From uunet!endgame.gsfc.nasa.gov!chris Sat Apr 18 13:43:00 1992 >From media!uunet!endgame.gsfc.nasa.gov!chris Sat Nov 23 03:56:52 1991 Date: Fri, 22 Nov 91 11:34:32 EST From: Chris Shenton To: media!thanatos!chris Subject: Steak Tartare -- Ted.Taylor in Reston From: Ted.Taylor@p4214.f104.n109.z1.FidoNet.Org (Ted Taylor) Newsgroups: rec.food.cooking Subject: Steak Tartar (mound of raw meat!) Date: 15 Nov 91 07:03:43 GMT To: chris@endgame.gsfc.nasa.gov (Chris Shenton) CS> Had steak tartar the other evening -- surprisingly good IMHO. Is there CS> anything special about the meat, like freshness, that I'd have to worry CS> about if I wanted to make it at home? What was mixed with it? I noticed CS> raw CS> egg, capers, black pepper, spicy mustard... We can't go on meeting like this, Chris! The next time you'll be in Reston, let me know and I'll grind some meat for us to eat. Oh well, pending better netmail... If you're going to make this yourself, you'll need a meat grinder OR you can make this the traditional way, with shaved (rather than ground) beef. To shave the beef, chill it until ALMOST but NOT QUITE frozen, then with a very sharp knife, pull slivers off the edges. You may have to re-chill it several times as it warms up. Grinding is left as an exercise for the reader. The meat should be from a reliable source, since even beef can carry various micro- and mini-organisms that you don't want to eat while they're alive. And it should be well-treated (kept plenty cool) on the way home from the store. Use the very best meat you can find, and the very leanest. A sirloin steak, quite lean to start with, and then trimmed of any outer fat, is just about right. Chuck is very flavorful, but it's hard to find a piece that doesn't have so much internal fat that it can reasonably be trimmed. In my family, growing up, my mother would grind the meat twice, with the fine plate on the grinder. That's a little /too/ fine for my taste, so I usually use the fine plate but only grind once. The same kind of cautions about the beef supply pertain to the egg you may choose to put on. It's an egg /yolk/ only, and if you're concerned about salmonella, which is found in eggs in this (eastern seaboard, Middle Atlantic) area, skip it. Steak tartare is a chance to show off your spice, herb and condiment collec- tion. We used to make our own up in the kitchen, putting whatever we liked >from the cupboard onto it. When I made it recently, to show my pregnant wife (who couldn't eat sushi or steak tartare) there were still some things /I/ could do that /she/ couldn't, I seasoned mine with fresh-ground black pepper, some Pickapeppa sauce (on the side -- not mixed in), and some anchovy paste for saltiness. And garlic powder and garlic salt (the garlic salt is too salty, the garlic powder is ineffectual without some salt to enhance it). And probably a little onion powder. The cat ate his without seasonings. And I should caution you -- if you make this, any pet should be taken into account. Either provide enough for them, or make sure they're left outside while the dish is prepared and eaten. (Goldfish excepted.) * Origin: Not yet disapPointed. (1:109/104.4214)