I know this isn’t the usual cut of meat that we are used to getting from the grocery store but it is just as good, if not even healthier for us. Heart meat is also a great addition to your diet if you are on the carnivore diet.  

This post contains affiliate links, which means I make a small commission at no extra cost to you. See my full disclosure here.

Where to Buy Beef Heart

Most likely you will need to find a local butcher or a local farmer. Grocery stores don’t usually carry this type of meat. Though I occasionally find different cuts like ox tail and liver more commonly, heart is not one of them. Beef heart is not a common cut of meat that people are looking for. If you are unable to find beef heart near you you can check out US Wellness Meats. 

What is the texture of Beef Heart

Beef heart is much like a steak but with a more rich beef flavor. Though, it is not as tender as a steak, it is much firmer. This is where using your pressure cooker or slow cooker comes in hand. This is a great start if someone is wanting to get started with getting more organ meats into their diet. Especially since it’s taste and texture is more similar to a steak than other organs like beef kidneys or liver. 

How to eat Beef Heart

The most common way I find is to just eat it as is once cooked and still warm or cut some slices and fry it on the stove a bit. I used to cut the raw heart into chunks and fry it in a cast iron skillet with some melted fat and eat it like a steak. Although a bit tough this way, it’s doable.

You can also take your cooked heart meat and shred or cut it into small pieces and add it to your stew like you would any other cut of beef and call it beef heart stew. Use it in any other meat-based recipes that you like to make.

In the Book Nourishing Traditions, Sally Fallon suggests grinding it up and mixing it in with your ground beef as an easy way to add it to almost any meat-based recipe for your whole family to get the health benefits.

Another great way to add raw beef hearts to your diet is to make it into some assembled kebab skewers, you could even add in a small piece of beef liver (about 0.5 oz) and cook that over your grill. 

What are the Health Benefits of Beef heart

There are many health benefit of eating beef heart. Some of the important nutrients that you get from it are: 

• Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) 
• Iron
• Zinc
• Selenium
• B2 (Riboflavin)
• B6 (Pyridoxine)
• B9 (Folate)
• B12 (Cobalamin)

The heart of a cow is very high in B Vitamins and CoQ10 which is very beneficial for your own heart health as well as the rest of your body. Here is a good source about the benefits of CoQ10

As well as this source on beef and heart disease among other things from The Weston A. Price Foundation. 

In the book Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon she talks a lot about getting more organ meats into you and your families diet.

How to Prepare Beef heart for the Instant Pot

If you acquire your heart meat frozen, you can thaw it in it’s package in some cold water or leave it in a dish to thaw in the fridge. You can cook it frozen but you will have to increase your cooking time.

Some people may say to remove all the strings and other connective tissue from the muscle meat but that just removes beneficial parts of the heart. Since you are slow cooking this muscle meat, all those things will be tender and hardly noticeable once cooked.

Other sources will say to remove excess fat from the outside of the heart. I do not recommend doing this as this is already a very lean muscle meat that you want to keep as much of the fat that you can. The more fat that is there, the better the health benefits to you as well as the flavor benefits.

Sometimes you may find what is called Silver Skin on your muscle meat. It is a silvery connective tissue that is very tough and unfortunately does not break down during the cooking process. So if you happen to see any of that, you may want to remove that without removing too much of the meat. 

Cooking Beef Heart

There are different ways of cooking beef heart. If you find that you do not have an Instant Pot you can use a slow cooker, just put it on low heat and cook for 6-8 hours. If you don’t have a slow cooker either, you can cook it on low heat in a stock pot covered with filtered water on your stove and keep an eye on it throughout the day.

What do you need to make Beef Heart in the Instant Pot

• An Instant Pot or other brand of pressure cooker
• Raw beef hearts or even Veal Hearts
• Filtered Water or Bone Broth  
• Salt
• Any add ins you may want, veggies like a sliced onion, celery, carrots, etc.

