Beef heart

Heart is the organ meat for people who do not like organ meat. It is a muscle, so it tastes and cuts like a lean steak, but it is a muscle that never rests, and it is packed with the machinery of energy: more coenzyme Q10 than any other food, plus B12, iron and selenium in quantities liver is famous for.

It is also the cheapest cut in the shop. The 50 Man Foods put it in tacos, seared rare and sliced thin, where nobody can tell.

  • Once or twice a week
  • 1 recipe
  • Organ meat
  • Updated Sep 2026

What it supplies

Nutrient · per 100 g, raw Amount % DV Relative amount
Vitamin B12 8.6 mcg 357%
Riboflavin 0.9 mg 69%
Selenium 21.8 mcg 40%
Iron 4.3 mg 24%
Protein 17.7 g 35%
CoQ10 ~11 mg 0%

Source: USDA FoodData Central.Percent Daily Values are based on adult reference intakes. The bars stop at 100%; the numbers do not.

Why it works

CoQ10 is the shuttle in the mitochondrial electron transport chain; the body makes it, but production falls with age and with statins, and the heart, liver and testes hold the highest concentrations. A serving of heart supplies what a supplement capsule does, in the matrix it came from, with B12 and riboflavin — the other two cofactors of energy metabolism — beside it.

Haem iron and B12 together are the fix for the tiredness of low-grade anaemia that many active men carry without knowing.

How much, how often

  • 150–200 g

    Once or twice a week

    CoQ10, B12, riboflavin and haem iron in one lean serving; no vitamin A ceiling.

  • Rare

    A minute or two a side

    Cooked through it toughens; rare it eats like steak.

How to buy and prepare it

Grass-fed, from a butcher who will trim it. A whole beef heart weighs 1.5–2 kg and feeds a family twice; ask for it halved. It should be deep red and firm with a clean smell. Avoid heart that is grey, slimy or sour.

Frozen is fine and common. Lamb heart is smaller, milder and a good first attempt.

Trim away the fat cap, the valves and the silvery connective tissue inside, then cut into steaks or strips across the grain. Salt, then sear very hot in tallow for a minute or two a side and serve rare to medium-rare; cooked through it toughens like liver does. Sliced thin into warm masa tortillas with onion and lime, it is the heart steak tacos in the guide. It also grinds well, half and half with beef mince.

Raw heart keeps two days refrigerated or six months frozen. Cooked, it keeps three days and is good cold, sliced thin.

Recipes that use it

In these guides

Questions

Does heart taste like liver?
No. Heart is a muscle and tastes like a lean, slightly gamey steak. The strong mineral taste people dislike in liver is not there.
How often should I eat heart?
Once or twice a week. Unlike liver it carries no vitamin A ceiling, so it can be eaten as often as steak.
Is the CoQ10 destroyed by cooking?
Partly. CoQ10 is heat-sensitive, which is one more reason to serve heart rare. Even cooked, a serving still supplies more than most supplements.