How to make Peruvian Anticuchos

The Peruvian Anticuchos is a recipe created since long ago in Peru. Its preparation uses heart beef cuts prepared in brochettes with a delicious sauce made with Peruvians peppers and spices. It is an alternative from usual beef cuts and will definitely give a new experience to your senses.

Peruvian Anticuchos are such an important dish that it even has a National Day in Peru, on October 17^th. The name Anticuchos is a derivation from the quechua “antikichu” which means Andean Cut. Originally for this dish, the meat used was llama meat but over the years the preparation changed to Heart beef since it’s similar and easier to get.

Even though eating the heart beef is not usual in many cultures, this recipe has emigrated to other countries and has earned a reputation because of its great taste. We recommend you this recipe is you are willing to try true Peruvian gastronomy and of course, using the authentic seasonings and peppers is fundamental to obtain a great flavor. If you are not a big fan of using heart beef, you may try with regular beef and still experience the great flavor of this recipe. The focus here is to have a great experience and offering a meal for everyone to be happy.  

Ingredients (For 4 portions)

• 1 Heart beef
• ½ Tablespoon of pepper
• ½ tablespoon of cumin
• 2 Teaspoon of ground oregano
• 1 Tablespoon of garlic paste
• ¾ cup vinegar
• ½ cup aji panca paste
• Brochette sticks
• Corn Leaves
• Salt to taste

Preparation

• The first step is to clean the heart, which means cut off the fat and the membrane that covers the heart, use a knife for this. Keep just with the flesh of the heart.

• Cut the heart making diagonal cuts, each cut should be 1 inch approximately.

• On a medium bowl, mix all the condiments: The garlic paste, salt, pepper, cumin and oregano until you obtain a homogenous mixture.

• Pour the vinegar to the previous mix and stir together.

• Macerate the pieces of beef heart with the mixture prepared for at least 2 hours, if possible; leave it macerate the whole night.

• Prepare brochettes with the pieces of marinated beef. It is recommended 3 for each stick

• Now take the brochettes to the grill, it is recommended to grill them for the better taste, but if you want to, you may cook them on a pan with oil.

• Make sure they are well cook on both sides and with a cocking brush cover them with more of the marinate sauce.

• They are ready, serve them and enjoy them with your favorite accompaniments.

For the accompaniments of this dish you may prepare some French fries, your favorite salad or you can try with other Peruvian recipes such as the Papa a la Huancaina, you also can prepare delicious dips to take your Peruvian Anticuchosto another level of experience, for this we recommend chimichurri as a perfect sauce to use with beef cuts.