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How to Cook Beef Heart in the Instant Pot

• Once the pieces of beef heart are thawed, put the stainless steel insert in the instant pot and add the meat to the insert.
• Add 1 cup of filtered water or bone broth on top of the meat.
• Add your sliced onion or any other vegetables cut into smaller pieces (optional)
• Put the lid on the Instant Pot and turn the valve to “Seal”
• Press the “Pressure Cook” button and set the pressure to “High” 
• Set the time to cook for 75 minutes and press start if your brand of pressure cooker has that feature.
• Once the timer goes off and it has finished cooking, allow the pressure to naturally release for 30 minutes. Doing this step helps to make it more tender.
• Remove the meat from the instant pot, and allow to cool on a cutting board. (Don’t throw out the liquid in the instant pot insert. There are many nutrients left in that from the heart. Use it in your other beef recipes like beef stew.)
• Once cooled you can slice the meat into thick or thin slices as you please. If you want to serve it like this, that is fine or add it to your favorite dish. 

How to Make Crispy Beef Heart

If you like your meat to be a bit more crispy, here’s what I recommend. After you have sliced the meat into about 1″ – 2″ thick slices, and add it to a preheated cast iron pan. Sear it in some healthy fat, you could do olive oil but I prefer to use an animal fat like butter or rendered beef fat like tallow. Cook it like you would a steak but not quite as long since it is already cooked, you don’t want to dry it out. It needs to be cooked long enough so that it gets crispy on the bottom before you flip it to the other side. Serve it with some sauerkraut to help with your immune system and some steamed vegetables, delicious!

​

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• The Berky Filter I Use
• My Cast Iron Pan I have 2 this size
• My 6 quart Instant Pot I like this one because it has the yogurt function. I love making my Raw milk Greek Yogurt in this.

Other Recipes You May Like

Here are more Instant Pot and Animal Based recipes and probiotic rich food.

• 2-Ingredient Animal Based Pancakes – Dairy Free
• The Best Instant Pot Bone Broth
• Raw Milk Greek Yogurt – In the Instant Pot
• Instant Pot Applesauce – No Peeling
• How to Make Homemade Sauerkraut
• Homemade Fizzy Kombucha Tea Recipe

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How to Cook Beef Heart In the Instant Pot

The Instant pot is a great way to cook your beef heart and make this tough meat super tender and delicious!

Print

Ingredients

• An Instant Pot or other brand of pressure cooker
• 3-4 lbs Raw beef hearts or even Veal Hearts
• 1 cup Filtered Water or Bone Broth  
• 1 tsp Salt
• Any add ins you may want, veggies like a sliced onion, celery, carrots, etc.

Instructions

1. Once the pieces of beef heart are thawed, put the stainless steel insert in the instant pot and add the meat to the insert.
2. Add 1 cup of filtered water or bone broth on top of the meat.
3. Add your sliced onion or any other vegetables cut into smaller pieces (optional)
4. Put the lid on the Instant Pot and turn the valve to "Seal"
5. Press the "Pressure Cook" button and set the pressure to "High" 
6. Set the time to cook for 75 minutes and press start if your brand of pressure cooker has that feature.
7. Once the timer goes off and it has finished cooking, allow the pressure to naturally release for 30 minutes. Doing this step helps to make it more tender.
8. Remove the meat from the instant pot, and allow to cool on a cutting board. (Don't throw out the liquid in the instant pot insert. There are many nutrients left in that from the heart. Use it in your other beef recipes like beef stew.)
9. Once cooled you can slice the meat into thick or thin slices as you please. If you want to serve it like this, that is fine or add it to your favorite dish.

Notes

If you like your meat to be a bit more crispy, here's what I recommend. After you have sliced the meat into about 1" - 2" thick slices, and add it to a preheated cast iron pan. Fry it in some healthy fat, you could do olive oil but I prefer to use an animal fat like butter or rendered beef fat like tallow. Cook it like you would a steak but not quite as long since it is already cooked, you don't want to dry it out. It needs to be cooked long enough so that it gets crispy on the bottom before you flip it to the other side. Serve it with some sauerkraut to help with your immune system and some steamed vegetables, delicious!

