The number one request that I have is people looking for new ways to prepare venison heart. While cleaning a heart, I noticed the striking resemblance that it had to a deep red tuna steak. So I thought why not treat it like a piece of tuna and serve it raw. And this my friends is how the venison heart poke bowl was born.
The key here is to clean the heart of all fat, sinew, veins or any other tissue that isn’t meat. When its clean, it should look like a clean and lean steak with zero fat.
If you have the knife skills, cutting the filleted heart in half horizontally while laying flat on the cutting board will help give you a more uniform dice if you’re into the aesthetic thing. It can also help achieve smaller pieces which make the meat easier to chew.
VENISON HEART POKE BOWLS
Ingredients
- Cooked rice, I like short grain rice for this recipe
- 1 pound venison heart, trimmed and cut into 1/4″ dice
- 2 tablespoons light soy sauce
- 1 1/2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
- 2 teaspoons mirin
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon orange juice
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 4 scallions, green parts – thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons red onion, finely minced
Garnish Ideas
- cilantro
- cumber
- avocado
- jalapeno
- sambal or sriracha chile sauce
- green onion
- lime
- sesame seeds
- chips (plantain, wonton crisp, tortilla)
- chopped nuts (macadamia, peanuts, cashews)
Instructions
- In a bowl add all of the ingredients except the rice and garnishes. Stir well, cover and let marinate in your refrigerator for 1 to 3 hours.
- Assemble your poke bowls. Using a slotted spoon, add the desired amount of venison heart atop the rice. Add the garnishes of your choice. Drizzle a little marinade over top of everything.
