12 May 2010

Steak Tartare

Ever since eating at Mesa Grill in December, we've been craving more steak tartare. If you haven't read about some of our Vegas foodings, check it out here.

You may or may not have noticed, but you haven't really seen any steak on Kacey's Kitchen. It's not that I don't like steak, I do, but I like really, really good steak. And I like my steak medium rare. Anything more than that and it's killed for me. So, because I don't really make steak, I'm terrified to buy $30 worth of meat and overcook it. One day I'll have to get past this, and practice my grilling skills, but I also enjoy steak tartare, and for now, I'll keep my filet mignons raw.
Steak Tartare
Printable Recipe
Adapted from The Dog's Breakfast
  • 1 pound of highest quality Filet Mignon
  • 1 medium shallot, minced (about 2 tbsp.)
  • 2 jalapenos, seeded and minced
  • the juice of a lime (about 2 tbsp.)
  • 1/2 tsp of smoked sweet paprika
  • 2 chipolte peppers in adobo sauce, minced
  • one egg yolk
  • 2 – 3 tablespoons of really great olive oil
  • 2 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • baguette, sliced for serving
  • EVOO
  • Salt & Pepper
  1. Mince the beef as best you can with a good sharp knife. You don’t want to do this in a machine, it grinds the meat and you’ll have the impression you’re eating raw burgers. Go for tiny dice.
  2. Mix everything else in except the lime juice and give it a chill for 20 minutes.
  3. Drizzle slices of bread with EVOO and season with salt and pepper. Broil until golden brown.
  4. Add the lime juice to meat, taste for balance, and serve.

8 comments :

  1. My hubby loves steak tartare. Ireally should make this for him!

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  2. You should! It's delicious and would be perfect for a special dinner! Let me know how it comes out and if you changed it around any!

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  3. aren't you scared of salmonella poisening??? do you buy organic or local mean?... i would be scared to try this...

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  4. Hey Charlie,
    First off, thanks for checking out my foodings!

    I use to only eat steak tartare at restaurants thinking that they wouldn't serve raw meat if they weren't using the appropriate cleanliness. After all, they have reputation to maintain.

    The more I thought about it, the more I realized that I can only guarantee the cleanliness of MY kitchen and MY kitchen techniques.

    I'm no raw meat expert, but I can at least share with you my method and theories.

    I know I can't guarantee what happened to my meat prior to arriving at my butcher, but I think I did my best to insure I received the cleanest piece of meat possible. I actually bought my meat from Publix grocery store. I was shopping for the freshest and highest quality piece of meat possible, and I spoke to the butcher about my raw meaty plans.

    I made sure to pick the largest piece of prime cut Filet Mignon, rather than 2 smaller pieces. Like I said, I'm not expert, but my theory is that the less meat a foreign object touches (a blade) the less chance of bacteria spreading.

    I also spoke to the butcher to find out when this specific piece of meat was cut and packaged, which happened to be early that morning. He offered to cut me another piece, but it wouldn't be much different seeing it was from the same cut of meat. I also didn't want a new piece cut off a machine that's been sitting out for 6 hours with other meat germs on it.

    I don't think that buying organic or local would make my cow any cleaner post-mortem, although if you plan in advance with a local butcher, he would be able to cut your piece of meat first thing in the morning before processing anything else.

    Other precautionary steps I took were:
    1) Immediately going home and refrigerating my meat until using it that day.
    2) Using a new sponge to re-wash any bowls/plates my meat was going to touch.
    3) Using wax/parchment paper on top of my cutting boards, just in case little nasties were left behind.

    I'm sure there are folks who might disagree with my theories and that's okay. They don't have to eat my food. But I know my kitchen was clean. And I can guarantee that all of us have spread germs around the kitchen without even knowing it on a regular basis. Ever drip a cracked egg on the counter and just wipe it up with a paper towel because your need to finish your cake batter? How many other things touch that spot before disinfecting???

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  5. I love steak tartare but I gotta say, yours kind of resembles dog food turned out from a can :/ Just the wrong shape and not diced fine enough IMO

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  6. Awww...I'm sorry the tartare doesn't look appealing. It didn't cross my mind that it's the same size/shape and similar looking texture to canned dog food. It's kinda funny now though. I'll tell you what, if that was dog food, that would be one high-rolling fancy-smancy spoiled pooch. The lighting in my picture probably doesn't help the appearance of this food, I'm still a newbie at all this food photography. I can promise that eating this will not remind you of dog food in anyway. It really was delicious!

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  7. I've been looking for a good steak tartare recipe! Thanks Kacey!! Plus: these photos look FAB :D

    Also: have you ever considered a pork tartare? My father gets it custom made at his butcher but I'd love to see another adapatation.

    Keep up the great work :)
    christellar

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  8. Christellar -
    I have never even thought of pork tartare, but I bet it's delicious!!! I'll have to check it out, and your blog!

    Thanks for checking out Kacey's Kitchen!

    Chow On,
    Kacey

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