Nutrition Information:

Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 197Total Fat: 53.62gSaturated Fat: 18.82gTrans Fat: 2.449gUnsaturated Fat: 7.43gCholesterol: 1687mgSodium: 3664mgCarbohydrates: 1.91gProtein: 241.13g

The post How to Cook Beef Heart in the Instant Pot appeared first on Natural Living Homestead.

This post contains affiliate links, which means I make a small commission at no extra cost to you. See my full disclosure here.

I had several apples that were starting to bruise along with a bag of apples sitting on the other end of my counter. I figured now is the time to make some apple sauce before they all get too bad.

Now I am not a fan of peeling things if I can help it. So when I found out about this method of getting quick apple sauce with hardly any dishes and absolutely no peeling, I was all for it. Now I do like the texture of applesauce that doesn’t have the skin, so there is one more step when making this apple sauce to remove the peels but it’s super quick.

I love using the instant pot to make things super easy and cut down on my need to stand at the stove and keep and eye on cooking food. Not to mention if I need to leave the house for any reason, this can keep cooking and be done by the time I get back. I don’t need to worry about turning off the stove and picking it back up when I return home.

It also keeps the food warm by switching to the warm setting and it’s ready for me to continue with when I’m ready.

What can applesauce be used for?

• In baked goods you can use them in place of oil in a 1:1 ratio
• An added ingredient to your dinner side dish – add some sour cream and a little nutmeg and eat it alongside some pork or chicken
• Add it to your bowl of oatmeal
• Make a Peanut Butter and Applesauce sandwich
• I like to add it to my strudels – just add a little sweetener and cinnamon – yum!
• Make frozen apple sauce bites for your toddler
• Add some to your yogurt with some granola for a tasty breakfast or snack.
• Warm some up in a bowl and sprinkle some cinnamon on it.
• You could even make this a gift and add them to pint size mason jars and add a cute tag.
• The possibilities are endless

In a pinch I have used apple sauce in place of oils when I am making a cake or other baked goods. I have frequently made these delicious Applesauce Muffins for my kids and they love them.

What kind of apples make the best applesauce?

If your looking for a sweet applesauce, Gala, Fuji and Honeycrisp are best for that.

If your wanting a tart applesauce, McIntosh, Cortland, Pink Lady and Granny Smith would be your go to apples.

How to make Instant Pot Applesauce

Supplies Needed:

Instant Pot

Stainless steel food mill

Ingredients:

Apples (any variety will work for this recipe)

Cinnamon if you choose

How to make Instant Pot Applesauce

1. Wash your apples
2. Add them to your instant pot
3. Add the water, 10-12 apples – 1/2 a cup, a full 6 quart instant pot – 3/4 – 1 cup. You don’t want to add too much water because the apples release a lot of liquid.
4. Put the lid on the instant pot and set it to seal
5. Press the Pressure Cook setting and set it to High Pressure
6. Set the time for 30 minutes
7. When the time is up you can let the pressure naturally release or release the seal yourself.
8. Scoop out about a cup or two at a time into the food mill and run it through there adding more as needed.
9. I occasionally spin the handle in reverse to scrape up the skin that gets stuck along the bottom.
10. Keep adding to your food mill removing and seeds and peels until your finished.
11. Add a teaspoon of cinnamon if desired.
12. If you want to add a sweetener, you can drizzle some honey or maple syrup.
13. I keep my applesauce in mason jars. Add a funnel to a half gallon jar and pour it in.

Storage

This should keep in your fridge for a couple weeks.

For longer storage you can freeze them in Souper Cubes then pop them out and keep them in gallon freezer bags.

What to do if you don’t have a food mill

If you don’t have a food mill but want applesauce today, I have a couple ideas for you. You can always leave the peels on, just core the apples and then add them to the instant pot and cook as directed. Once the apples are cooked, a less mess way would be to use your immersion blender right in your instant pot to your desired consistency. If you don’t have an immersion blender, add the apples to your blender.

