Chicken Hearts in Sour Cream
Chicken hearts are pure muscle, so quick frying turns them to rubber. The only method that works is a long, quiet braise that lets the fibres relax. Forty-five minutes sounds absurd for something so small, but that is exactly what turns them into tender morsels with a deep, meaty flavour.
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cook
- 45 min
- Total
- 1 h
- Servings
- 4
- Level
- Easy
- Per serving
- 330 kcal
Ingredients
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What to use instead
Single cream instead of sour cream gives a milder, less tangy sauce.
Makes: 4 servings
Shopping list
The ingredients for the servings you chose — copy them or send them to a messenger. Tick what you already have at home: only the rest goes on the list.
Method
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Step 1: Prepare the hearts
Rinse the hearts, trim the pale tubes at the top and any excess fat. There is no need to halve them — whole ones stay juicier.
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Step 2: Dry them
Spread them on a towel and dry well: wet hearts steam in the pan instead of browning.
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Step 3: Brown
Fry the hearts in the oil over high heat for 7–8 minutes, until they shrink and colour.
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Step 4: Add the vegetables
Add the chopped onion and blitzed or grated carrot and fry for another 5 minutes, until the onion softens.
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Step 5: Add liquid
Pour in the hot water, add the bay leaves, turn the heat right down and braise, covered, for 30 minutes.
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Step 6: Add sour cream
Stir in the sour cream, season with salt and pepper and simmer uncovered for 10 minutes so the sauce thickens.
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Step 7: Check
A fork should slide into a heart with no resistance. If it springs back, give it another 10 minutes.
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Step 8: Serve
Scatter with dill and serve with mash, rice or buckwheat.
Tips & variations
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Tip
Don't salt at the start: salt pulls moisture from the muscle and lengthens the braise.
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Variation
A handful of mushrooms with the onion makes the sauce thicker and more fragrant.
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Swap
Single cream instead of sour cream gives a milder, less tangy sauce.
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Storage
They keep 2 days in the fridge and are even more tender the next day.
Nutrition
| 1 serving | Whole dish 4 servings | |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | 330 kcal | 1,320 kcal |
| Protein | 30 g | 120 g |
| Fat | 19 g | 76 g |
| Carbohydrates | 8 g | 32 g |
Approximate values calculated from standard ingredient data.
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