A street-food classic built on beef heart and live fire. Juicy inside and charred at the edges, the skewers carry the deep red punch of ají panca and vinegar, with grilled potato and corn as an inseparable part of the plate.
Turn what you find into an experience you can actually bring to your kitchen.
Trim the beef heart, removing thick fat, membranes, and tough connective tissue; then cut it across the grain into 3 to 4 cm pieces, keeping the thickness as even as possible. Uniform pieces cook at the same pace and keep you from ending up with tender bites mixed with chewy ones.
Mix the ají panca paste, red wine vinegar, garlic, oil, cumin, oregano, black pepper, and salt into a loose red marinade. Reserve about one third in a clean container before it touches the meat; coat the heart with the rest and refrigerate for 60 minutes. Only the clean reserved portion will be used for basting on the grill.
While the heart marinates, place the potatoes and corn in a pot, cover with the water, and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes, until a knife slides into the potatoes with little resistance and the corn kernels are tender. Drain, then once the potatoes are cool enough to handle, cut them into thick slices so they hold together on the grill.
Heat the grill over high heat. Thread the heart onto the skewers, leaving a little space between pieces; before cooking the meat, grill the potatoes and corn for 2 to 3 minutes per side, until they pick up browned grill marks. Brush them lightly with a little of the clean reserved marinade and keep them warm off to the side.
Set the anticuchos on the very hot grill and cook for 2 minutes without moving them; turn, brush with the clean reserved marinade, and cook for another 2 minutes. Briefly roll them onto the edges for 30 to 60 seconds if needed, until they are deeply browned outside and hot, juicy, and no longer raw-looking in the center. Serve immediately with the potatoes and corn. If the heart is nicely charred without turning tough, you nailed the texture. Time to eat! 🔥
