Anthony Bourdain's Steak Tartare
Les Halles bistro tartare, chopped by hand and mixed at the last minute
Raw beef, chopped by hand, mixed into an emulsified base of egg yolk, Dijon mustard and oil. Anchovy, Worcestershire sauce and ketchup give savoury depth. Capers and cornichons give acid and salt. Cognac gives a warm background note. Chop the beef immediately before you mix and serve. Do not use a food processor.
Why the first revision
First version. The recipe as printed in the Les Halles Cookbook, converted to metric. Nothing is changed from the source.
Base
6 steps-
Put six dinner plates in the refrigerator to chill.
Tool dinner plates -
Put the egg yolks, the mustard and the anchovies in a large stainless steel bowl. Mix well.
Tool stainless steel bowl -
Add the ketchup, the Worcestershire sauce, the Tabasco and the black pepper. Mix well again.
-
Add the oil slowly in a thin stream. Whisk all the time.
Work EmulsifyingTool whisk -
Add the Cognac. Mix again.
-
Fold in the onion, the capers, the cornichons and the parsley.
Beef
2 steps-
Chop the beef by hand with a very sharp knife to a fine dice of approximately 3 mm. Do this last.
Do not use a food processor. A meat grinder with a wide plate is acceptable, but the knife gives the better texture.
Work MincingTool chef's knife -
Add the beef to the bowl. Mix well with a spoon or with your hands.
Serve
2 steps-
Divide the mixture among the six cold plates. Shape each portion into a disc with a ring mould or a spatula.
Tool ring mould -
Serve immediately with the fries and the toast.
Notes
1The recipe is from Anthony Bourdain's Les Halles Cookbook, published in 2004. Bourdain wrote that the restaurant was built to serve this dish. He said the beef must be fresh, chopped by hand at the last minute, and mixed at the table.
On the food processor he wrote: "do not DARE use a food processor on this dish".
The ketchup is not a modern addition. Larousse Gastronomique also puts ketchup in steak tartare.
Provenance
From Anthony Bourdain's Les Halles Cookbook (2004). This is the signature dish of Brasserie Les Halles in New York. This version is the recipe as printed, with the amounts converted to metric.
Literature
3The pattern
raw dressed meatThe plain idea under this dish. Cook it with what you have. The full recipe is on the Method tab.
fresh beef chopped by hand + yolk and mustard emulsion + savoury seasonings + capers and cornichons + onion + parsley + toast
Other dishes with this pattern: raw dressed meat.
The parts
7560 g fresh beef sirloin, chopped by hand with a very sharp knife to about 3 mm. Cut it last, immediately before you mix and serve.
The main part of the dish. A clean knife cut keeps each piece separate, red and firm.
- !SAFETY Swap: Beef fillet in place of sirloinUse 560 g fresh beef fillet in place of 560 g fresh sirloin. Chop it by hand immediately before you mix and serve. Fillet is leaner and milder, so the oil in the sauce carries more of the fat.
- !SAFETY Swap: A meat grinder with a wide plate in place of the knifePut the 560 g fresh sirloin through a meat grinder with a wide plate, immediately before you mix and serve. The texture is less good than a knife cut. Do not use a food processor: it makes a wet, grey paste.
2 raw egg yolks and 28 g Dijon mustard, with 56 ml neutral oil whisked in as a thin stream, then 28 ml Cognac
A loose mayonnaise that coats each piece of beef with fat. The yolk and the mustard hold the oil in small drops.
- Swap: Corn oil or soy oil in place of sunflower oil. No change. The source asks for salad oil such as corn or soy. Any neutral oil works.
4 anchovy fillets, finely chopped; 10 g ketchup; 5 g Worcestershire sauce; Tabasco and black pepper to taste
Gives savoury depth, a little sweetness and heat.
56 g capers, rinsed; 56 g cornichons, finely chopped
Gives acid and salt against the fat of the beef and the sauce.
1 small onion, freshly and finely chopped
Gives a sharp, fresh bite.
4 sprigs flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
Gives a fresh, green note.
4 slices white bread, toasted and cut into quarters; French fries (optional)
Gives a crisp texture to eat with the soft beef.
The basic method
6- Put the plates in the refrigerator to chill.
- Mix the egg yolks, the mustard and the anchovies in a large bowl. Mix in the ketchup, the Worcestershire sauce, the Tabasco and the pepper.
- Add the oil in a thin stream. Whisk all the time. Then mix in the Cognac.
- Fold in the onion, the capers, the cornichons and the parsley.
- Chop the beef by hand to a fine dice of about 3 mm. Do this last. Do not use a food processor.
- Mix the beef into the sauce. Shape it into discs on the cold plates. Serve immediately with the toast.
What the full recipe adds
The full recipe is Bourdain's Les Halles recipe as printed, converted to metric, for 6 people. It explains the two rules. First, the knife: a sharp blade cuts the muscle fibres cleanly, so most cells stay closed and each piece stays separate and red. A food processor tears the cells, and the liquid inside them coats the meat as a wet, grey paste. Second, the timing: myoglobin on a new cut surface starts to oxidise to brown metmyoglobin, so time between the cut and the plate is time for the colour to go. The full recipe also explains the sauce. Yolk gives lecithin and lipoproteins, and mustard gives mucilage from the seed coat. Both hold the oil as small drops. The Cognac goes in after the emulsion is made. The record does not give a separate safety note on raw beef or raw egg yolk. It asks for fresh beef, cut last, chilled plates and immediate service.
The science
2What is actually happening in the dish, and why the techniques work.
A sharp blade cuts through the muscle fibres cleanly. Most cells stay closed, so the water, the soluble protein and the myoglobin stay inside each piece. Each piece stays separate and red.
A food processor tears and crushes the meat. Many cell membranes break. The sarcoplasm, which is the liquid inside the muscle cell, comes out and coats the meat. The result is a wet, grey paste with no separate pieces.
Cut the beef last. Myoglobin on a new cut surface starts to oxidise to metmyoglobin, which is brown. Time between the cut and the plate is time for the colour to go.
Egg yolk and Dijon mustard are both emulsifiers. Yolk gives lecithin and lipoproteins. Mustard gives mucilage from the seed coat. Oil added slowly in a thin stream forms small droplets that these molecules hold in the water phase.
The emulsion coats each piece of beef with fat. This matters more with a lean cut such as fillet, which has little fat of its own.
The Cognac goes in after the emulsion is made. Ethanol dissolves aroma compounds that water cannot carry.