"Lima's street food from 6 p.m. Beef heart marinated in panca chilli, charcoal-grilled and served with potato. The meat is lean and clean, the chilli paste is where all the flavour lives."
About Anticuchos
Lima's greatest street food: cubes of beef heart marinated for hours in a paste of dried panca chilli, cumin, garlic, vinegar and oil, skewered and grilled over charcoal until charred and caramelised; served with boiled potato and a rocoto chilli dipping sauce; sold by anticucheras pushing charcoal carts through Lima's streets from 6 p.m.; a tradition from Viceroyalty-era Lima.
Anticuchos, a staple of Peru's cuisine
Heart Skewers
Anticuchos are Lima's great street food: cubes of beef heart marinated in a paste of dried panca chilli, cumin, garlic and vinegar, skewered and grilled over charcoal until charred and caramelised. They are served with boiled potato and a spicy rocoto sauce. Sold from charcoal carts that appear on Lima's streets in the evening, they are city food at its most atmospheric.
The Beef Heart
Beef heart is lean and dense, with a clean, mild flavour quite unlike the strong taste the word offal might suggest. It takes well to the grill, charring at the edges while staying tender within. Its mildness makes it a canvas for the marinade rather than a strong flavour in its own right.
The Panca Marinade
The complexity comes from the marinade, built on panca, a dark, mild dried chilli, with cumin, garlic and vinegar. Hours of marinating flavour the meat through and help it caramelise over the coals. The paste is where the whole character of the dish lives.
An Old Lima Tradition
Anticuchos trace back to colonial Lima and the city's African and indigenous heritage, grilled meat on skewers sold on the same streets for centuries. They belong to the evening, when the anticucheras fan their coals and the smoke drifts through the neighbourhood. Eaten hot from the cart with the fiery rocoto sauce, they are one of Peru's defining street foods.
What to Expect
At a Lima street cart at 8 p.m. the anticuchera fans the coals. Skewers go on and char quickly from the high heat. The diner is handed two skewers with potato on a paper plate. The anticuchos are dipped in the rocoto sauce immediately.
Why Try It
Anticuchos are the clearest example of Lima's African and indigenous food heritage combined, a Viceroyalty-era dish that has been served on the same Lima streets for 400 years.
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Insider Tips
Grimanesa Vargas anticuchería in Miraflores is the most famous fixed-location address in Lima.
Eat them at a street cart for the correct experience, the charcoal smoke is integral.
The rocoto dipping sauce is spicier than it looks. Test before applying generously.
