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 20th 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
.