Himself many many years ago, a recently graduated PhD Chemist was off to work at the Technical University in ( West Berlin). I put West Berlin, because then Germany was still divided into West and East and for an impoverished, about to be an employee in Berlin, it meant taking a train across the East, through various check points and after many hours of travelling arrive at midnight at the Hauptbahnhoff in West Berlin. This poor ( monetarily poor) ex student was famished but the station cafe was still open! Alas back then his command of the German language was ropey to say the least but he spied upon the menu, Steak Tartare. I guess he could be forgiven for not knowing exactly what he was about to be served, what could be wrong with Steak? Well everything it would seem, because to the initiated, Steak Tartare is in fact raw steak !
Nowadays, he is anything but squeamish, eating and relishing in anything and everything, from Aligator to chicken feet, pigs trotters to 1,000 year old eggs and brains to pigs spleens! You name it he has eaten it!
But today we are talking about Steak Tartare, or as in Belgium it is called Fillet Américain, Same food, slightly different technique.
So let’s start from the beginning. No cooking is involved ( unless you want potato beignets or Frites as well ). Buy the best steak, ( usually fillet) that you can afford, this will be super lean. Providing you buy it from a reputable butcher the meat will be perfectly safe to eat raw, especially as it will be mixed with ingredients that will kill off any bugs!
In principle, minced or pre-chopped meat should not be used, as who knows how long it has been sitting there on the shelf! However, in some French and Belgian butchers they have a mincer dedicated to mincing beef for Steak Tartare, but I think will still opt for chopping it by hand.
To facilitate your chopping, put the meat in the freezer for about an hour beforehand , so much easier to handle and I do the same with the steak, when I cut the meat for Shabu Shabu.( Japanese hot pot).
Most restaurants will serve steak Tartare pre-created with all the trimmings added in with just the egg yolk sitting on top, ready for the diner to mix it in. However, for the home cook it is perhaps best to make and mix in the dressing beforehand, but then again, just for fun, save the egg yolk to go on top.
- For 2 people
- 200 gr fillet steak
- 1shallot finely chopped
- 2-3 cornichons ( baby gherkins) chopped
- 1-2 teaspoon small capers chopped
- 1tablespoon smooth Dijon mustard
- 2 tablespoons good olive oil or nut oil
- 2 drained anchovy fillets , chopped and smushed
- 1tsp tomato paste
- Juice of half lemon
- 1 tablespoon mayonnaise
- 1 egg yolk for the dressing and 2 egg yolks to sit on top
- A squirt of sriracha if you like it a little spicy
- A few leaves, cress, rocket , watercress to garnish
- Serve with sour dough toast/ French fries/ potato beignets
Make the dressing first of all , by whisking one egg yolk with the mustard and when throughly mixed trickle in the oil whilst still whisking. Add the anchovies and other ingredients and mix well, taste, add some salt if necessary and the juice of half a lemon. Put to one side.
Remove the meat from the freezer, thinly slice and then cut into thin chunks. Chop, chop chop, until the consistency suits you and then mix the meat with the dressing.
Using pastry cutters, or little flan rings, shape the meat into tidy rounds. Drizzle a little oil around and put the egg yolk neatly on top and garnish!
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