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Sekai Gohan
Anticucho: Bolivian Grilled Beef Heart Skewers with Peanut Sauce
Ingredients
| Ingredient | Amount | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Beef heart (corazón de res) | about 1⅓ lb (600 g) | The meat of the skewer. Trimmed and cut into 1¼-inch (3 cm) cubes |
| Garlic (ajo), for the heart | 3 cloves | Grated, for the rub |
| Ground cumin (comino) | ½ tsp | Earthy warmth in the rub |
| Black pepper (pimienta negra) | ½ tsp | Bite in the rub |
| Salt (sal), for the heart | to taste | Rubbed into the meat |
| Small potatoes (papa) | 5 | Boiled in their skins, peeled, one on the end of each skewer |
| Shelled peanuts (maní) | ½ cup (120 ml) | Body of the sauce. Unsalted is best |
| Oil, for the sauce | 2 tbsp, plus a little for toasting the peanuts | For toasting the peanuts and frying the aromatics |
| Onion (cebolla) | ½ small onion | Finely chopped, sweetness for the sauce |
| Garlic (ajo), for the sauce | 1 clove | Crushed |
| Ground ají amarillo or ají amarillo paste (ají amarillo molido) | ½ cup (120 ml) | Color, fruitiness and heat in the sauce |
| Chicken broth or water | about 2 cups (500 ml) | Simmering liquid for the sauce |
| Salt, for the sauce | to taste | Seasoning at the end of the simmer |
| Water, for basting (salsa para asar) | ¼ cup (60 ml) | Keeps the surface moist on the grill |
| Oil, for basting | ¼ cup (60 ml) | Helps the surface brown |
| Lemon juice, for basting | juice of ¼ lemon | Sharpness on the grilled meat |
| Garlic, for basting | ½ clove | Grated |
| Salt, for basting | to taste | Seasons each coat |
Steps
1Boil the potatoes and mix the basting liquid
Put the small potatoes in their skins into a pot of water and bring it to a boil. Cook until a skewer slides into the center with no resistance, about 30 minutes for medium potatoes. While they cook, stir together the basting water, oil, lemon juice, grated garlic and salt to taste, then set the bowl aside. Drain the potatoes and peel them once they are cool enough to hold. The skins should slip off easily and the flesh should stay whole.
2Trim the heart and cut it into cubes
Lay the beef heart on a board and cut away the membrane, sinew and hard fat. Cut the clean meat into 1¼-inch (3 cm) cubes, which gives about 16 to 20 pieces, enough for five skewers. Keep the cubes the same size so they all cook through at the same pace. The cubes are ready when every face is dark red muscle with no white strands.
3Rub the heart with garlic and spices
Mix the grated garlic, cumin and black pepper into a paste. Put the cubes in a bowl, add the paste and salt, and rub it into every piece with your hands. Cover the bowl and keep it in the refrigerator until you skewer the meat. The cubes are seasoned when you can see flecks of spice clinging to every surface.
4Toast and grind the peanuts
Warm a little oil in a skillet and add the peanuts. Stir often until they turn an even golden color and smell toasty, then take them off the heat. Tip them into a mortar and grind them fine. They are ready when they look like coarse, damp sand with no whole halves left.
5Fry the onion, garlic and ají
Heat 2 tbsp oil in a saucepan. Add the chopped onion and crushed garlic and fry until they are soft and golden at the edges. Stir in the ají amarillo and fry it briefly, just long enough to warm it in the oil. You are there when the oil turns deep yellow-orange and the chili smells fruity.
6Simmer the peanut sauce
Add the ground peanuts and the broth or water to the saucepan and stir well. Bring it to a gentle simmer and cook for about 30 minutes, stirring constantly and scraping across the bottom so nothing catches. Season with salt at the end. The sauce is done when it is thick and smooth and coats the back of the spoon in an orange-yellow layer.
The sauce burns at the bottom firstGround peanuts sink and stick. Keep the spoon moving the whole time. If you smell scorching, pour the sauce into a clean pan without scraping the bottom, so the burnt layer stays behind.
7Thread the skewers
Take the heart out of the refrigerator. Thread four cubes onto each skewer, then push one peeled potato on last. Press the pieces snugly together without crushing them, and lay the finished skewers on a tray. A skewer is ready when the four cubes sit tight and the potato holds firm on the end.
Potato last, and firmThe potato on the end works as a handle and a side in one. Boil it only until a skewer slides through. An overcooked potato cracks as you thread it and falls into the coals.
8Grill hot, basting as you turn
Get the charcoal very hot, or heat a grill pan, broiler or barbecue to high. Pour some basting liquid into a second small bowl and brush from that one only. Lay the skewers over the heat and brush them on every turn, letting each coat sizzle off before the next. Stop basting before the final turns so the last coat cooks on the meat. The skewers are done when the outside is browned and lightly charred and the center of the thickest cube is cooked through, with no raw red meat, when you cut into it or check with a food thermometer.
Raw meat, basting and fireThe brush touches raw heart, so anything left in the brushing bowl gets thrown away after grilling. Never spoon it over cooked skewers or stir it into the peanut sauce. Cook the heart all the way through and do not serve it rare or half-raw. Use long tongs over charcoal and keep the oily brush away from open flame.
9Serve straight off the fire
Move the skewers to a plate as soon as they come off the heat. Spoon the peanut sauce over the meat and the potato, or set the bowl beside them. Eat them right away, while the meat is hot and still sizzling at the edges. The sauce should run slowly over the warm meat without turning thin.