general some of the most nutrient dense foods you can consume. [source] I realize that for decades the conventional thinking was to be afraid of foods that contained saturated fat. However, in recent years, new studies suggest that foods like heart, liver and tripe are necessary and foundational foods for health and wellbeing when eaten in moderation. There’s really no need to fear saturated fat. [source]

What does chicken heart taste like?

Chicken hearts taste like dark meat but a slightly more gamey flavor and with a tougher, more chewy texture. The better quality the meat (pastured vs conventional) the better the organs will taste.

How to clean chicken hearts

Just rinse them off under water and cut off any ventricles, veins, or fat that is attached. Sometimes they come prepped, so you don’t need to worry about this step.

Where to buy chicken hearts?

I can find organic chicken hearts at my local Whole Foods and Hmart (Korean market). However, the best tasting chicken hearts I’ve ever had come from US Wellness Meats. Honestly, they have the best cut of meat. The hearts are significantly more expensive, but they almost tasted beefy. They didn’t taste like organs but more like a nice steak. They don’t always have them in stock, but I highly recommend you getting them if you get the opportunity.

Chicken hearts storage

It’s best to store raw chicken hearts in the freezer until you are ready to cook. Organ meats go bad quickly so don’t expect them to last more than 24 hours in the refrigerator.  

Chicken hearts ingredients

• Chicken Hearts: Take care to clean and remove the ventricles, veins, and fat.
• Salt
• Ground Pepper: This is optional if AIP.
• Dried Rosemary
• Dried Thyme
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil: Bacon fat is a good substitute.

How to cook chicken hearts recipe

1. Place the hearts in a bowl, sprinkle salt and then fill with water until they are just submerged. Stir to combine then place in the refrigerator for 3 hours.

2. Remove from the fridge and drain the water. Then add the pepper, rosemary, thyme and olive oil and let marinate for about 1 hour in the refrigerator.

3. Heat a large skillet over high heat. Then add the hearts and marinade to the pan fry until just cooked through about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Make sure the pan is large enough so that the hearts are all in a single layer. You don’t want to crowd the pan otherwise the hearts won’t cook evenly. You’ll know when the hearts are done because they may start to burst.

Recipe tips and tricks

• Don’t skip the salty water step. This helps tenderize the hearts.
• Make sure the pan is large enough so that the hearts are all in a single layer. You don’t want to crowd the pan otherwise the hearts won’t cook evenly.
• You’ll know when the hearts are done because they may start to burst.
• You can omit the ground pepper if you’re following the AIP diet. If you’d like more information about the AIP diet, check out this post. https://thehonestspoonful.com/what-is-the-aip-diet/
• Bacon fat is a good substitute for extra virgin olive oil. Bacon fat has great flavor that would be a nice addition to this recipe.
• I can find organic chicken hearts at my local Whole Foods and Hmart (Korean market). However, the best tasting chicken hearts I’ve ever had come from US Wellness Meats.

How to store chicken hearts

Storing the cooked chicken hearts recipe is simple. Just keep them in a resealable container in the fridge. They are best if consumed within 1-2 days.

If you like chicken, try these recipes.

• Caramelized Onions and Mushrooms
• Healing Chicken Broth
• Chicken Feet Soup
• Sweet Potato Chicken Poppers
• Easy Chicken Marsala

What do you make with chicken hearts?

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Helpful Info for All Recipes

• I always use extra virgin olive oil in all of my recipes unless stated otherwise.
• I always use Himalayan sea salt or Celtic sea salt, unless otherwise noted.
• The majority of my recipes are strict AIP or include notations for reintroductions. However while I make every effort to label non-AIP ingredients and recipes sometimes they slip past me. If you have questions, please ask in advance.

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