- Country of origin
- 🇵🇪 Peru
- Category
- Street Food
- Difficulty
- ●●○ Medium
- Preparation
- 20 min (+ 4h marinade)
- Cooking
- 10 min
- Servings
- 4 servings
History
Anticuchos are skewers of marinated meat grilled over charcoal, traditionally made with beef heart (anticucho de corazón) cut into cubes and marinated in a blend of vinegar, cumin, garlic, and aji panca chili paste before being threaded onto skewers and grilled. The idea of the marinated, grilled skewer is thought to trace back to Inca-era practices that predate Spanish colonization, while the name itself is believed to come from the Quechua word “anti” (mountain, Andean region) combined with either the Spanish “cuchi” (pig) or “cuchillo” (knife), depending on which theory you follow.
The use of beef heart is thought to date to the colonial era, when Afro-Peruvian slaves and laborers, who were allotted only the offal and less prized cuts of the animal, are believed to have built this recipe out of the available leftovers, before it went on to become a dish enjoyed across every social class in Peru. Traditionally sold in the evening by street vendors known as anticucheras, set up on street corners with their smoking braziers, anticuchos remain one of the country’s most beloved street foods today.
Ingredients — for 4 people
- 600 g (1.3 lb) beef heart, cubed
- 3 tbsp aji panca chili paste
- Red vinegar, cumin, crushed garlic
- Potatoes, corn (choclo), to serve
- Bamboo skewers
Step-by-step Peruvian anticuchos recipe
- Clean the beef heart, trimming away sinew and membrane, then cut it into even cubes.
- Prepare the marinade by mixing the aji panca paste with the vinegar, cumin, and crushed garlic.
- Marinate the heart cubes for at least 4 hours, ideally overnight in the refrigerator.
- Thread the marinated pieces onto skewers that have been soaked in water.
- Grill over hot coals, basting regularly with the marinade, until the outside is well browned and the inside stays pink.
- Serve immediately with boiled potatoes and an ear of corn.
Cooking Method
Technique: a long vinegar-and-chili marinade to tenderize the meat, followed by a fast, high-heat grill over coals so it doesn’t turn rubbery.
Traditional equipment: a metal street brazier, often mounted on a small mobile cart.
Signs to watch for: never overcook the beef heart — past medium-rare to medium it quickly turns tough and fibrous.
Nutrition, per serving
Calculated from the raw ingredient quantities above, divided across four servings.
Beef heart is notably lean compared to more commonly grilled cuts — 7 g of fat per serving is low for a beef skewer, since heart is a working muscle with very little marbling, unlike a fattier cut such as short rib or sirloin. Most of the carbohydrate here comes from the potato and corn served alongside, not from the meat or marinade.
Economic context
Beef heart is one of the least expensive cuts available, historically the portion left to workers and enslaved people who were denied the more prized parts of the animal. That origin as a dish built from what was cheapest and most available is precisely what let it later cross every social class in Peru.
Source: World Bank / FAO, Food Prices for Nutrition database (Cost and Affordability of a Healthy Diet) v4.0, 2024 data, CC BY 4.0, DOI 10.57966/41AN-KY81. Retrieved 29 July 2026. This figure describes the cost of a healthy diet in Peru generally — it is not a costing of this specific recipe.
Who this dish suits
Fits well with
- High-protein, lower-fat grilled eating — 30 g protein, 7 g fat per serving
- Diets favoring lean cuts of meat over fattier alternatives
- Street-food style meals eaten with a starchy side
Worth knowing
- Organ meat (heart) — a different profile from muscle cuts, relevant to some dietary preferences
- Marinade is vinegar-and-chili based, with moderate heat from aji panca
- Best served immediately off the grill; heart toughens quickly if overcooked
What About You?
In your opinion, where’s the best place or restaurant to enjoy good anticuchos?