Destination
Arequipa
The story
Anticuchos are Lima's most-loved street food and one of the country's oldest continuously-eaten dishes: skewers of beef heart, cut into 3cm cubes, marinated overnight in ají panca (Peruvian red chili paste), garlic, cumin, vinegar and oil, then grilled hard over charcoal until the outside is dark-charred and the inside is still juicy. Served with a boiled potato, a chunk of choclo corn and a small dish of ají verde (green chili sauce). Sold from every anticuchera cart in Lima — the women who run these carts are called anticucheras and are neighbourhood institutions — and eaten from the paper on the street at 10pm on a Friday.
Method
If not pre-cleaned: trim veins, gristle and any tough silverskin from the beef heart. Cut into 3cm cubes. Rinse under cold water and pat dry.
Whisk all marinade ingredients in a large bowl. Add the beef cubes and toss thoroughly. Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours, preferably overnight (up to 24 hours).
Blend all ají verde ingredients in a blender to a smooth green sauce. Adjust with more lime, salt or oil as needed. Refrigerate.
Boil the potatoes 20 minutes until tender. Boil the corn cobs 10 minutes; cut into chunks. Keep warm.
Heat a charcoal grill until the coals are white-ashy and screaming hot. A very hot cast-iron plancha or gas grill is the practical indoor substitute.
Thread 4 to 5 marinated beef cubes onto each skewer, leaving a little space between each for even cooking.
Lay the skewers on the hot grill. Cook 90 seconds on the first side without moving. Flip and cook 90 seconds on the second side. Brush both sides with the extra ají panca-and-oil basting mixture. Cook another 30 seconds a side if you want more char, but don't overcook — beef heart is at its best medium-rare to medium.
Sprinkle finishing salt on each skewer. Serve 2 skewers per person on a plate with a boiled potato, a chunk of corn and a generous spoon of ají verde on the side. Eaters bite pieces of meat off the skewer, dipping in the ají verde. A cold beer on the side is mandatory.
Tips
- Beef heart is the classical cut. Ask a butcher for cleaned beef heart — some will sell it pre-trimmed. It's lean, chewy in the right way, and takes the ají panca marinade beautifully. Beef sirloin is the practical substitute and works well.
- Ají panca is the flavour marker. This deep-red mild Peruvian chili paste is what makes anticuchos taste Peruvian. Sold at any Latino grocer (Doña Isabel brand is standard). Substitutes (guajillo, ancho paste) give you similar heat but the wrong flavour.
- Overnight marinade. Four hours is the minimum for the marinade to penetrate; 24 hours is markedly better. Beef heart is dense muscle and needs time.
- Screaming-hot grill. Charcoal white-ashy, cast-iron smoking. Anything less and the marinade steams instead of chars.
- Do not overcook. Medium-rare beef heart is tender. Well-done beef heart is chewy. Ninety seconds per side over high heat is the sweet spot.
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