STEAK TARTARE

Hmmmm steak Tartare - one of my new favorites. I know I can get kinda obsessive once I like a dish and with steak Tartare its not any different. First time I tried it was in Spain (with Mr. O) in the fine dining restaurant of El Corte Ingles. They don't have it in the menu but Mr. O knows the restaurant manager and he makes it as a special order for him.

Steak tartare is a meat dish made from finely chopped or ground raw beef preferably sirloin or tenderloin. It is often served with onions, capers, anchovies, cornichons, eggs and seasoning such as Worcestershire sauce and lots and lots of Tabasco.

I only eat steak tartare when I'm abroad since its quite hard to find in restaurants in Manila but I have had the chance to try it in Antonios restaurant Tagaytay and I must say its very very good. I don't know any other place in Manila where they serve it so if anyone knows where I can have this pls do let me know.

I attempted to make my own steak tartare last week at home, so I went to Santis to buy sirloin and they did not have any so I had to use rib eye steak. I removed all the fat and finely chopped the meat manually. Below is the recipe that I used (from Anthony Bourdains website). To be honest the taste was fantastic and everybody enjoyed it. I do plan to try this again with other varieties of ingredients and seasonings such as tuna and salmon tartare.

INGREDIENTS:
Steak Tartare
2 egg yolks
2 tbsp Dijon mustard (28 g)
4 anchovy fillets, finely chopped
2 tsp ketchup (10 g)
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce (5 g)
Tabasco sauce, to taste
Freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup salad (i.e., corn or soy) oil (56 ml)
1 oz Cognac (28 ml)
1 small onion, freshly and finely chopped
2 oz capers, rinsed (56 g)
2 oz cornichons, finely chopped (56 g)
4 sprigs of flat parsley, finely chopped
1 1/4 lb. fresh sirloin, finely chopped (560 g)
French fries, optional
4 slices fine quality white bread, toasted, quartered, for toast points

DIRECTIONS:

Place the egg yolks in a large stainless-steel bowl and add the mustard and anchovies. Mix well, then add the ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco(I added half the bottle), and pepper and mix well again. Slowly whisk in the oil, then add the Cognac and mix again. Fold in the onion, capers, cornichons, and parsley.
Add the chopped meat to the bowl and mix well using a spoon or your hands. Divide the meat evenly among the six chilled dinner plates and, using a ring mold or spatula, form it into disks on the plates. Serve immediately with French fries and toasted bread points.