The Important Safety Tip To Follow When Making Steak Tartare At Home (2024)

matthew wilson

·4 min read

For home cooks, steak tartare can be a bit tricky to put together, as the dish doesn't actually involve any cooking at all. Traditionally, steak tartare features capers, alliums, anchovies, Worcestershire sauce, and, of course, minced raw beef with a raw egg yolk on top. It's the latter raw ingredients that give some pause. Even the USDA advises against serving or eating steak tartare due to the possibility of foodborne illnesses, recommending cooking beef instead at 160 degrees Fahrenheit to ensure food safety.

However, one can minimize the inherent risks of steak tartare by practicing proper safety. For one, you shouldn't buy your meat already minced or ground, as it can be a recipe for disaster. Butcher Jason Yang told Food & Wine, "It's important to start with a whole piece of meat rather than something ground, since properly handled whole muscles have a much lower risk of pathogens.'"

Processed meat, such as ground beef, is at a greater risk for bacteria exposure. When meat isprocessed through a grinder, a larger surface area is then exposed to potentially harmful microbes. So, when choosing the meat for your steak tartare, you should skip that pre-packed ground beef and go with whole cuts instead.

Read more: The 13 Best Steaks For Grilling

Best Cuts Of Meat For Steak Tartare

When selecting meat for your steak tartare, you always want to choose beef of the highest quality. That means you probably should skip those supermarket chains and head for a local butcher, who can better advise you on the quality of the meat. While the USDA advises against consuming steak tartare, you can lower the risk of food poisoning by serving only fresh meat, perchef Ariane Daguin inHowStuffWorks. Fresh meat has a lower risk of bacterial infection,as long as your butcher practices proper hygiene. Never buy meat, much less meat that you plan to consume raw, from a butcher shop that looks less than sanitary.

As far as the best actual cut of meat, consider buying beef tenderloin. As the name suggests, this cut of meat originates from the loin of the cow, and is an incredibly tender piece of beef. Top-of-the-line steak cuts like the filet mignon come from this section of the cow as well. Since you'll be consuming the beef raw, even if it's minced, you'll want a piece of beef that's easy on the teeth. So, while those skirt steaks may be a better bargain, they will make for a poor steak tartare. Alternatively to beef tenderloin, you can also use top sirloin, which is a little less tender than a cut of beef tenderloin, but also less expensive.

How To Safely Prepare Steak Tartare

The Important Safety Tip To Follow When Making Steak Tartare At Home (3)

If you're not buying your meat already minced, then you'll have to do it yourself. Traditionally, the beef of steak tartare is minced by hand, which gives you greater control over the final product. However, you can use a meat grinder or food processor, but doing so comes with a big asterisk. Before using either, you must ensure that they are properly cleaned and sterilized, or else your beef may pick up bacteria during the process.

It's safer and ultimately probably more rewarding to mince your beef by hand. Before making steak tartare, stick your beef in the freezer for 15 minutes. This will help prepare the meat's texture, making it easier to slice up, since it will be firmer. Additionally, you wouldn't want to serve the tartare warm, as it's traditionally served cold.From there, you'll want to take a sharp knife and place your meat on a cutting board. Cut your meat into small cubes by creating diagonal strips in the meat. You'll want to be careful not to over-mince your meat.Otherwise, you'll be dealing with a mess that you won't be able to properly form.

Finally, mix in your ingredients and serve. It's important to serve your steak tartare right after assembly. If you leave your steak tartare uneaten for more than two hours, then it may no longer be safe to eat, per the USDA.

Read the original article on Daily Meal.

The Important Safety Tip To Follow When Making Steak Tartare At Home (2024)

FAQs

The Important Safety Tip To Follow When Making Steak Tartare At Home? ›

Before using either, you must ensure that they are properly cleaned and sterilized, or else your beef may pick up bacteria during the process. It's safer and ultimately probably more rewarding to mince your beef by hand. Before making steak tartare, stick your beef in the freezer for 15 minutes.

How do I make sure my steak tartare is safe? ›

Is Steak Tartare Safe to Eat?
  1. Wear gloves. Wear gloves when handling the raw beef.
  2. Use high-quality, fresh beef. Ask the butcher which available steak would be best raw.
  3. Keep the beef cold. Make sure to keep the meat chilled at all times.
  4. Eat the steak tartare immediately.
Apr 13, 2024

How do you not get food poisoning from steak tartare? ›

Beef tartare is made from raw ground beef, which can potentially contain harmful bacteria such as E. coli or Salmonella. In order to reduce the risk of foodborne illness, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) recommends that all beef be cooked to an internal temperature of at least 160 degrees Fahrenheit.

