Beef Tartare
I think if there was one food I had to eat for the rest of my life, it would be either oysters on the half-shell or steak tartare. As soon as I see it on a menu, game over. We may as well just order at that second because that’s what I’m getting. In October 2021, I went to Paris for three days with my girlfriend at the time. It was alright. We spent most of the time in our hotel arguing about what to do next. Me being the resident cook advised we explore some of the city eats while her, the resident art enthusiast, wanted to explore the Louve. We settled on walking through the 11th district, finding a cute bistro for dinner where somehow a 40 seat establishment stuffed 150 guests shoulder-to-shoulder like a can of sardines. I live for this shit. On any given night I could eavesdrop on a multitude of conversations including: all night benders, a mom who couldn’t get her kids to shut up and even a man who was so large he couldn’t squeeze through the table space. And the best part? I got to enjoy the most amazing, cold steak tartare accompanied by a light salad and a side-carriage of crispy chips (fries).
You will not find a traditional tartare here. Oh no no no. For starters, I hate filet. It is the bane of my culinary existence. The muscle itself has no intense beefy flavor; in its essence it is a tender fatless alternative to the boujee ribeye only eaten by “bros” that enjoy brunch once a week at Capitol Grill. This is not anything you will find at a Parisian bistro either. While I credit the humble tartare for opening the world of raw meat dishes, I took the liberty to add a bit finesse to the dish. No French fries here, rather a stack of delicately shingled potatoes and leek that have been baked, pressed, sliced and seared to a crisp. Seasoning the dish is light and highlights the quality of the beef over the additives. Here I introduce Colatura Di Alici, the Italian answer to fish sauce. My reason for using it is to add a small kick of umami on the back end of your palate.
In addition, this is no traditional aioli or caesar dressing. It is an intense answer to caesar with new nordic influence. I use soft-boiled eggs and dry-aged beef fat to emulsify the aioli and season with a multitude of spicy, umami and acidic ingredients.
4 servings + Extra Pave, Caesar and Green Garlic
Ingredients
Pave
6 large russet potatoes
1 leek
1/2 cup duck fat
1 cup heavy cream
4 sprigs fresh thyme
1 tbsp kosher salt
2 tsp black pepper
Green Garlic Confit
2 cups olive oil
6 stalks green garlic
Kosher salt, to taste
Beef Tartare
1lb beef eye round or filet (if you want to splurge)
Kosher salt, to taste
1/2 tsp maldon salt
3 cranks black pepper
1/2 shallot, minced and soaked in cold water for five minutes
2 tiny dashes colatura di alici
1 tsp green garlic oil
1 pinch espelette pepper
1/2 lemon, zested
1/4 lemon, juiced
1 bunch watercress
Fiore Sardo pecorino, to top
Caesar Aioli
2 anchovy fillets
1 tsp fish sauce
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
Black pepper, to taste
6 cloves garlic, peeled
1 tsp red wine vinegar
1 tbsp dijon mustard
2 dashes Tabasco
1 1/2 lemons, juiced
2 soft-boiled eggs (boiled for 6 minutes 30 seconds and transferred to an ice bath)
2 tbsp sourdough bread, no crust soaked in water for 10 minutes
1/4 cup dry-aged beef fat
1 cup neutral oil
3/4 cup parmesan, grated
Sunchoke Chips
1/2 lb sunchoke
Reserved potato skins
1 qt neutral oil
Kosher salt, to taste
Instructions
PAVE
Wash your potatoes under cold water. Peel each potato and place in a bowl of cold water. Reserve the potato skins for later in a separate bowl of water. In a pot of boiling water, add your leek and cook until slightly tender to the touch. Remove from the water and add straight to an ice bath to stop the cooking process. Slice the stem end off of the leek and cut lengthwise to expose the layers. Next, separate each layer and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment. Add a layer of parchment paper on top of the leek slices and another baking sheet on top of the leeks to flatten them and place in the fridge for later. Dry off the potatoes with a cloth. Using a mandolin on the thinest setting, slice the potatoes into a separate bowl. Once the potatoes are all sliced, pluck the thyme leaves from their stems and set aside. add your heavy cream, kosher salt, thyme, duck fat and black pepper. In a 9x5 loaf pan, Grease all sides and line it with with two sheets of parchment paper: one cut to 5” wide and the other to 9” wide. Make sure there are a few inches hanging over the edge. This will be for covering the top of the potatoes after they have been layered. Begin layering the potatoes one-by-one to fill the bottom of the pan. If you want to go the extra mile, cut your potato slices to fit the pan perfectly. For every few layers of potatoes, ad three or four flat leek slices. Repeat until all of the potatoes and leeks are gone. Pour over any extra heavy cream and duck fat mixture. Fold over the leftover parchment and wrap the loaf pan in tin foil. Bake at 350°F for 2 hours or until a cake tester goes through it with ease. Remove from the oven and place another loaf pan on top fill with heavy cans or objects. The purpose of this is to weigh down the pave to compress each layer and ensure and even surface area. Store in the fridge for at least six hours.