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6 Quart Instant Pot

Moulinex Food Mill

Caveman Cub Stainless Steel Bowls – They are currently sold out but here’s a link for the same brand plates.

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Instant Pot Applesauce - No Peeling

Yield: 5 cups

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Additional Time: 5 minutes

Total Time: 5 minutes

A quick and simple way to get delicious homemade applesauce without the hassle of peeling.

Print

Ingredients

• 10-12 apples
• 1/2 cup water
• cinnamon (optional)
• sweetener (optional)

Instructions

1. Wash your apples
2. Add them to your instant pot
3. Add the water, 10-12 apples - 1/2 a cup, a full 6 quart instant pot - 3/4 - 1 cup. You don't want to add too much water because the apples release a lot of liquid.
4. Put the lid on the instant pot and set it to seal
5. Press the Pressure Cook setting and set it to High Pressure
6. Set the time for 30 minutes
7. When the time is up you can let the pressure naturally release or release the seal yourself.
8. Scoop about a cup or two at a time into the food mill and run it through there adding more as needed.
9. I occasionally spin the handle in reverse to scrape up the skin that gets stuck along the bottom.
10. Keep adding to your food mill removing and seeds and peels until your finished.
11. Add a teaspoon of cinnamon if desired.
12. If you want to add a sweetener, you can drizzle some honey or maple syrup.
13. I keep my applesauce in mason jars. Add a funnel to a half gallon jar and pour it in.

Notes

Storage

Store in your fridge for up to 2 weeks.

Freeze for up to 6 months. Souper cubes make for easy portion sizes when freezing.

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Other Recipes you May Like

Raw Milk Greek Yogurt – In the Instant Pot

The Best Instant Pot Bone Broth

Homemade Corn Chowder Recipe

The post Instant Pot Applesauce – No Peeling appeared first on Natural Living Homestead.

This post contains affiliate links, which means I make a small commission at no extra cost to you. See my full disclosure here.

Why make The Best Instant Pot Bone Broth?

Bone broth is incredibly healthy for you. It is well known for it’s ability to heal and seal the gut lining. It has a lot of nutrients that is found in the bones and the joints. You have bone marrow and collagen to name a couple things.

It is wonderful to add it to your meals as you cook or drinking it warm with a little bit of salt for added flavor. When you save up the bones from cooking a chicken or the bones from a ham roast or even a steak, you then have all you need to make this healthy broth.

When you make your own bone broth at home, you know it’s the best. What you can buy at the store isn’t of the best quality since they don’t cook it for as long as it should be done. You also don’t know the quality of the bones that are being used.

Let’s not forget that when you make your own, your saving money by saving the bones from previous meals.

What are the health benefits of bone broth?

• It is known for being able to heal and seal the gut lining. Babies tend to have a “leaky gut” and when they are to start solids. Bone broth probably one of the best things you can give them before they start solid foods. It will help their gut to seal up so they have an easier time digesting their food.
• It may help your skin to have more elasticity.
• The collagen may help to support your joints.
• It’s very high in quality protein.

How to use The Best Instant Pot Bone Broth

Many people add it to the meals they cook. They will use it as a base when making soup or stews. You could also add it to your pot to cook rice in, instead of using water. I find it gives the rice more flavor and a nutritional boost. The same thing can be done when cooking your pasta.

A lot of people, like myself, like to just warm it up on the stove, add some salt for flavor and drink it like that.

Here’s a good recipe that I like to use as a base for my bone broth.

Can I use my slow cooker to make bone broth?

You can use your slow cooker. A lot of people don’t have an instant pot and will use their crock pot instead. It does take longer to make the bone broth, usually about a whole day or longer. You also loose a lot of liquid when it cooking because the lid is not sealed like an instant pot lid. Also, be careful if you are using an older model of a slow cooker because they can be lined with some not so healthy things. You can read more on that here.

How to Make The Best Instant Pot Bone Broth?

