Steak tartare
Steak tartare is a meat dish containing raw cattle or horse beef, sliced into thin slices, chopped, or ground. It is often served with onions and seasonings, and sometimes with raw egg. In the past, any restaurant that served hamburgers had the ability to prepare cannibal sandwiches, which are viewed by many as a poor imitation of the real dish, as quality meat (Filet Mignon) should be used for the best taste.
Health concerns have decreased the popularity of this meat dish because of the danger of contamination by bacteria and other organisms. Cooking until the chopped meat is no longer pink is a sure way of killing almost all undesired organisms, but it is contrary to the preparation of this food item.
The basis of the name is the legend that Tatars did not have time to cook and thus ate their meat raw while remaining mounted on horses. Steak tartare is now regarded as a gourmet dish.
A simple example recipe
- 1/2 pound of quality beef (filet mignon) with all connective tissue removed. Chopped fine or run twice through a meat grinder with 1/4 inch plate.
- One egg yolk.
- One Teaspoon Worcestershire or Soy sauce.
- One Tablespoon whole grain mustard.
- 1-3 drops of hot pepper sauce, as desired.
- 2 Tablespoons of chopped onions.
- Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste.
- Mix all the ingredients loosely and spread on bread slices (Rye, Pumpernickel, etc.) to make open-faced sandwiches. The steak tartare may also be served on buttered toast. Serve on chilled plates with a favorite beverage.
Note that consumption of steak tartare made with contaminated ingredients can cause serious illness or death.