Beef Heart Meatloaf Muffins
We like to use as much of the animal that we can when we cook. Respect the whole animal like they used to back in the day. So, I have been experimenting with organ meats. They definitely have a different flavor profile, but their nutritional content keeps me experimenting. Organ meats are some of the most nutritionally dense foods on the planet. Plus, they cost a fraction of the price of regular meats. So naturally I had to sneak some into Beef Heart Meatloaf Muffins!
Because it is a muscle meat, heart is very similar to steak, roasts and ground beef, but is typically less expensive (we blame the “ick” factor for that!) and actually has a higher protein content. In addition, heart is an excellent source of a number of nutrients, including thiamin, folate, selenium, phosphorus, zinc, CoQ10 and several of the B vitamins. In addition, beef heart contains amino acids that are thought to improve metabolism and compounds that promote the production of collagen and elastin (source)
Here is a tasty way that I came up with to sneak heart meat into our diet.
Beef Heart Meatloaf Muffins
Want to get more organ meat into your diet in a tasty way? You gotta try these delicious beef heart meatloaf muffins.
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp bacon grease
- 1/2 cup diced onion
- 8 cloves fresh garlic
- 1/2 cup diced celery
- 1/2 cup diced carrot
- 2 lbs grass-fed ground beef (we use Butcher Box meat)
- 1 grass-fed beef heart (about 1 lb. ground)
- 2 pastured eggs
- 3/4 cup coconut flour
- 1 Tbsp sea salt
- 2 tsp dried rosemary
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 1/2 tsp oregano
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
- Tomato Sauce:
- 1 small can tomato paste
- 1 cup Bone Broth BBQ Sauce (make your own here)
Instructions
- Melt bacon grease in large skillet over medium-high heat.
- Sauté carrots and celery in skillet until they are soft.
- Trim fat and vessels off of the heart and cut into chunks.
- Process beef heart in a food processor, one chunk at a time until it is the consistency of ground beef.
- Add in onion and garlic and process until they are incorporated with the heart meat.
- In separate bowl, combine meats, eggs, flour, and spices.
- Mix together with your hands, add in vegetables and mix well.
- Grease muffin tins with coconut oil and fill muffin tins 3/4 full with mixture.
- Mix up tomato sauce.
- Top each Beef Heart Meatloaf Muffins with 1 Tbsp sauce.
- Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.
- They also freeze well!
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Hi, my name is Kate.
I love food. Real food. We eat all of the things that nursing school taught me were bad for you: butter, eggs, bacon, and raw milk.
I am a Nurse, a Mom, and a Real Food loving blogger. Just trying to save the world.
You man mix organ meats into your ground beef for added flavor and nutrition.
I do it all the time 🙂
Can you buy pre-ground beef heart anywhere?
Can you use regular ground beef instead and will it still taste good.
Sure!
Does it end up tasting like regular meatloaf since it’s mixed in with everything else?
Yes, heart is just muscle so it tasted like beef
I loved the Cultured Caveman’s (in Portland, Oregon) meatloaf with heart or liver (or maybe both) in it. Many thanks! I know we will love it and I like that you popped it into muffin tins, very travel-friendly! I commute a long way to work on public transit and bring my lunch every day so this is not only great as a dinner option but I *should* have some left for lunches too.
1/4 lb of liquified liver per pound or so of ground meat works great as a binder instead of any flours
Thank you for this tip! Now i can try this recipe!