1. First you will want to save up some bones. I like to keep a gallon zip lock bag in my freezer that I just add any bones to until the bag is full.
2. Let your bones thaw a bit. This will make it easier to get it to fit in your instant pot since mine usually forms one giant lump in the bag.
3. Add enough bones to the pot to make it 1/2 to 3/4 full.
4. Here is where its optional – you can add any scrap veggies you have. Celery, onions, carrots, etc. I don’t but you can if you please, it can add some flavor to the final product.
5. Apple Cider vinegar – just a few tablespoons (I like the Bragg brand that has the “Mother”). It’s optional though, for health reasons I don’t add any and mine turns out just fine.
6. Fill the pot with water until it’s just a little bit above the top of the bones.
7. Place the insert in the instant pot and put the lid on and turn the knob on top to “Seal”.
8. Once your machine is on, press the Soup/Broth button and set it to low pressure for 3 hours.
9. Once it’s finished and your ready, strain out the bones. I like to give them to my chickens, they get calcium from the brittle bones as well as lots of protein, which means better eggs for me.
10. I then like to put a funnel over a half gallon jar with a fine mesh strainer to filter out the small bits of bone and meat.

How to store Instant Pot Bone Broth?

After I strain the bone broth, I let it cool to room temperature. I then store my bone broth in the fridge in mason jars for up to a week.

Once it’s been in the fridge for 12 hours or so you will find that it will be like Jello in your container. This is from all the collagen that was pulled from the bones. When you see this, you know that you had a good ratio of water to bones in your pot. You want to have the jelling, that is what makes a healthy bone broth.

How to freeze Instant Pot Bone Broth?

• You can store it in mason jars, be careful to fill to just below the bottom of the neck to allow for expansion or at least an inch below the top of the jar if using a straight neck jar.

• You can also put it in ice cube trays to make for easy distribution if you just want it to season a small dish.

• I like to freeze mine in small blocks. I will add them to some Super Cubes silicone molds and freeze them in that and then pop them out and store in gallon zip lock bags.

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6 Quart Instant Pot

Souper Cubes

Apple Cider Vinegar

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The Best Instant Pot Bone Broth

Yield: 3/4 gallon

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 3 hours

Total Time: 3 hours 5 minutes

This is a gut healthy food that nourishes your body from the inside out all by simmering some bones and veggies if you choose.

Print

Ingredients

• 2 lbs bones
• 1/2 gallon + 1 quart water if needed to cover the bones
• veggies - optional
• 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar - optional

Instructions

1. Add enough bones to the pot to make it 1/2 to 3/4 full.

1. Here is where its optional - you can add any scrap veggies you have. Celery, onions, carrots, etc. I don't but you can if you please, it can add some flavor to the final product.
2. 2 tbsp Apple Cider vinegar - optional.
3. Fill the pot with water until it's just a little bit above the top of the bones.
4. Place the insert in the instant pot and put the lid on and turn the knob on top to "Seal".
5. Once your machine is on, press the Soup/Broth button and set it to low pressure for 3 hours.
6. Once it's finished and your ready, strain out the bones.
7. Then put a funnel over a half gallon jar with a fine mesh strainer to filter out the small bits of bone and meat.

Notes

• This will keep in your fridge for up to 1 week or 6 months in the freezer.
• If you have chickens or pigs, set the bones aside. I like to give them to my chickens, they get calcium from the brittle bones as well as lots of protein, which means better eggs for me.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 10 Serving Size: 1 cup
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 168Total Fat: 55gSaturated Fat: 21gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 581mgSodium: 628mgCarbohydrates: 0gFiber: 0gSugar: 0gProtein: 187g

You May Also Like:

Homemade Corn Chowder Recipe

How to Make Homemade Sauerkraut

Raw Milk Greek Yogurt – in the Instant Pot

Sourdough Maple Syrup Dumplings (Grand Pères)

The post The Best Instant Pot Bone Broth appeared first on Natural Living Homestead.