Lamb Heart – Grilled Lamb Heart Salad
Unless you grow up in a culture that appreciates the many wonderful parts of animals and how to prepare and cook them properly, you might cringe a bit when reading a menu that offers lamb heart. But in the hands of Coco 500 Chef Mike Morrison, this is one of the best lamb dishes you might ever eat.
The heart slices are layered across the long, narrow plate and delicately decorated with arugula, generous smatterings of super-soft cheese, and a sprinkling of fennel pollen. The fennel pollen is wondrously subtle and plays out as one of those rare, unique ingredients that can integrate various tones and flavors into a harmonious dish.
But the heart is the, uh, heart of the dish. It is awesome and should be on more menus., if only more people would put their adventure mouth on when dining out.
Grilling Lamb Heart – Flatiron
An entire lamb heart itself is brined, sliced into thirds, flatiron-grilled to a lovely warm rare, and has a fantastic flavor with simple sea salt, ground pepper, and extra virgin olive oil. Lamb heart tastes much like a steak-foie gras hybrid with an earthy hint of liver. The meat has wonderful tones, is absurdly tender, and would be a conversation starter for anyone who can get out of their own prejudices to try it. The foie gras taste is less rich and overwhelming, and the liver is there ever so slightly; heart’s just a great meat.
The Grade: Awesome / Exceptional (my highest grade)
The Skinny: Coco 500 – 500 Brannan St, San Francisco CA
Phone: (415) 543-2222
Website: http://www.coco500.com
Chef: Michael Morrison
Meat Meister's Food & Travel Blog: Beefy, Porky, Ducky, Deery 
Beautiful! I have made lamb heart twice–once stuffed, once confit–but neither method allowed the true succulent flavor of the heart to shine though as it seems to have in this dish. I am surprised by the fennel pollen, which has notes of anise, if I am correct. But the creaminess of the cheese and the tenderness of the heart I am sure is a winning combination.