Anticuchos de Corazón

Working on a sturdy board, examine the beef heart carefully. Using a sharp boning knife, trim away any visible pockets of exterior fat — they are tallow-flavored and won't render in the short grill time. More importantly, feel for and cut out the firm white connective tissue tubes (the aorta and pulmonary vessels) that run through the top of the heart, and peel away the tough outer membrane that sheathes the ventricle walls. The actual muscle of the heart is unlike any other cut — it is deep red, extremely fine-grained, and dense, with almost no intramuscular fat. Slice the cleaned muscle across the grain into pieces roughly 3cm thick. They should look like small, irregular medallions, darker and more uniform than a steak.

In the bowl with the trimmed heart pieces, combine the ají panca paste, red wine vinegar, minced garlic, ground cumin, salt, and black pepper. Mix thoroughly with your hands, massaging the marinade into every surface and crevice of the meat. The vinegar begins a gentle acid tenderization immediately, and the ají panca — which is smoky, mild, and fruity in a distinctly different way from ají amarillo — stains the meat a deep, brick-red purple. Cover the bowl tightly and refrigerate for a minimum of 3 hours, ideally overnight. The longer it marinates (up to 24 hours), the more the vinegar softens the tight muscle fibers and the more deeply the spices penetrate. An hour before cooking, thread the pieces onto metal skewers — two or three pieces per skewer, leaving a little space between them.

Prepare your grill for extremely high direct heat — charcoal is authentic and optimal, gas works but lacks the smoke. The grill grate should be so hot that the skewers sizzle immediately and loudly on contact. Brush the grate with a little oil to prevent sticking. Lay the skewers perpendicular to the grate bars and leave them absolutely still for 2–3 minutes to develop a deep char. Turn once; grill the second side for 2 more minutes. Total cooking time is 4–5 minutes — beef heart is best eaten medium, with a faint blush of pink in the very center of the thick pieces. If you cook it beyond that, the muscle fibers contract violently and the texture goes from pleasantly chewy-tender to genuinely tough. While grilling, baste once with oil to create additional flare-ups and the characteristic flame-kissed char marks of street-cooked anticuchos.

Let the skewers rest 2 minutes off the heat. Plate in the traditional Lima street-food style: the skewers laid directly over rounds of boiled choclo (or corn on the cob cut into rounds) and boiled potato — the mild starchiness of both counterbalances the charred, acidic, deeply savory heart. In Lima, an anticucho vendor will hand you the skewer with the corn and potato already impaled at the base, so each bite can alternate between meat and starch. No additional sauce is strictly necessary, but a spoonful of remaining marinade warmed and reduced makes an excellent quick dipping sauce, or serve with additional ají amarillo paste on the side.