Steak Tartare
A classic Steak Tartare bumped up with robust flavors including red onion, cornichons, and horseradish, all serving to accentuate the minced, delicate filet mignon at its center. Served with crispy crostini for a daring, yet delicious gourmet dish made at home!
Jump to RecipeAnthony & The Turk
This Steak Tartare recipe was developed by my guy. His name is John, but I refer to him here as The Turk, even though he is Turkish from the land of Queens.
The Turk spent almost 20 years working in some of New York City’s best restaurants. He doesn’t anymore, and, though it has been the love/hate profession of most of his life, he likely won’t return to it, with only our dreams of Croatian-Turkish comfort foods and my old world baking to see us into a very unknowable future. Perhaps a life without planning is a better one for us. Only time will tell.
Years ago, one of the restaurants he found himself at for a short time was Les Halles, which is now closed, but which happened to be the first and major home of one of our (anti)heroes, Anthony Bourdain.
Many have spoken about what he meant and the gaping hole of a brilliant, happily flawed character, emotionally masculine intellect and a worldliness that felt at home at El Bulli and a Brazilian street meat party with wine & coca cola in paper cups, a party without any name at all.
As a writer, he surpassed some of my very favorites and I do believe he, and my dear Turk, are both responsible for the channeling of my creative juices and words here at A Quarrel of Feasts. I hope he would have liked some of my misanthropic musings, and some of my recipes too.
Closed for Business
Anyhow, my guy worked at Les Halles about 14 years after Anthony Bourdain started his A Cook’s Tour programme and was only considered the “chef at large.” One of the specialties of the house was preparing Steak Tartare table side. It impressed me greatly, and I thought it would have a great heritage to his history and to our Tony Bourdain’s to develop it here.
On our second date, my guy ordered the Steak Tartare at Mar‘s in Astoria. I was nervous, but I never would let that stop me, so I took part. I liked it, despite the confused signals I was receiving from my brain. He laughed at my dual sided nature, and here we are.
Equal to the Sum of its Parts
The meat used is a blank canvas, and the many accompaniments are here to dress it up and provide a combinations of flavor. The recipe is as it was served table side, but for some adjustments. Here are the elements and their role:
- Filet Mignon: we used unadulterated filet mignon, minced finely, while the restaurant used a proprietary blend of ground beef. Filet Mignon is not as gamey as ground beef can be, and the flavor is well worth the price here. Filet Mignon is the traditional choice here and you should not skimp on the quality of your meat, since it is a raw dish.
- Red Onion: Red onion provides a nice sweetness and texture when minced finely just as the meat is. It is a good idea to use a food processor for all the ingredients to result in a uniform blend.
- Parsley: Parsley is a neutral flavor that also serves to absorb the raw egg used and soak it up nicely so that it is incorporated into each bite.
- Cornichons: Cornichons provide both acid and a crunchy texture and the vinegar present in the cornichons, capers, and mustard all give you the eater the “feeling” of the meat being somewhat “cooked.”
- Capers: Capers are often used in sauces, seafood, and in this tartare for their briney flavor and additional texture to the dish that we are building here.
- Mustard: Mustard, in addition to the vinegar it has, is the emulsifier that holds the meat mixture together and its flavor works wonders on the filet mignon.
- Tabasco: Tabasco offers a tiny bit of tang and rounds out the main flavor profile. Another shot of heat for the final product.
- Worcestershire Sauce: Common in steak dishes, Worcestershire, along with the egg, mimics the flavors of a classic Caesar dressing.
- Horseradish: This flavor was our only addition to the classic Les Halles recipe, added for a touch of pungency often used to accompany prime rib in many a restaurant main meal.
- Cognac: Just a small shot of cognac adds a lovely caramel complexity to the many pickled elements.
- Olive Oil: Also an emulsifier, olive oil smoothes and helps combine the ingredients for the presentation.
- Salt and Pepper: Salt and pepper offer seasoning, but it is only a touch of salt needed, since the majority of the above ingredients inherently have salt in their midst.
- Raw Egg Yolk: This is your main “sauce,” whether you mix it into the meat before serving or crack the yolk on top for photogenic image that it helps provides.
So, go ahead. Honor Anthony Bourdain and his old home away from home kitchen, and the history of one of many of New York Citys restaurant work horses, whether retired or furloughed by proxy, or exhausted by choice. It is a world that feels very far away, and may never be quite the same again. I know life and food writing/television will not ever be the same without Tony Bourdain.
Until the next incarnation of things to come, keep dreaming, keep your head up, your heart and hearth in place, and keep –yourself– making and trying delicious delicacies that you might never have tried before.
“Your body is not a temple, it’s an amusement park. Enjoy the ride.”
—Anthony Bourdain
Steak Tartare
Ingredients
- 6 ox filet mignon, minced
- ½ small/medium red onion, fine minced
- ½ bunch parsley, minced
- 1 tsp capers, minced
- 5 cornichons, minced
- 2 tsp mustard
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 2 dashes Tabasco
- 2 dashes horseradish
- 2 dashes Worcestershire sauce
- 2 dashes brandy
- small pinch salt
- ½ tsp pepper
- 2 egg yolks,separated
Instructions
- Put the filet mignon into the freezer for about an hours before mincing, so it slices more easily. By hand or in a food processor, mince the filet mignon with a few pulses.
- In a bowl, add all the liquid ingredients and whisk until combined. If you are adding in your egg yolk here and not on top of the finished tartare, this is the time to add it, along with the liquid ingredients. If adding in on top, see the final step.
- Then, add the minced ingredients and whisk together.
- Finally, add the meat into the mix and combine with a spoon, making sure to coat the meat with the dressing completely. Salt and pepper to season; do not over salt.
- If serving with egg yolk on top of tartare, pack each meat mixture into 2.5 – 3.5 inch metal ring. Gingerly place the whole egg yolk on top of each tartare. Release ring to set meat on plate. Enjoy with crispy baked crostini, or french bread drizzled with salt and olive oil.
