Steak Tartare
 

Is this being too silly?

I am running away this weekend. I am going ot be staying at one of the residence hotels - will have a cooktop, fridge, microwave, sink and dishwasher. There is also a couple of good markets in the area, too.

I have been craving Steak Tartare for a while, but for various reasons cant make it where I am currently living. I was thinking of stopping by WalMart when I am away, pick up a cheap food processor, and then make it there? I would find one of the goodwill type places to drop it off before I fly home. Or is that a bit excessive?

Not silly at all. I do a similar thing when I go to my villa in Florida. Going out there I take hand luggage only, buy a case for coming back that i've filled with new purchases. I've got a lot of cases now.....

It's all about convenience I reckon, and what you are willing to pay for it. If you went to a fancy restaurant for that Tartare it would likely cost more than a Walmart processor!

I'm not a steak tartare expert by any means but do you actually need a food processor? I had my first steak tartare experience last year (loved it and can't wait to have it again!) during a cooking demonstration by an executive chef from one of high end steakhouses in town and all he did was slice the tenderloin tips into relatively small bits.

I don't think my knife skills are that good to get the dice small enough. And to really do that you need to freeze the beef for a bit, I don't know if there is a freezer or just a fridge. Besides, I actually like the texture from a food processor, although I know many think it is too fine that way.

I love steak tartare in all its ethnic variations, but what always worries me is whether it's safe. Is there any reason homemade steak tartare would be less safe than that found in a restaurant?

The traditional way to make steak tartare is to scrape the meat with a sharp knife. It's time consuming but at least you won't have to buy a food processor.

It you don't buy the beef from the same walmart the food processor comes from, it will be a lot safer :D

not to mention taste better...

You're implying then that a different WalMart would be OK?

That is one thing I am sure of when I make Tartare - that I know where my meat is coming from!

No I am implying not to feed your dog meat from Walmart.

Why not get the butcher at the market to slice it for you - their knife skills should be up to the job!

Special kind of meat?
 

Do you need a special kind of beef for steak tartare? 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. What about steak tartare, though? Is there a special kind of beef to buy?

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!

I prefer to save dishes like steak tartare for times when I go out to restaurants.

Personally, I would not attempt to make it as an amateur, except perhaps under the guidance/supervision of a chef (e.g. a cooking class). I would be worried not only about the safety, but also how it would taste otherwise.

I also would not think that a food processor would be the right tool, probably one can get a much better texture cutting it with a sharp knife. Anyway, especially since I haven`t made it before, this is not something that I would attempt without expert guidance.

On the first day of a two week France trip I had tartare at a well-known, popular restaurant in Paris. This resulted in a few days food poisoning, not bad enough to ruin the trip but it was a reminder that ALL raw food is risky. Travel with antibiotics and be aware of the potential consequences.

Scary
 

That is wayyyy scary. I would think that of all places to eat Steak Tartare, Paris would be the safest place to do it. That was just scary. I have had steak tartare twice in San Francisco, and I've had no problems. But as I am eating it, I always wonder if I'm going to get sick afterwards.

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