Organ meats like lamb hearts, offal, liver and ox heart are packed with nutrition. Our ancestors included these nutrient-dense foods as staples in their diet, enjoying the beneficial vitamins, minerals and fatty acids.
Unfortunately, organ meats fell out of favour in recent decades. People preferred more prized cuts at the butcher counter, opting for a coveted cut of steak over chicken livers or lamb hearts. The reason? Taste. Many people aren't fond of the taste of organ meats, opting to eliminate them from their diets and — in doing so — miss out on their beneficial nutrients.
But we'll let you in on a little secret: There are a number of delicious ways to prepare (and disguise) organ meats in your recipes. Below, we share six delectable ways to cook one of our favourite organ meats: lamb hearts.
Why We Can't Get Enough Lamb Hearts in Our Diets
As stated earlier, lamb hearts come packed with health benefits — which is why we love to incorporate them wherever we can. Here are just a few of the beneficial nutrients you'll find in lamb hearts:
- Vitamin B12: Lamb hearts are packed with B vitamins, particularly B12. Braised lamb hearts contain 187% of your recommended daily value of B12, which can fend off anemia, dementia, heart disease and some types of cancer [1][2].
- Vitamin B3: Lamb hearts contain 4.4 milligrams of vitamin B3 (niacin). Vitamin B3 can help lower LDL cholesterol and decrease your risk of developing diabetes and Alzheimer's [3].
- Amino acids: Amino acids are the building blocks of protein, helping to build strong muscles and help you recover from injury. Lamb hearts are a complete protein (i.e., they contain all nine essential amino acids), containing tryptophan, histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine and valine [4].
- Minerals: Lamb heart is filled with healthy minerals, including iron, phosphorus and magnesium [1]. These minerals help support the body by balancing your hormones, promoting better sleep and strengthening your bones.
Want More Lamb Heart in Your Diet? Try These 6 Recipes
We believe everyone should be eating nose-to-tail, enjoying all parts of the animal (just like our ancestors did). Eating organ meats — like lamb heart — comes with a number of health benefits, but you may need time to master this cut in the kitchen.
To help you get more lamb heart in your diet, try these related recipes.
1. Spicy Chicken Liver Meatballs
While this spicy recipe is originally made with chicken liver, you can easily swap it out for lamb heart at a 1:1 ratio. Combining organ meats, avocado oil, mince beef, eggs, sea salt, black pepper and almond flour, these are tasty meatballs that hide the taste of organ meats.
Warm a frying pan over medium heat, then trim any excess fat off your lamb heart. Roll your meatball mixture into little balls, then cook in the skillet until golden brown. Enjoy your meatballs smothered in a delicious sauce of spicy chipotle ketchup, coconut aminos and (optional) raw honey.
2. Lamb Heart Skewers
Recipe: Steph Gaudreau
Do you love chicken or beef skewers on the grill? Then you might just love this easy skewer recipe, which serves marinated lamb hearts between layers of shallots and a small onion.
Start by marinating your lamb hearts in a plastic bag with olive oil and minced shallots for at least one hour. Then, place your lamb hearts on bamboo skewers, alternating between layers of onions, shallots and lamb hearts. Sear your skewers over the grill, then serve with a prepared dressing of minced ginger, a splash of olive oil and red wine vinegar (you can substitute balsamic vinegar). If you don't have access to a grill, simply place your skewers inside an ovenproof dish and bake at 200 degrees Celsius for 15-20 minutes.
3. Zuppa Toscana With Added Organ Meats
If you can't stomach the thought of eating offal or other organ meats, you might enjoy this recipe. (We also encourage you to read up on the vast benefits of organ meats to change your mind, but we digress.)
This zuppa toscana is the classic Italian soup you remember, made with chopped onion, garlic cloves, bone broth, kale, sausage meat, chili flakes and streaky bacon. However, it comes with a secret ingredient: lamb liver & heart capsules. The capsules are broken open and added to the broth right before serving and have virtually zero taste. You'll enjoy the health benefits of lamb liver and lamb heart, but you won't notice any change in flavour.
4. Keto Chocolate Raspberry, Collagen, MCT and Vitamin Smoothie
Who knew you could get the benefits of lamb heart in a smoothie? This dish can be consumed for breakfast, lunch or a post-dinner dessert, and contains a wide number of health benefits.
This smoothie is made from MCT oil, coconut milk, collagen peptides, nut butter, cacao powder, raspberries and — you guessed it — lamb hearts. Simply break apart your lamb liver & heart capsules and pour them into a blender with the other smoothie ingredients. Blend until smooth, then top with coconut, cacao nibs or additional low-carb berries.
5. Moroccan-Inspired Lamb Heart Stew
Recipe: The Paleo Mom
Looking for a one-pot meal your whole family can enjoy? Then you might want to check out this Moroccan recipe — this hearty stew is a complete meal in one bowl.
Braised lamb hearts (you can also substitute beef hearts) are soaked in bone broth along with sweet potatoes, olives, yellow onions and dried apricots. Season the broth with bay leaves, cinnamon, turmeric, garlic cloves, coriander and cumin to complete the dish. This recipe calls for the use of red palm. If you are using palm oil please make sure it’s from a sustainable source. Alternatively, use coconut oil or avocado oil instead.
6. Slow-Cooked Lamb Hearts
Recipe: Bianca Fontana
This recipe gives you all the health benefits of lamb hearts in one satisfying main dish. You can easily serve this next to cauliflower rice or celeriac chips to complete the meal.
To make slow-cooked lamb hearts, you will cut off the excess fat then fry them in olive oil in a skillet for 10 minutes. Next, combine the chopped parsley, good-quality sausage, sea salt, onions, garlic and eggs. Stuff each heart with the mixture, then wrap in a rasher of bacon (you can also tie them together with butcher’s string). Place the vegetables and lamb hearts in a slow cooker, and heat on medium for three hours.
Enjoy Lamb Hearts in Tasty Ways
Lamb hearts are one of the most nutrient-dense foods you can eat, filled with B vitamins, omega-3 fatty acids, amino acids and beneficial minerals. However, while we love lamb hearts for their nutrition, we understand not everyone loves the taste of organ meats.
Fortunately, there are a number of delicious recipes that disguise the taste of lamb hearts. Braising, baking, adding to skewers and tossing into a hearty stew are just a few ways to enjoy lamb hearts. Otherwise, you can simply add our Liver & Heart Capsules to your diet, which have very little taste and combine the nutritional benefits of liver, as well as heart.
You can take the capsules all on their own or you can break them open and add them to soups, stews and even smoothies. Try these capsules today to see how easy it is to add organ meats to your diet.
All information provided on our website and within our articles is simply information, opinion, anecdotal thoughts and experiences to provide you with the tools to thrive.
It is not intended to treat or diagnose symptoms and is definitely not intended to be misconstrued for medical advice. We always advise you seek the advice of a trained professional when implementing any changes to your lifestyle and dietary habits.
We do however recommend seeking the services of a trained professional who questions the conventional wisdom to enable you to become the best version of yourself.
RESOURCES
[1] https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/172528/nutrients
[2] https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminB12-Consumer/
[3] https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Niacin-HealthProfessional/
[4] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK234922/
