What Is Steak Tartare? – Useful Guide

what is steak tartare

If you’ve heard of a questionable dish that you need to learn more about, then you’re in the right place.

In this post, we answer: What is steak tartare? To help you better understand this dish.

Everyone has had steak at least once in their life, but very few people have tried steak tartare.

It’s a dish that you have to be adventurous to try, because it’s basically raw meat.

It’s for those who enjoy a little bit of danger with their meal, steak tartare is a dish consisting of finely chopped raw steak, seasoned and served with a raw egg yolk on top.

While it may be an acquired taste due to its appearance and flavor, those who have tasted it claim that the flavors work together in perfect harmony once you get past the initial ‘grossness’ of eating raw meat.

Let’s take a closer look…

What Exactly Is Steak Tartare?

Because it’s a dish that’s a little bit on the wild side, not everyone knows what steak tartare is.

This is because some people actually think that it is raw beef that has been thrown onto a plate like leftovers.

While this isn’t true at all (and would be gross as well as illegal), this assumption has been made based on the dish’s name.

The correct translation from french to English is ‘raw chopped steak’.

So, it’s not raw beef with a side of egg yolk…it is finely chopped steak seasoned and served with an egg yolk on top.

That definitely does make a difference!

Steak tartare is a dish consisting of raw ground beef (usually about 20-30% fat) that has been finely chopped.

Like we mentioned above, it is usually served with a raw egg yolk on top and other spices mixed in to add flavor.

It’s commonly thought that this dish originated in the time when people would work out on farms.

People would have a piece of steak and during the week, the butcher or whoever was responsible for preparing meat had a tendency to leave a small portion of a piece of steak out which became filled with bacteria from being left out.

How Is Steak Tartare Best Cooked?

Cooking steak tartare is a very subjective process and there are many different ways that people like to do it.

However, one of the most common ways that you will find steak tartare prepared at restaurants or your friends house is by mixing all of the ingredients together in a food processor and then spreading the mixture onto slices of bread.

The reason for this is that most people like the coarse texture of the ground-up steak.

Another way to prepare this dish is by mixing everything together by hand and then spreading it on a plate. This results in a slightly smoother texture!

When eating steak tartare, you can add any toppings that you want, but there are a few that are very common.

Raw egg yolk, capers, onions, or chives are all popular toppings that you will find on a plate of steak tartare!

Do People Really Eat This?

While it may look like something that people would only eat in movies to be funny or gross-out their peers, steak tartare really is something that is enjoyed by many all over the world!

It may be an acquired taste, but people enjoy the warmth that is created by eating it with a raw egg yolk on top. 

For those of you who are adventurous eaters, steak tartare is definitely something that you should try.

It’s an intense flavor that can be very different from anything else your taste buds have experienced before.

So, if you’re up for new experiences, then maybe it’s time to give steak tartare a try!

How Expensive Is Steak Tartare?

The price of steak tartare varies greatly depending on where you are eating it.

If you are eating at a restaurant that serves this dish, then the price range can be anywhere from $10 to $20 for an order.

However, if you are trying to make steak tartare yourself, the cost of making an entire serving will only be about $6.

So, while this dish is more expensive on the restaurant end of things, you can make a lot for a little bit of money.

Why Is It Called Steak Tartare?

The name steak tartare comes from an old French dish called ‘tartare’.

This meal consisted of finely chopped meat served with fresh onions and sauces that people would spread on top of sliced bread.

The original tartare was actually ground beef, but the word ‘tartare’ has been used for any finely chopped meat since.

Now, if you are wondering ‘Why is it called steak tartare if it doesn’t always have to do with steak?’

Well, in the late nineteenth century in France, soldiers were having a tough time finding enough food to eat and would mostly just consume beef.

Because of this fact, once the people serving the military would finally get around to preparing something for their troops they threw ground up meat in a pan and cooked it very quickly so that they could feed the troops as soon as possible.

When they realized that this meal was the only thing that the soldiers were eating, they named it steak tartare in honor of what was probably their favorite dish up until that point!

Where Is Steak Tartare Commonly Found?

Steak tartare is not just found in restaurants. Many people enjoy cooking steak tartare at home because it is a very easy meal to prepare.

However, just because you can buy all of the ingredients to make this delicious dish does not mean that you should!

While it may be fun to cook up your own version of steaks tartare, there are definitely some benefits to trying out this meal in a restaurant first.

That way, you can get an idea of what the dish is supposed to taste like and how it typically comes served before you go on ahead and try recreating it!

The dish is commonly found in France, the United States, Russia, and other countries in Europe.

What Is The Nutritional Value Of Steak Tartare?

When it comes to the nutritional value of steak tartare, the dish is not something that you should eat all of the time.

However, it can be a great meal for those times where you are watching your weight and trying to eat as healthy as possible.

There are not many carbohydrates in this dish, so anyone who is on a low-carb diet will definitely be okay with eating it.

Steak tartare is also gluten and grain-free, so anyone who is on a paleo diet may enjoy this meal as well!

Even if you are not counting calories or keeping to any sort of special diet plan, steak tartare can still be a very healthy food item for you to eat!

Below is the nutritional value of one serving of Steak Tartare (224g):

  • Calories =552
  • