Steak tartare has a colourful history, says LYNN BAIN, who is sticking firmly to the modern French interpretation. Not a Mongol or any horse meat to be seen anywhere on this page, we promise.
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Legend has it that steak tartare’s origins date back to the Tartars, Turkish nomads who merged with the armies of the Mongol leader Ghengis Khan in the early 13th century.
Supposedly, the Mongol riders placed slabs of horse meat under their saddles and ate the pulverised meat raw after a long day of soldiering.
A tastier (and more hygienic) theory is the dish evolved from the French Polynesian tradition of raw meat consumption combined with a classic French sauce.
There are more theories, but the bottom line is this is a dish made with raw meat — usually beef, but there is a tradition in Europe of using horse meat.
You could substitute any of the items in the ingredients list (with the exception of the meat, egg yolk and olive oil) with something else or simply leave them out completely.
For example, over time I have substituted half a small onion for the golden shallots, a bit of a gherkin for the cornichons, all sorts of mustards for the French mustard, tarragon for the parsley and even brined pink peppercorns for the capers, depending on what I had available.
Each tartare is different, each is delicious in their own way.
Handy hint one: Capers can come in either wine vinegar or packed in salt. If using the wine vinegar ones, then draining them well will suffice. If you are using the salted ones, then rinse them well in water to remove the salt coating before draining them.
Handy hint two: Toast for serving heaped portions of the tartare? Your choice. Toasted/grilled pita bread, toasted baguette, toasted bagel or sourdough? All are good options. My preference is for oven-toasted thick toast, toasted on one side only.
Handy hint three: I have found the best (easiest) way to mix the meat and ingredients together is with a pair of clean hands.
BEEF TARTARE
Ingredients
500g chopped beef (please see butchery article)
1-2 golden shallots, peeled
4 cornichons
1 tsp capers (see handy hint one)
3-4 sprigs flat leaf parsley
1 egg yolk
1 tbsp French mustard
freshly ground salt and pepper
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
Toast drizzled with olive oil, to serve
Step 1: On a large cutting board, place the chopped beef on one side of the board. In the middle of the board, place the shallots, cornichons, capers and parsley.
Step 2: With a sharp knife, finely chop the shallots, cornichons, capers and parsley.
Step 3: With your knife, flatten out the meat into the middle of the board.
Step 4: Spread the shallot/cornichon/caper/parsley mixture across the top of the meat.
Step 5: Then chop the meat and shallot mixture until the ingredients are thoroughly mixed together.
Step 6: Make a shallow well in the top of the meat mixture and add the egg yolk (no white) to the well.
Step 7: Dollop the mustard on top of the egg yolk.
Step 8: And sprinkle with a pinch of freshly ground salt and pepper.
Step 9: Mix everything together thoroughly. A clean pair of hands is the easiest way to do this.
Step 10: Add a dribble of vinegar and olive oil to the mixture and mix well. Taste and see if you need to add more vinegar and oil.
Step 11: When you are happy with the flavour of the tartare, pile the tartare onto a serving platter along with your toast. Spoon the tartare onto your toast and enjoy as finger food.
