Prairie to Plate: Seared Pronghorn Heart with Whiskey Butter

Recipe from Meat Eater and Danielle Prewett

Ingredients

Coffee rub

• 2 tsp. fresh ground coffee

• 1 1/4 tsp. kosher salt

• 1/2 tsp. black pepper

• 2 1/2 tsp. brown sugar

• 1/4 tsp. dried thyme

Heart

• 1 heart (From a deer, antelope, elk, etc.)

• 2 tbsp. whiskey

• 2 tbsp. butter

• Neutral flavored Oil with high smoke point for cooking (Canola or Grapeseed)

Preparation

Coffee Rub
Mix ingredients for the rub in advance. This yields about 2 tablespoons worth of spices, you might only use about half for this recipe, depending on how big the heart is.

Heart

1. Soak the heart overnight in a saltwater bath to pull out any coagulated blood. Use a sharp knife to trim the heart and remove any valves and fat. 

2. Sprinkle both sides of the heart with the coffee rub. Reserve a couple of pinches for the whiskey-butter sauce.

3. Heat a cast iron on medium-high. Once hot, add a tablespoon of oil and sear the heart on both sides until cooked through. You should treat it as you would a steak and serve with it still pink in the middle. 

4. Remove the heart to a cutting board and let it rest.

5. Deglaze the pan with the whiskey, scraping up fond (the cracklings and brown bits) at the bottom of the pan. Let the alcohol boil off for a few seconds, then add the butter and a couple pinches of coffee rub to season. Swirl the pan around until it melts and emulsifies.

6. Pour the whiskey-butter pan sauce over the heart and serve. Enjoy!