What is the food safety for steak? ›

Cook all raw beef steaks and roasts to a minimum internal temperature of 145°F (62.8°C) as measured with a food thermometer before removing meat from the heat source. For safety and quality, allow meat to rest for at least three minutes before carving or consuming.

How is tartare prepared? ›

Beef or steak tartare is made from raw lean chopped steak. For added flavor, the steak is mixed with capers, Worcestershire sauce, herbs, pickled vegetables, and more. To finish, the chopped steak mixture is shaped into rounds using round cookie cutters and topped with a raw egg yolk.

What are the rules for steak tartare? ›

The meat must be seasoned with salt, pepper, and Worcestershire sauce just before serving. The meat must be served very cold. A raw egg yolk is added to the dish at the moment of serving to give it more flavors. This prevents bacteria from reproducing in the egg yolk.

What is so good about steak tartare? ›

Classic Steak Tartare is an undeniable luxury.

The flavor of quality beef, so good that you don't even want to cook it. The tender texture of minced meat. The luscious fat of the egg yolk. The piquancy of cornichon and shallot.

How do people not get sick from eating raw steak? ›

You should make arrangements with your butcher to let you have the cuts of meat when they're fresh. This reduces the chances of contamination. You should consume raw meat as soon after slaughter as possible. Bacteria multiply rapidly at warm temperatures, so keep the meat in an ice pack on your way home.

How do you not get food poisoning from steak? ›

Don't eat raw or undercooked meat or fish.

Use a meat thermometer to make sure meat is cooked enough. Cook whole meats and fish to at least 145 F (63 C) and let rest for at least three minutes. Cook ground meat to at least 160 F (71 C). Cook whole and ground poultry to at least 165 F (74 C).

Is steak tartare bad for your stomach? ›

Yes. Steak Tartare is basically raw minced steak, which is served with a raw egg on top, plus chopped raw onions, capers, and herbs. The diner is meant to mix up the ingredients to their individual taste. There are a number of risks which can cause food poisoning, no matter how carefully the dish has been prepared.

What is food safety for raw steak? ›

It is important to keep raw meat refrigerated (below 5oC) until you are ready to prepare and serve. To keep raw meat safe: once you have purchased raw meat from your butcher it is important that you refrigerate it as soon as possible.

What are the 5 basic food safety rules? ›

Overview
  • keep clean;
  • separate raw and cooked;
  • cook thoroughly;
  • keep food at safe temperatures; and.
  • use safe water and raw materials.

How to handle raw meat safely? ›

Bacteria can quickly spread between your hands and meat. Always wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds before and after handling meat, whether it's raw or cooked. Because bacteria can spread easily, prepare the meat on a surface that's separate from all other cooking materials.

How is steak tartare made safe? ›

For those worried about bacteria, chefs know how to kill them off, typically in a process that includes submerging the beef in boiling salt water for ten seconds, then dropping it into a bucket of ice water for 10 more.

What is the parasite in steak tartare? ›

Toxoplasmosis is caused by a cellular parasite, Toxoplasma gondii. The cat is the primary host in the parasitic life cycle, and the illness is spread by contact with infected cat feces or ingestion of raw infected meat (such as 'steak tartare') or water.

What steak to use for steak tartare? ›

Tartare calls for the best-quality meat; you'll eat it raw, so go for the good stuff — rib eye or flatiron is a nice way to go. To get a perfectly diced steak for tartare, freeze the beef until it is just firm, about 15 minutes, before slicing.

What kills the bacteria in steak tartare? ›

2) It's Completely Safe to Eat

For those worried about bacteria, chefs know how to kill them off, typically in a process that includes submerging the beef in boiling salt water for ten seconds, then dropping it into a bucket of ice water for 10 more.

How do you know if beef is good for tartare? ›

While chefs may disagree on which cut of meat makes the best steak tartare, they all agree on one thing: It's essential to start with the freshest meat from a quality source, such as your local butcher shop. According to Martha Stewart, beef tenderloin is the best choice for steak tartare.

How long can steak tartare sit out? ›

Once steak tartare has been prepared, aim to enjoy the dish right away. Ideally, this means digging into the delicacy within a span of a couple of hours.

Does beef tartare go bad? ›

Safety is also at stake since harmful bacteria can flourish when leftovers are subject to other contaminants or warm temperatures. Additionally, because it's not possible to safely extend shelf life with proper storage, the best policy is to avoid eating any leftover steak tartare.

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