FlyerTalk Forums - Steak Tartare

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Quote:

Originally Posted by SFflyer123 (Post 15868023)

<snip>I mean, in Sushi, you need sushi-grade fish; you just can't buy the $5.99 salmon wrapped in plastic at safeway and eat it raw.<snip>

Just to go a bit off topic and challenge this statement... what is "sushi-grade" fish? The limited research I've done is that there isn't a very good definition what "sushi-grade" is and that it's more of a marketing term than a term relating to food safety or regulation.
I'm not 100% sure but I would care to guess that that $5.99 salmon wrapped in plastic at Safeway is safely eatable raw as long as you follow guidelines to kill potential parasites in it (ie. Freeze it for a few days). Might or might not taste that great but it shouldn't give you the runs if you eat it raw. :D

Quote:

Originally Posted by SFflyer123 (Post 15875304)

<snip>
I think I should stop eating it. It's just not worth the risk.

As others have mentioned, but it's worth repeating, there's always risks when eating raw food. Everyone should understand the risks and make their own choices and consider their situation.

Wanna try it first?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jay71 (Post 15879195)

I'm not 100% sure but I would care to guess that that $5.99 salmon wrapped in plastic at Safeway is safely eatable raw as long as you follow guidelines to kill potential parasites in it (ie. Freeze it for a few days). Might or might not taste that great but it shouldn't give you the runs if you eat it raw. :D

Would you want to give it a try and let me know how it goes? :eek:

Quote:

Originally Posted by emma69 (Post 15869873)

Safety wise, how the meat has been processed is more important than the cut (which comes down to personal preference, can't say raw meat appeals at all, but tenderness, taste, etc. is not a safety issue) The 'cut' of meat you buy needs to not to have come into contact with any of the (for want of a better word) poop during processing (as the cow is cut open, it can 'splash' on to other bits of meat). The meat is washed, but not to the degree it would kill nasties such as e.coli, so meat for steak tartare must have been very carefully processed from slaughter on. Another way some restaurants minimize (but not eliminate) the risk, is by cutting off the outer parts of the big slab of meat, and using that for cooked products, keeping the centre for the tartare, but isn't foolproof as the knife, board etc. can all contaminate.

Long and short, I probably wouldn't trust an unknown butcher to give me the product I would want for tartare, and instead would work on developing a relationship with a butcher back home, who can tell me the cow's name if I wanted to know!

A way to improve you chances of not dying from e-coli is to buy a large chunk of meat, cut of 1/4-1/8 inch pieces from all sides while constantly sterilizing the knife.

Then you'll have a nice chunk of steak that if more or less uncontaminated. I mean, more or less. You can't ever be 100% certain.

BTW, I love tartare. The very best I've had on a regular basis was at Balthazar in NYC. Superb.

Also, horse tartare (popular in Belgium and France) is to die for, but it benefits a little from extra egg yolk etc. as the meat is extremely lean.

You eat a rare steak, right?

Most of the dangers of contaminated meat are ones that reside on the surface. yes, there are some that do not, but in many cases those aren't going to be killed by cooking, anyway. The reason why hamburg is so dangerous raw is that in the grinding the surface is cut up and chopped into the rest of the meat, thereby contaminating everything.

The safest way to handle tartare is to sear the outside of the beef, then quickly freeze it so you can slice that off. You can also do the Lemon Juice/seviche thing, and cut that off as well, although I would hink that would be slightly more risky. Then again, the risk is relative - has vastly more to do with the meat handling, and if it is something you would pick up just on the surface, chances are cooking isn't going to save you.

Quote:

Originally Posted by notsosmart (Post 15889325)

Yup, cutting bits off will reduce the risk, but as I siad, the knife, the board etc can all cross contaminate - as the knife slices through it takes whatever is on the surface through with it.

The searing the outside would work better, but then, frankly, that is a rare or blue steak, not tartare.