Pan Fried Chicken Hearts

This Brazilian barbecue delicacy in an easy pan fried version is the perfect carnivore keto snack! After you eat a chicken’s heart, nothing else is going to taste like chicken.

One day, upon filling my face with chicken hearts at a home barbecue, and liberally going through them as one would popcorn 🤯 I just realized chicken hearts are the carnivore version of popcorn!

Ahem, back to topic… I thought to myself: In medieval times, chicken hearts must have been something only great monarchs might have tried, at a similar rate of consumption.

Peasants would probably have had to share a single mingle heart among the whole family who was lucky enough to be eating a chicken dinner. They might not even have given the heart much attention. After all, it was so small, and there was just one. They probably just cooked it whatever way they cooked, with the rest of the chicken, or together with the other chicken innards. Or… they tried it separately, and found it fantastic, and reserved it for the family elders. A great honor, to be given the chicken heart!

The rich, though, always get the best stuff. Monarchs had great many a chicken in their banquets, and surely the cooks realized how delicious chicken hearts could be when eaten by themselves. Looking for their royals’ approval, the next time they killed one hundred chickens for a great banquet, they separated the hearts and barbecued them to serve their masters, who were enchanted by the tender, flavorful little morsels.

Chicken hearts are a delicacy that’s rare and should be savored and appreciated. When you get a tray full of chicken hearts in the supermarket… take a moment to remember that each chicken had only one. Feel privileged for the opportunity. You’ll be eating like royalty tonight.

What do chicken hearts taste like?

After you eat a chicken’s heart, nothing else is going to taste like chicken.

Although the heart is an organ, its meat composition is basically that of a muscle. The heart is our strongest muscle, after all. So the chicken heart taste is not as distant to that of muscle meat, it’s more like a super strong version of it.

But don’t be fooled by their strange appearance. Chicken hearts are delicious! They are tender, succulent, and slightly bouncy. They’re flavorful, but taste quite mild and non-gamey, at least in comparison to other offal. If you want to start trying organ meats, chicken hearts are the best “gateway offal” I can think of.

The benefits of eating organ meat: are chicken hearts good for you?

Overall, the nutrition content of any organ meat blows muscle meat out of the water. Add this to the fact they they are not only absolutely delicious, but super easy to cook and incredibly cheap, and I hope I have convinced you to try. But it’s not all:

The protein quality of chicken hearts is phenomenal. They have the highest total amount of essential amino acids ratio from all of the chicken, including the other offal. Essential amino acids have to be consumed, as they cannot be produced by the human body. And they’re good for the gains.

They are also extremely rich in vitamin B12, and are an excellent source of minerals, specially iron and zinc. Although chicken hearts do not have as near as much vitamin A as chicken liver (or any animal’s, actually), it’s still a decent source of vitamin A, when compared to muscle meats in general.

“Coraçãozinho de galinha”, the Brazilian style chicken hearts, are traditionally grilled

In Brazilian homes, as well as rodízio churrascarias (Brazilian style barbecue restaurants, or dare I say, carnivore temples), chicken hearts are seasoned with coarse crystal sea salt, skewered in ultra long, sword style metal sticks (childhood around these is fun, and it enforces Darwin’s principals) and grilled over red-hot coals. Weekend home barbecues in Brazil are a serious matter, and not serving chicken hearts is a grave sin. It’s like New Year’s Eve without fireworks.

Pan fried chicken hearts with browned crushed garlic bits, served on a wooden tray.

Allow me a small rant: I’m living in a really small apartment now, but at least I have a nice balcony where it’s possible to install a traditional Brazilian BBQ grill. Can you believe I was told off by the security guard when I tried to make a barbecue? He actually came up to my door and said if I didn’t stop he would call the police, as it’s not allowed. Absurd! I own the apartment, I own the balcony and I’m on the last floor so it’s not like I was smoking someone else’s house. That ended it for me. I’m not ever gonna live in an apartment again. Alas…

I have always eaten chicken hearts grilled, Brazilian style, as that’s what I grew up loving and never it occurred to me that I could do it any other way. Oh boy, how wrong I was!

When all the chances to eat again one of my favorite BBBQ – the extra B is for Brazilian 😁 – foods were taken away from me, I had to look into options. That’s when I thought, maybe this can be eaten without being barbecued? I started testing. I made chicken hearts in the oven. I made chicken hearts in the electric grill. I made chicken hearts in the air fryer. And then… only then, I made them the easiest way, but because it was the one method that seemed would render the least tasty result. Pan fried.

The best way to cook chicken hearts without a grill

Honest: pan fried chicken hearts are so good. I actually don’t miss the traditional grilled ones anymore… as much. You see, grilling them is a lot more work, with the skewering and fire making and smoke and cleaning it all after… Pan fried chicken hearts? A 20 minute affair, barely any work, and you can eat so many more of them.

In a Brazilian churrasco – that’s how we say barbecue – the chicken hearts are generally served as appetizers, which I’ve always found preposterous. They should obviously be the main, as they’re everyone’s favorite. Fights over how many chicken hearts one eats are a thing. But because we’re simply pan frying them now, and there’s not a big event with all family/friends involved, I can have them all by myself! (or at least half… I share them with my husband, I’m not a monster)

It’s incredibly easy to cook them, but as with any small morsel of meat, timing is everything. If overcooked, chicken hearts can get rubbery and chewy. If under cooked, they can be sinewy. But if cooked to the right doneness, they’re my favorite part of the chicken! As if you haven’t noticed 😁

How to clean chicken hearts

Chicken hearts are cheap, easy to cook, and don’t really require cleaning, although some choose to do it. So, if you are a beginner still irked by offal, just grab some and give it a go.

