As those that have been reading the blog for awhile or poked around, you know that I like to use everything possible from the critters I raise on the farm. This is a really great way to use heart that’s different from the standard stuffed and baked.

The size of the heart and the age of the heart will make a difference on the amount produced and the tenderness of the heart itself. I am going to recommend that you consider doing a lamb or standard size pork heart for this.

Now if you are buying a heart from the butcher, then the odds are that it will already be well trimmed, and cleaned up, but if you home processed, you will need to this yourself, in the case of the fingers, you need to trim not only the inside but the outside thicker ridge of meat and fat off, you can chop that up for use in a different meal or you can grind it to be used in burgers or meatballs or you can give your hounds a major treat 🙂

You want the bottom 2/3rd of the heart that is very even in thickness and shape, you are going to trim these into lovely inch and half in thickness approx., this will give you a number of pretty even thickness and lengths to make your “meat fingers” from.

(at that point, you need to get a cast iron fly pan or your choice of fry pan and get a good covering of oil in it at a med-high heat going on the side)

You will need one bowl with 1 beaten egg and quarter cup of milk mixed together, and in another bowl, you will need a cup of flour or bread crumbs or cornmeal mixed with a goodly amount of your choice of seasoning salt. or salt and pepper. Take each of your stripes of heart, put them in the egg wash first and then into the flour, put each one on a different plate.

Then place them all into the heated oil in the fry pan.. flip only once after the first side is golden brown and then turn your heat down after the flip to the middle heat and finish cooking till that side is also well browned.  This will make sure the heart is cooked but not over cooked, it should be moist and tender inside its breaded coating.

You could make a milk gravy to go over a few this served with a side of mashed turnips and a green salad.. or mashed tatters..

But I just eat them like you would like chicken finger, with a lovely ranch dressing on them 🙂 So good..

What is your favorite way to eat the med-size heart? from lambs, goats or smaller pigs?