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Recipe: Anticuchos (Peruvian Grilled Beef Heart)


Some traditional dishes in Peru have a strong influence from African immigrants that arrived in the XVIII century. One of those are the anticuchos, which are small pieces of grilled skewered meat, usually beef heart. The meat acquires a strong taste when marinated in vinegar and spices (such as cumin, aji pepper and garlic) and often come with a boiled potato, salad and corn.

Ingredients:

• 1 Beef heart or 500 grams / 2 lb of beef rump steak
• Salt
• 3 to 4 cloves of smashed garlic
• ½ cup of red wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• 1 tablespoon of ground cumin
• 1 large chili peppers, finely chopped without seeds

Preparation:

Work on the beef heart in order to get rid of veins and fat. Cut the heart or rump steak in small 3 to 4cm (1 to 1½ in) cubes. In a large bowl mix the vinegar, oil, salt, pepper, crushed garlic, chili pepper and ground cumin. Add the heart cubes and let the heart marinate for several hours or overnight. If you are using rump steak you do not need to marinate the meat for as long. Remove the meat cubes, lightly salt them and put 3 pieces onto each metal skewer. Cook over a hot grill for approximately 3 minutes per side, brushing them with the vinegar mix. When ready, they should go along with steamed corn and boiled potatoes.

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