French Steak Tartare
Hand-chopped raw beef bound with shallots, capers, cornichons and mustard, mounded and topped with a glossy raw egg yolk. A true bistro classic, best served right away with thin fries or warm toast.
Servings
Ingredients
Nutrition
Per serving
Steps
Chill everything first
Put the beef, a mixing bowl and your knife in the freezer for about 15 minutes before you start. Very cold meat is firmer and much easier to cut into neat, even pieces instead of smearing.
- 600 g beef
✅ Done when: the meat feels firm and cold to the touch, but not frozen solid
Hand-chop the beef
With a large, very sharp knife, slice the beef into thin strips, then into small dice, then chop again and again, rocking the blade, until the meat is in fine, even bits. Never use a food processor: it crushes the meat into a mushy paste instead of leaving a pleasant texture.
- 600 g beef (from step 1)
✅ Done when: the beef is finely and evenly chopped, with a texture you can still see and bite into
Make the seasoning base
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Combine just before serving
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Shape and top with yolk
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Serve right away
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Chill everything first
Put the beef, a mixing bowl and your knife in the freezer for about 15 minutes before you start. Very cold meat is firmer and much easier to cut into neat, even pieces instead of smearing.
- 600 g beef
✅ Done when: the meat feels firm and cold to the touch, but not frozen solid
Hand-chop the beef
With a large, very sharp knife, slice the beef into thin strips, then into small dice, then chop again and again, rocking the blade, until the meat is in fine, even bits. Never use a food processor: it crushes the meat into a mushy paste instead of leaving a pleasant texture.
- 600 g beef (from step 1)
✅ Done when: the beef is finely and evenly chopped, with a texture you can still see and bite into
Make the seasoning base
This step is part of Foodie Premium. Subscribe to unlock the full method, cooking mode and every recipe in the library.
Combine just before serving
This step is part of Foodie Premium. Subscribe to unlock the full method, cooking mode and every recipe in the library.
Shape and top with yolk
This step is part of Foodie Premium. Subscribe to unlock the full method, cooking mode and every recipe in the library.
Serve right away
This step is part of Foodie Premium. Subscribe to unlock the full method, cooking mode and every recipe in the library.
The Story Behind the Dish
Steak tartare grew out of an older Parisian bistro dish called steak à l'Americaine, finely chopped raw beef served with a sauce on the side. At some point in the early twentieth century, cooks began mixing the seasonings directly into the meat and crowning it with a raw egg yolk, giving the dish the name tartare, after the seasoned raw meat long associated with nomadic Central Asian horsemen in European legend.
It quickly became a fixture of French bistro menus, prized for its simplicity and for showing off the quality of the beef with almost no cooking involved.
⭐ Why It's Famous
It is loved for its clean, direct beef flavour, the lively hit of mustard, capers and shallot, and the silky richness the egg yolk adds once stirred through at the table.
💡 Fun Fact
In many French bistros, the seasoning is still mixed into the meat tableside by the waiter, right in front of the diner.
Paris, France
48.86°N, 2.35°E
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