Steak tartare

Steak tartare

Steak tartare with raw egg, capers and onions
Details
Main ingredient(s)	Raw beef
Variations	Tartare aller-retour

Steak tartare is a meat dish made from finely chopped or minced raw beef or horse meat. It is often served with onions, capers and seasonings (the latter typically incorporating fresh ground pepper and Worcestershire sauce), sometimes with a raw egg yolk, and often on rye bread. The name tartare is sometimes generalized to other raw meat or fish dishes.

Although less common than the completely raw variety, there is a version served in France of steak tartare called tartare aller-retour. It is a mound of mostly raw steak tartare that is lightly seared on one side of the patty.

History

The name is a shortening of the original "à la tartare" or "served with tartar sauce," a dish popular in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

The modern version of steak tartare with raw egg was first served in French restaurants early in the 20th century. What is now generally known as "steak tartare" was then called steak à l'Americaine. Steak tartare was a variation on that dish; the 1921 edition of Escoffier's Le Guide Culinaire defines it as steak à l'Americaine made without egg yolk, served with tartar sauce on the side.

Over time, the distinction between steak à l'Americaine and its variant disappeared. The 1938 edition of Larousse Gastronomique describes steak tartare as raw ground beef served with a raw egg yolk, without any mention of tartar sauce.

Although the word 'tartare' presumably refers to the Tatar or Tartar people of Central Asia, and there are many fanciful stories connecting steak tartare with them, steak tartare is not related to Tatar cuisine.

"À la tartare" or simply "tartare" still means "served with tartar sauce" for some dishes, mostly fried fish.

Health concerns

Health concerns have reduced the popularity of this meat dish in some parts of the world because of the danger of contamination by bacteria and parasites such as Toxoplasma gondii and Taenia saginata. However, when basic hygienic rules are followed and fresh meat is used, the risk is low. Even when these provisions are met, it is nonetheless not recommended for pregnant women, people who have a weakened immune system or suffer from a chronic illness, as these individuals are at a greater risk of infection from E. coli and/or Salmonella.

Generalization

The term 'tartare' has been generalized to other chopped raw meat or fish preparations, including venison, salmon, tuna, goat, and lamb.

Regional variations

Steak tartare in a restaurant in Paris, France.

Africa

Ethiopian cuisine features a very spicy dish of prepared raw beef called kitfo.

Asia

Raw-meat dishes are popular across the Levant; for instance, kibbeh nayyeh (كبة نية, kibbah nayyah) which incorporates raw lamb or beef with bulgur wheat, olive oil and spices, known as çiğ köfte (raw meat ball) in Turkey, is often considered to be a national dish of Lebanon and Syria.

In Nepal, "Kachila" is popular among the Newar community, however, buffalo meat is used instead of beef, since cow slaughter is illegal. Raw minced buffalo meat is mixed with mustard oil, ground fennel seeds, minced garlic and spices to prepare this dish.

Korean cuisine features a dish of prepared raw beef called yukhoe.

Europe

A variant of steak tartare called tartarmad is also present in Danish smørrebrød, where it is served on rugbrød (rye bread) with assorted toppings.

In Germany, there is a very popular variant using raw minced pork called Mett or Hackepeter, which is typically served on rye bread or rolls, with the onions and pepper, but without capers or egg.

In Poland this dish made from minced raw beef called Befsztyk tatarski is typically served with raw egg yolk, onions, pickled cucumber, pickled mushrooms and seasonings incorporating fresh ground pepper, salt, mustard, ketchup and Worcestershire sauce.

In Belgium, steak tartare is served with fries. A variation of steak tartare, used normally as a sandwich spread, is known as “filet américain” (lit. American fillet) with onions and more seasoning than a regular steak tartare.

In the Netherlands, steak tartare is called Filet americain. There is also 'Rundertartaar" (beef tartare), a chopped steak, but not served raw. Rather it is slowly browned in butter with salt, pepper and garlic, and done when the center is thoroughly heated but remaining pink and moist. In the USA it is known as beef hamburger.

North America

The Mexican version of steak tartare typically marinates the meat in lime juice.

A variant of steak tartare is popular in the Milwaukee, Wisconsin area. This variant uses ground sirloin and is usually served with dark rye bread and sliced onions. It is often referred to as a "cannibal sandwich."

South America

Chilean cuisine features a dish of prepared raw beef called crudos.

See also

• Basashi – Japan, horse meat
• Carpaccio – Italy, beef
• Chee kufta – Turkey and Armenia
• Crudos – Chile
• Gored gored – Ethiopian
• Kibbeh nayyeh – Levant
• Kitfo – Ethiopia
• Mett – Germany
• Salmon tartare
• Yukhoe – Korea

Bibliography

• Linda Stradley, I'll Have What They're Having: Legendary Local Cuisine, Falcon, 2002
• Craig J. Smith, The Raw Truth: Don't Blame the Mongols (or Their Horses), NY Times, 6 Apr 2005 [1]
• Raymond Sokolov, How to Cook, revised edition 2004, ISBN 0-06-008391-3, p. 41 at Google Books
• Albert Jack, What Caesar Did for My Salad: Not to Mention the Earl's Sandwich, Pavlova's Meringue and Other Curious Stories Behind Our Favourite Food, 2010, ISBN 1-84614-254-7, p. 141 at Google Books

External links

• Straight Dope response to question about Tartares
• Cooking.com recipe
• Stanford page on history of Mongols and their horses
• Cuisinenet glossary of terms
• BBC H2G2 page on the history of hamburgers
• Linda Stradley, What's Cooking America article on history and legend of hamburgers
• San Diego Union-Tribune article on steak tartare
• Metropolitan News Enterprise article on steak tartare