Anticuchos — Peruvian Beef Heart Skewers with Panca Glaze and Rocoto Sauce
The real Peruvian anticuchos — beef heart marinated in ají panca and apple cider vinegar, grilled hot with a separate panca glaze applied every minute, and served with rocoto sauce, cooked potatoes, and white corn. The panca glaze is what most recipes miss.
Servings 4 people
Equipment
- Grill set up coil for direct heat
Ingredients
Meat
- 2 lb Beef Heart cut same size, remove fat
- 1 cup/taza Olive Oil E
- 1 cup/taza "Ají Panca Paste"
- 2 tablespoons Apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon Soy Sauce
- 1 tablespoon Oregano
- 1 tablespoon Brown Sugar
- 1 tablespoon Salt
Panca Glace
- 3 tablespoons Vinegar
- 3 tablespoons Brown Sugar
- 1/2 cups Vegetable Oil
- 3 tablespoons Aji Panca Paste
- 2 tablespoons water
Sides
- 4 portions Cooked potatoes
- 2 White corn or "Choclos" cut in halfs and cooked
Rocoto paste
- 4 tablespoons Rocoto paste
- 1 tablespoon EVOO
- 2 tablespoons Apple cider vinegar
- 1 cup of "Queso fresco"
- 3 tablespoon Evaporated Milk
- 5 Saltine Crackers
- 1 teaspoon Salt
Instructions
Meat
- Clean the beef heart, remove fat, cut them into equal sizes, find a size that can be skewered, and set it aside.
- Add all the ingredients to a bowl except the beef heart, use a whisk to integrate them, then add the beef heart, and let it rest in the fridge for at least 12 hours.
Panca Glace
- Whisk all ingredients in a bowl and set it aside, use a brush to apply it to the meat when the meat it is on the grill , and stir constantly as being used.
Grill the meat
- Set up Grill, get it hot
- Once the grill is hot skewer the meat, and cook on a grill (2 to 3 min per side) depending on the size of your meat, use the glace every minute or so to prevent it to get dry.
- Once cooked set aside and serve with sides while hot.
Sides
- for the "Rocoto" sauce, add all the ingredients into a blender, and integrate them until smooth, serve the "Anticuchos" with some potatoes, white corn, and some "Rocoto" sauce on the top.
Notes
On marinating time: 2 hours minimum, overnight is significantly better. The ají panca and vinegar need time to work into the muscle fibers. This is the single most important variable in the final result.
On the panca glaze: Apply every minute, not every 3. The glaze builds in layers — first application starts caramelizing, each subsequent application builds on top. By the time the meat is done you have a thick, lacquered coating. Stir before each application.
On beef heart: Ask your butcher. Most have it frozen even if not displayed. Latin markets almost always carry it. If you can't find it, sirloin steak or chicken thighs work with this marinade.
On the saltines in the rocoto sauce: Not a typo. Saltines thicken the sauce without making it heavy and give a subtle toasty note. This is how some Peruvian home cooks make it.
On cooking fuel: The best anticuchos in Lima are cooked over charcoal coils. They give that specific charcoal flavor that's hard to replicate on gas
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