Street-Cart Beef Heart Anticuchos (Carretillero Style)

Authentic Peruvian street-food beef heart anticuchos with a powerful aji-paste marinade, served with boiled white potato and corn. Built as a business-ready recipe with exact weights and measures for selling from a cart (carretilla).

smart_display Published 2026-05-18 download Extracted 2026-05-19

60m Prep

15m Cook

13h 15m Total

6 Servings

peruvian anticuchos beef-heart street-food grilled skewers offal business carretillero main-dish

Ingredients

Basting Glaze

1 oz pisco (for basting) (added to the reserved marinade to flambe while basting on the grill)
1 oz vegetable oil (for basting) (added to the reserved marinade for the basting glaze)

Beef Heart

1 kg beef heart (trimmed of all nerves and fat, cut into thin 3-finger-wide fillets (about 1.5 kg raw yields ~1 kg after a ~30% trim loss; imported heart is larger with less waste))

Equipment

as needed bamboo skewers (soaked in water 2 hours (or frozen) so they do not catch fire over charcoal; about 13 skewers of ~80 g each from 1 kg)

Garnish

for serving white potatoes (boiled from cold salted water until tender (papas sancochadas))
for serving corn on the cob (choclo) (cut into rounds, boiled 4-5 min in water with sugar, lime and optional anise, left to rest in its own water)
30 g sugar (for the corn cooking water (per 1.5 L water))
a splash lime (a splash in the corn water to keep the kernels translucent rather than chalky white)
1 tea bag anise (1 anise tea bag (filtro de anis) in the corn water, optional) optional

Marinade

86 g aji panca paste (about 4 heaped tablespoons; use a well-concentrated homemade paste)
60 g aji amarillo paste (about 2 heaped tablespoons (56-60 g))
35 g aji mirasol paste (about 1 large heaped tablespoon)
26 g garlic (blended)
2 tsp dried oregano (whole dried leaves (use 1 tsp if powdered))
1 tsp dried rosemary (level teaspoon of dried leaves (use half if powdered))
2 g dried thyme (about 1 teaspoon of leaves (use half if powdered))
4 g black pepper (whole peppercorns (or 4 g ground))
6 g ground cumin (1 well-filled teaspoon)
6 g MSG (ajinomoto) (1 teaspoon; optional, but recommended for business to add umami) optional
15 g salt
30 ml pisco (1 oz (about 25 g by weight) for the marinade)
2 oz red wine vinegar
20 ml soy sauce (sillao) (a little under 1 oz)
50 g dark beer
2 oz sunflower oil (added and mixed in AFTER blending the marinade so it does not emulsify and turn the marinade orange)

Steps

Basting Glaze

1

Make the basting glaze: take the reserved marinade and add 1 oz oil plus 1 oz pisco (the pisco lets it flambe and adds aroma while basting).

Tip: The reserved glaze has no protein in it so it keeps longer.

~5 min

Beef Heart

1

Open up the beef heart and trim it thoroughly. Slice off the surface fat as thinly as possible, then carefully remove all the internal nerves and the thin membrane (use a flexible filleting knife and cut nerves with the knife tip). The nerves are what make the heart tough; the meat itself is naturally tender. Take all the time you need: cleaning the heart is the hardest and most important part, and the quality of the final dish depends on it.

Tip: Imported beef heart is roughly twice the size of national heart and has less waste; expect about a 30% trim loss (e.g. ~1.5 kg raw down to ~1 kg). Excess fat must go or it will combust over charcoal and give a fuel-like taste.

~25 min
2

Cut the cleaned heart into pieces about three fingers by three fingers, then butterfly/open each piece and slice into thin, even fillets with a very sharp knife. Aim for uniform thin cuts; pieces will go three per skewer.

Tip: From 1 kg you should get about 13 skewers of ~80 g each, two skewers per portion.

~15 min
3

Wash the heart pieces very well in plenty of water, rubbing and squeezing firmly (it is a tough muscle, do not be afraid to press hard). Change the water and repeat 3-4 times until it runs completely clear and releases all the myoglobin. If you skip this the meat will taste faintly like liver. Drain in a colander, pressing out the last traces, while you make the marinade.

Tip: More specialized places dry the meat with gauze or paper towel after washing.

~10 min
4

Skewer the meat: thread 3 thin pieces onto each soaked bamboo skewer, placing the prettiest, larger pieces on the outside and the smaller/uneven piece in the middle, set diagonally so the thin meat does not slip off. The meat must be at room temperature before grilling.

Tip: Bamboo skewers are soaked 2 hours (or frozen) so they do not burn over charcoal.

~10 min
5

Grill the anticuchos over high heat (charcoal grill ideal; a simple stovetop grill works at home), basting with the pisco glaze. These thin street-cart skewers cook very fast: brush, sear one side, turn once for a clean sear on both sides. Briefly grill the sliced potatoes too so they pick up the anticuchero flavor.

Tip: Thin carretillero skewers cook in just a few minutes; a thicker 'a la carta' cut would take longer.

~8 min

Garnish

1

Make the garnish. Potatoes: put white potatoes in cold salted water, bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then lower the heat and simmer until tender (time depends on size). Corn: bring 1.5 L water to a boil with 30 g sugar, a splash of lime, and an optional anise tea bag; add the choclo rounds and boil 4-5 minutes until tender, then turn off and let it rest in its own water.

Tip: The lime keeps the corn kernels translucent instead of chalky white. Always add the corn to already-boiling water.

~25 min
2

Serve the anticuchos with the boiled potato and corn, and a creamy three-aji sauce (crema de tres ajies) on the side. Plate 4 skewers per serving for presentation.

Tip: The three-aji cream is its own recipe (see the creator's previous video).

~5 min

Marinade

1

Make the marinade for 1 kg of product: in a blender combine aji panca paste (86 g / ~4 tbsp), aji amarillo paste (60 g / ~2 tbsp), aji mirasol paste (35 g / ~1 tbsp), garlic (26 g), dried oregano (2 tsp), dried rosemary (1 tsp), thyme (2 g), black pepper (4 g), cumin (6 g), MSG/ajinomoto (6 g, optional but recommended for selling), salt (15 g), pisco (1 oz / 30 ml), red wine vinegar (2 oz), soy sauce/sillao (20 ml) and dark beer (50 g). Blend until smooth. Do NOT add the oil yet.

Tip: Use well-concentrated homemade aji pastes for the best result. Reserve a little of the blended marinade (with no protein in it) for basting later, it keeps longer.

~10 min
2

Stir 2 oz of sunflower oil into the marinade by hand (do not blend it in, or it emulsifies and turns the marinade orange instead of dark red). Combine the drained heart with the marinade, cover, and refrigerate at least 6 hours; 12 hours is ideal. It keeps in the marinade refrigerated for up to 4 days, so only skewer the amount you will grill.

Tip: Bring the meat to room temperature before grilling; never put it on the grill cold.

~720 min

Nutrition (per serving)

320

Calories

30g

Protein

22g

Carbs

13g

Fat

Fiber

Cultural Context

Anticuchos de corazon are one of Peru's most iconic street foods, with roots tracing to colonial times when enslaved Africans seasoned and grilled the cattle offal that landowners discarded. Sold today from charcoal carts (carretillas) by anticucheras across Lima and beyond, skewered marinated beef heart is grilled over coals and traditionally served with boiled potato, choclo (Andean corn), and a creamy aji sauce. The marinade built on aji panca, aji amarillo, and aji mirasol pastes, along with cumin, oregano, vinegar, and pisco, defines the dish; this 'carretillero' version uses thin cuts on bamboo skewers, the format favored for fast, high-volume street sales.