This one is a great classic of French cuisine and one of my personal favourites!
Before starting, let me give you a piece of advice: we’re talking about eating raw meat here, so you have to be careful where you’re going to get it from. Never make this recipe with grounded meat from the supermarket: bacteria develops pretty fast in grounded meat, so it has to be cut in pieces or grounded right before eating it. In the end, it’s like eating sushi, you should always get a fresh product from a local professional you trust. And don’t forget to tell your butcher you’re planning on eating it raw. That way, he’ll be able to give you his best choice or talk you out of it if the his supply chain is not clean enough to be trust worthy.
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Ingredients (for 2 servings)
12 oz (340 g) prime beef tenderloin
4 sprigs of fresh parsley
1 tablespoon of capers
3 shallots
8 gherkins
2 egg yolks
2 tablespoons of olive oil
2 tablespoons of Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons of ketchup
1 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon of Cognac (optional)
4 dashes of Tabasco
1 pinch of salt
Instructions
1/ Wash and dry parsley with a clean cloth. Chop it finely and set aside.
2/ Peel shallots and chop them finely. Set aside.
3/ Drain capers and gherkins and chop them finely. Set aside.
4/ Combine parsley, shallots, capers and gherkins in a large salad bowl. Add salt, olive oil, ketchup, Dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco, Cognac, egg yolks and stir energetically.
5/ Get the meat from the fridge and dice it finely.
6/ Combine it with the rest of the ingredients in the salad bowl with a rubber spatula. Try it and rectify seasoning if needed.
7/ Divide tartare in two even parts and serve in individual plates. Use a medium sized stainless steel cooking circle if you have one.
Serve right away with homemade French fries. If you can’t prepare the tartare on last minute, cover them and refrigerate for no more than 2 hours.