CAESAR AIOLI
combine all of your ingredients except for the dry-aged beef fat, neutral oil and parmesan in a tall plastic cylinder such as a quart container. In a separate quart, combine you neutral oil and dry-aged beef fat. Slowly begin to blend your anchovy, egg, etc mixture. Once it has come together, begin adding your oil and beef fat mixture about a tablespoon at a time until it is all gone. Blend in the parmesan in two rounds until the aioli is thick and spreadable. If you want more of a dressing texture, add a splash of water to thin the mixture out. Make sure to taste for seasoning. There are so many strong flavors in this aioli that you need to ensure every ingredient is balanced. Adjust with salt, red wine vinegar, lemon juice and dijon mustard. Store in a deli container.
GREEN GARLIC CONFIT
Wash the green garlic and cut into inch-long pieces. In medium sauce pan over low heat, add the olive oil, kosher salt and green garlic. Let cook on low heat until the green garlic becomes soft and a dark amber color, about 45 minutes. Remove green garlic and let cool slightly. DO NOT throw away this oil. It is extremely fragrant and can be used as a finishing oil in a multitude of dishes.
BEEF TARTARE
Clean the beef eye-round by removing any exterior fat and sinew. Dice into 1x1 cubes and toss with 1 teaspoon of kosher salt. Place the meat of a small baking tray and leave to cool in the freezer for around 30-45 minutes or until the exterior of the meat has started to harden but the inside remains soft. Take the meat out of the freezer and using a course meat grinder, grind the meat into a clean bowl. Season with maldon salt, black pepper, minced shallot, colatura di alici, green garlic oil, espelette pepper, lemon zest, lemon juice, watercress and Fiore Sardo pecorino. It is important to not mess with the ground meat too much. It is at its best when each striation is visible and not smushed together.
SUNCHOKE/POTATO SKIN CHIPS
Take the potato skins out of the water and pat them dry, Wash and scrub the sunchokes. Using a mandolin on the thinnest setting, slice the sunchokes into small rounds. In a heavy bottom sauce pan, add your neutral oil and heat to 375°F. Add your sunchokes and reserved potato skins to the oil and fry stirring constantly until brown and crispy. Agitate slightly so that they do not stick. Remove from the fryer and season with kosher salt.
FINISH
Take your pave out of the fridge and remove from the loaf pan. Cut the edges off to make it a rectangle. Your goal is to have 10 slices here. Cut once vertically and five times horizontally. You should end up with pieces that have all the layers exposed instead of long pieces with strands of layers. In a cast iron pan, add four tablespoons of duck fat and sear two pieces of the pave until golden on both sides. Season immediately out of the pan with kosher salt. On a medium place, place a dollop of your Caesar aioli in the middle and spread to make a small circle. On the outer edge of the circle add your two slices of pave in a shingles pattern followed by a small pile of the beef tartare on top of the sauce circle. Add a few pieces of green garlic confit and a handful of sunchoke/potato skin chips.
