How I make beef heart

[stretch5]

if i cant get beef heart can I use rump steak or lean roast meat instead?

[John_Nicholson]

Heart is used because it is extremely lean. I have used extra lean ground meat before but I cooked the meat so that I could drain the fat.

-john

[stretch5]

Heart is used because it is extremely lean. I have used extra lean ground meat before but I cooked the meat so that I could drain the fat.

-john

thanks for that John good info

[DRD2840]

I use a coffee bean grinder to powder my vitamins and Spirulina flake and flake food. It does a great job fast.

[Allapart]

Do you cook the beef heart??

[Akili]

Do you cook the beef heart??

You can cook it if you wish, I do not.

[John_Nicholson]

I don't. As a side note I have been able to get salmon fairly cheap lately and have been adding it to my mix as well.

-john

[brian uk]

Ok I thought I would put my method on here with a few pictures....

First I take some multivitamins...which ones? Whichever ones are on sale.... and put them in a metal bowl.



I then crush them...



And pour them into a paper plate for later.



I use the cheap throw away cookie sheets. 4 is normally enough.



Now for the hearts. I start with 2. Roughly 20 pounds total.



Open the package and rinse them off. I let the blood drain.



I then cut it into manageable pieces and cut them into strips so that I can remove the silver film and fat.



Here is what the trimmings look like.



Here is what the cleaned BH looks like. I will also be using those bananas.



Some of the other stuff. ***NOTE while I did not take a picture I also brown 4 pounds of ground venison and add to my mix**** I cut a slit in the bottoms of the packages so the fluid can drain out before I use it.




Here is some of the stuff in the processor. This picture shows spinach, bananas, shrimp, and just a little BH. I find that the shrimp is very sticky. I start it chopping and when it get stuck to the sides I drop in a piece of two of BH to get it moving again.



I then sprinkle a little of the crushed vitamins on it. I do this every time that I empty the processor.




Apparently I got tired of taking pictures at this point because I did not take anymore.....but here is how I finish...I will grind the rest of the ingredients. When I empty the food processor I will sprinkle in some vitamins and normally some flake food. I keep doing this until everything is ground. I them mix it well in the big metal bowl. After this I spread it on the cookie sheet. Once the 4 cookie sheets are filled I take a knife and score the mix into 2 X 5 inch pieces, cover it in foil, and freeze it. After freezing I break it into the 2 X 5 sections and put it in freezer bags for later use.

All in all it is easy and fairly cheap. I have made it a hundred different ways and none of them are wrong. I have used cooked hamburger meat, I have ground up all kinds of prepared foods that I get when I go to fish shops, I have used peas, I have got started and forgotten to use stuff. At the end of the day its not that big of a deal as long as you are providing enough protein for your fish.

Good luck.

-john

thanks john, youve gone international now, i will be trying this out, will be my first attempt at making my own

[John_Nicholson]

Well don't sweat the little details. There is really no wrong way to do it. Good luck.

-john

[Jack L]

Do you cook the beef heart??

i never have cooked it.

[two utes]

The raw shrimp and flakes hold it together. I have never had any issue with my fish eating it but then again they don't erally have a choice,

-john

Hi John.
Thanks for sharing your method for making beef heart mix.
I made a batch the other day but was unable to get a hold of any fresh shrimp. Instead l used some fresh white bait and pilchards. After freezing it and placing it into my tank l noticed how it fouled up the tank compared to the discus mix l purchase.
Is this because it wasn't bind together with the shrimp?
What else may l use as a binding agent? I'm thinking maybe egg whites or even gelatine powder. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated

[John_Nicholson]

Raw shrimp is very sticky. Fish not so much so I would guess that was your issue. Probably still a good food just hard on your water quality.

-john

[two utes]

Raw shrimp is very sticky. Fish not so much so I would guess that was your issue. Probably still a good food just hard on your water quality.

-john

Thanks John....Back to the drawing board