They most likely will be cleaned already, depending on where you buy them, but it’s a matter of taste, really. There’s nothing “dirty” to remove from hearts. You don’t need to wash or soak them. They might have some extra little chunks of fat, and the arteries flopping out might freak out some people. To clean these out, just cut them away with a sharp knife and that’s it. I like to leave them on: When the hearts are cooked, the veiny bits sticking out get nice and crunchy, making everything more interesting.

The arteries continue inside the heart, so even if you just cut out the outside portion, you’re eating them bits anyway. You’d have to butterfly the hearts and remove everything inside to be left with only the muscle. I’ve seen this type of recipe, but I can’t get my head around why anyone would go through all this work if they already taste heavenly the easy way. I’d even argue that this technique would remove the personality of the heart, as it would completely take away its fun bouncy texture.

How to cook chicken hearts

Season your hearts: you can keep it simple or go fancy here. They taste amazing with salt only when grilled. Chicken hearts are not like liver, for example, that have to go through soaking in lemon and milk and spiced and buttered to hell to make it edible.

Cooking them on a pan, it makes easier to spice them up than when you make them grilled: there’s no rubbing involved.

Melt lard (or your fat of choice – butter is not recommended, it makes too much smoke) on a shallow saucepan. Add the chicken hearts, salt, and your chosen spices. I went with rosemary, paprika, chili flakes, and crushed garlic. If adding the garlic, do it later on so it doesn’t burn.

Fry them up turning them around, starting on high heat. They release a lot of water. When the water is almost dried up, some 10 minutes later, add in the crushed garlic. Now the chicken hearts and the garlic will start sizzling together and get a nice tan. Brown them up until medium-well. Then comes the best part: eating.


Pan fried chicken hearts on a wooden board, served with garlic sauce.

Pan Fried Chicken Hearts

4.72 from 42 votes
After you eat chicken hearts, nothing else is going to taste like chicken. This keto carnivore recipe is the easiest way to try this Brazilian barbecue delicacy.
Author: Pris Frank
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
Course Keto Recipes
Cuisine Brazilian
Servings 4 servings

Ingredients
 

  • 2 pounds (1 kg) chicken hearts
  • 2 tablespoons fat for frying lard or tallow is best, but olive oil can be used
  • 1 ½ teaspoon fine salt
  • ½ teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon chili flakes
  • 1 tablespoon dried rosemary half the amount if fresh
  • 10 crushed garlic cloves optional, adjust to taste

Instructions
 

  • In a shallow saucepan, melt the 2 tablespoons fat for frying on high heat and add the 2 pounds chicken hearts.
  • Sprinkle 1 1/2 teaspoon fine salt, 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin and 1 teaspoon chili flakes.
  • Fry them up, turning around in the pan. They will start releasing water. Turn heat down to medium.
  • When the hearts have lost their pink/red color and the water is almost completely evaporated, add 1 tablespoon dried rosemary and 10 crushed garlic cloves (if using).
  • Continue frying and turning them often until they are evenly browned. Be careful not to over cook. Chicken hearts ideal doneness is medium-well.

Notes

The nutrition information displayed is for chicken hearts with crushed garlic, which adds 3 net carbs per portion. If you leave out the garlic, this will be a zero carb recipe.

Nutrition

Serving: 1Calories: 351kcalCarbohydrates: 2gProtein: 35gFat: 21gFiber: 0.4gSugar: 0.04gNet Carbohydrates: 2g
Tried this recipe?Leave a comment and let us know how it was!

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20 Comments

  1. Very easy way to prepare chicken hearts, I now prepare at least once a week following your recipe, as it’s such a good way to ingest more nutrients that you can’t get from regular meat. I do switch up spices not to tire of it, and the hearts are good with Italian seasoning as well, and with cheese.

  2. These were really amazing and easy to make. I had never tried chicken hearts before! Thanks for the recipe!

  3. Thank you so much Monika! I’m happy to meet a fellow chicken heart connoisseur! You know, I never thought of hot dogs when eating chicken hearts, but you are right!! I ate bratwurst sausage and chicken hearts another day and they do have a very similar texture when you bite into them, and the flavor too. Chicken hearts, a super healthy food that tastes like the best junk food- I think I like them even more now 😂

  4. I LOVE chicken hearts. So nice to find a blogger who is using them!
    I think they taste like hot dogs, honestly – but in the BEST way possible. Just found your blog, by the way, and really like it!

  5. One day, upon filling my face with chicken hearts at a home barbecue….😆 This! Had me laughing out loud, filling my face with chicken heart, it’s quite the visual. But the reality is organ meats are totally underrated! And oh so tasty when prepared correctly. Great post!😊

  6. Michelle, the fact that you use chicken hearts for stuffing tells me you are already a chicken offal connoisseur and appreciate their flavor. So I’m sure you’ll love them just by themselves, too!

  7. I’ve actually never tried chicken hearts, but this recipe looks amazing! I can’t wait to try it!

  8. I usually use chicken hearts in my stuffing for holidays, but haven’t tried them alone. This recipe looks so simple, and I’m excited to try it after your own rave reviews!

  9. I haven’t eaten chicken hearts in so long – definitely need to try them again. Sound delicious.

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