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The composition of beef tartare is surprisingly quite controversial. Although most serious eaters — historically known as “connoisseurs” — tend to lean to what is simple, with few ingredients, there are many others who love what I refer to as “beef salad.”
Many beef connoisseurs believe most restaurants that serve beef tartare do not use great beef. For example, many chefs use tenderloin, which is, debatably, not considered the prime part of the cow to experience the wonderfully complex, subtle flavours of great beef tartare that has been aged properly.
The typical beef tartare presented at most restaurants around the world can be doctored with so many flavour variations that one can’t really taste the underlying subtle flavours of the beef. Common ingredient examples may be any combination of onions, shallots, capers, parsley, cornichons, pickles, egg yolk, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, Tabasco, garlic, ketchup, mayonnaise, salt, pepper and anchovies, as well as caviar, gold leaf, truffle oil, and truffles.
Probably the most important aspect of the experience of enjoying beef tartare is the texture of the beef itself. It has to be freshly hand-chopped correctly and the section of the cow from which it is cut will determine an aspect of the texture, as well as the depth and complexity of the flavour. Further, mix in too many ingredients and the best beef texture may be lost.
Subtle texture and flavour variations in beef tartare depend on the cut of beef, breed of cow, how it is raised, its feed, its age at slaughter and how long the beef may have been dry aged. A chef considering these factors can determine the best combination of ingredients to enhance flavour and maintain texture. For me, as a purist, the fewer the ingredients, the better!
In 1920, Charles Ranhofer, the former chef at New York’s renowned Delmonico’s, published a recipe for hamburger steak “à la tartare”, made simply with raw onion, green pepper, salt, and pepper.
In the 1932 edition of his book, Ma Cuisine, Auguste Escoffier recommends that the beef be trimmed of nerves and fat, minced finely and simply seasoned with salt and pepper. It should be reformed onto the serving plate with a small well at the top and an egg yolk added to that well. Sent along separately should be capers, onion, and minced parsley to be used, or not, as preferred.
In the Larousse Gastronomique from the Courtine Epoch (post 1960), the recipe allows two drops of Worcestershire sauce, and one to two drops of Tabasco, to subtly heighten the flavour of the minced beef before shaping and plating it.
One of the world’s most respected masters of beef — from how his cattle are raised, foraged and when they should be butchered to how the beef is processed and aged before use in his restaurant, El Capricho (known among beef lovers as the “temple of beef”) — is José Gordon. Remarkably, his beef tartare recipe, which uses rump steak, includes the following ingredients, all in the right minimal proportion: olive oil, coarse sea salt, ground green peppercorns, spring onions, pickled capers, gherkins, Worcestershire sauce, chili powder, Dijon mustard, ketchup, egg yolks mixed together gently, stirring from the bottom up, without squashing the meat.
The basic idea should always be the main actor: the beef.
Olaf Schilling
Respected British Chef Michael Price relates that the ingredient composition mixed with the beef tartare at the Dorchester Grill in London is “fairly classic”: shallots, capers, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce and Tabasco. He also reports that resident Chef Tom Booton makes his own beef garum from beef trimmings that are fermented for months to create an umami-rich liquid.
Esteemed Paris bistro Josephine Chez Dumonet presents its beef tartare with five options on the side: chopped pickles, finely diced parsley, capers, finely diced onions and an egg yolk, letting diners customize their experience.
Similarly, highly regarded New York restaurant Via Carota features beef tartare with no listed condiments, simply described as: “Via Carota Svizzerina hand-chopped grass-fed steak.”
To quote Price, “eating flabby, diced fillet steak that has no taste, dressed in the slop of egg yolk, mustard, mayonnaise, and even ketchup plus Worcestershire sauce, cornichons, capers, chives, etc. seems absurd.” His personal experience in Spain with well-aged beef rib cap that was very lightly dressed changed his perspective entirely.
Bill Buford, a journalist and author of the culinary books Heat and Dirt, says, “Its appeal is in how the meat flavours linger in the mouth, akin to how a good wine is sometimes said to have length.” He goes on to say that one must be highly selective with ingredients if one wishes to taste and experience the very subtle flavours of the beef as it lingers while chewing. Remarkably, he likes to add mayonnaise whisked by hand (not a blender), enhanced with equal parts chopped shallots, capers and cornichons. All said, another version of “beef salad” where, in my opinion, it would be difficult to appreciate the subtle, lingering flavour of very good beef.
At esteemed Canadian Restaurant Pearl Morissette, its version consists of Yu Ranch longhorn beef, accompanied by steamed egg yolk, garlic scapes, nasturtium leaf and chives on the side. One chooses what one wants in the proportion preferred. Simple and great!
For Olaf Schilling, a wine enthusiast and serious eater, everything starts with the best quality beef and the texture achieved with proper hand-mincing. He likes the egg yolk on top. The tartar should be seasoned with salt and very good pepper. He likes chopped capers and some diced parsley on the side to season on his own in the proportion he prefers. In his opinion, cornichons and onions can ruin a good tartare if not of good quality or in the wrong amount. “The basic idea should always be the main actor: the beef.”
David M. Rosenstein, a Pennsylvania-based food journalist, agrees that if the cornichons and onions are not of good quality or are used in the wrong proportions, they can adversely affect the experience with the tartare. He says that for some chefs, it’s a dilemma whether to add a yolk to the beef or just to serve it on the side. He goes on to say that in Scandinavia, it is classically served with the yolk on top.
Michelin two-star chef Bruno Verjus says the best part to use for beef tartare is what he refers to as haute de cote (rib eye adjacent to strip loin) that is minced coarsely. He explains that, for him, great beef starts with the region, the breed, the age at slaughter and the forage of the animal, and he seasons the beef from that point.
Food maven Jeffrey Merrihue, executive chef and co-founder of Xtremefoodies, says, “Steak tartare is usually made with low-quality beef and is then over-seasoned. This is criminal on every level. But the art is to start with superb, knife-cut beef and season in a way that accentuates but does not camouflage the beef. Too little seasoning can be bland and unexciting. Too much seasoning can be vile. The best tartares are in the middle, ranging from subtle to ‘zingy.’ The two extremes — bland to salady — should be illegal.”
Ultimately, people should enjoy beef tartare their own way. As Rosenstein says, everyone has their own philosophy of great food.
Chacun a san goute!
Dr. Josh Josephson, research optometrist, former owner of The Cookbook Store, former president of the International Wine and Food Society, Toronto, is a judge for several Canadian and international restaurant surveys, member of the Chevaliers du Tastevin; Chaine des Rotisseurs.
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