EASIEST STEAK TARTARE

 This is a yuck or yum deal—raw beef with garnishes mixed in, including a raw egg yolk.

 Richard Wottrich who wrote an essay, “The History of Steak Tartare” on the yum side, says he has been eating it for 50 years and clearly lived to tell. He opines, eating raw meat is atavistically ‘hard wired into the very reptilian depths of our brain’.

Steak Tartare is making a big comeback in restaurants, especially in New York City, Chicago and New Orleans. The Polo Lounge in Beverly Hills offers 4-ounces for $28.00.

Legend has it that the ‘tarter’ is reference to the Genghis Khan gang of Mongols who
supposedly put horse meat under the saddles of their horses to tenderize it before they ate it raw—a definite yuck and doubtful.  More likely, it was named because ‘a la tartare’ meant it was served with the mayo-based tar (called steak a l’Americaine) with the mayo-based tartar sauce  we know was  first served in French restaurants, in the early 20^th century.  The dish was called ‘steak a l’Americaine’.

In tartar steak’s renaissance, Chefs have added new twists to the garnishes—from dried tomatoes to quail eggs to pickled Asian pear.

I first ate Beef Steak Tartar at the now defunct German restaurant,
Lüchows, in lower Manhattan, not counting the times, hanging around my mother’s kitchen, I snitched the hamburger meat before it was cooked. This recipe is traditional. I used it in The New Cook’s Cookbook, hence the explanation of  how to separate an egg.

Cg note: Serves 2 generously; any leftovers make tasty hamburger patties, fried in butter.

1-pound ground sirloin

The meat must be of the finest quality.  If you have a butcher, now is the time to use him. Don’t ever buy prepackaged. The meat should be bright red and free of fat.

Eat the meat the day you buy it.

2 raw egg yolks

1 tin flat anchovies

½ cup sweet onion, finely chopped

capers

salt; freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Worcestershire sauce

1.  Shape 2 large, attractive patties from the meat. Put the patties on individual plates, then make an indentation in the center of each patty, deep enough to hold the egg yolk.

      2.      Carefully separate the egg (see below) and slip the yolks into the indentations.  Lay 4 strips of anchovies (in tic-tac-toe fashion) on the outer rim of each patty.  Surround the steak with chopped onions and capers.  Have salt, pepper and Worcestershire sauce available.  Each person mixes his own meat at the table.

Serve with black bread and butter. Red wine or beer is the beverage.

           

 How to separate an egg

1.      Break the egg shell in the center by rapping it sharply with a knife.  Do this over a bowl.

2.      Pull the egg apart with your fingers.  The yolk will stay put while the white  falls into the bowl.  Transfer the egg yolk from one half of the shell to the other half until only the yolk is left. Twice should do it.

 

  What to do with those egg whites?

EASIEST EGG WHITE OMELET

My omelet tale.  I was not an omelet fan.  The eggs always seemed too dense;  there was never enough filling to suit me.  And then... when I was doing the tartar steak recipe with the egg yolks, I began thinking about egg whites—how once I tried to make meringue and they didn’t ‘meringue’.

Some years back there was an egg ‘scare’-- cholesterol driven, leading to the popularity of the egg white omelet, as it is the yolk that has the dreaded cholesterol.

I just didn’t  want to throw the egg whites away...so I made a cheese omelet—behold it was light and held a nice amount of the cheese filling and I liked it!  I am crushing on these omelets, maybe it won’t last... but I am thinking about a caponata (an eggplant mixture) filling with a tabouli salad, as a side.

  Now I have a problem of what to do with egg yolks.  I am making fresh mayonnaise more... see the recipe —and I substitute 2 egg yolks for one egg.

 Not a diet thing as you can see. I cooked this cheese omelet in butter and served it with bacon, and banana bread... (recipe to come next month). 

And this guy I served with ham fried in butter, 5 minutes on each side. The fruit is mango.

one serving

       

        

2 egg whites (about ¼ cup

          1 tablespoon water or dry sherry

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

          3 tablespoons sharp or extra sharp cheddar cheese, grated or crumbled

 salt; pepper  

1.      Separate the eggs.  Add the water or sherry to the egg whites. Whisk together until frothy.

2.      Melt the butter in an 8-inch skillet over medium heat.

3.      Add the eggs. It should take less than minute for the whites to set on the bottom —the middle will still be loose—at which time, add the cheese, evenly in the middle of the egg.

4.      Use a spatula or a fork and spoon to fold the omelet in half and slide it onto a plate. Salt and pepper, to taste.

Photos by Carol Guilford

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