Beef heart - anything special I should do for making tacos?

[c oliver]

I bought a package of sliced beef heart (kinda scallopini-ish slices) at the Latino market. The guy was saying he just likes to quickly grill them and make tacos. Sounds good to me. I've had anticuchos, a Peruvian prep with chunks of heart, and I had something not long ago where very thin slices were put on skewers and grilled. It's been years since I made anticuchos myself. Should I cook really quickly? I'm figuring that since it's such a tough muscle. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

[chefj]

A acidic marinade is a good start if you decide to grill quickly. It helps to break down the fiber a bit.
I usually use crushed garlic salt and lime juice. You could also use any number of adobos.

[c oliver]

I've got a flavoring marinade going now. Lemon juice and tequila, s&p, chili powder and a little oil (I like it for quick browning).

[chefj]

Sounds good. i sometimes dissolve a scant bit of sugar in the citrus or vinegar for the same charring effect.
There are also all those Yucatan style recados that really add a lot to the Mexican style grilled meats.

[c oliver]

Isn't it funny that I'd never thought about adding sugar. Next time for sure.

We had great tacos and I would defy anyone to not like them. Actually I doubt most people would know they weren't eating steak.

[chefj]

So did you grill them over high heat? Like Anticuchos

[c oliver]

We did them on the grill but I think the next batch I'll do in the CI skillet. They cook so quickly I hate wasting all the gas to get the grill hot.

[chefj]

oh yeah, the sugar thing I got from Vietnamese technique.

[wattacetti]

Been a while since I cooked hearts larger than chicken and turkey, but I remember that it's either quick and bloody/rare, or long braise. Anything in between was tire-like.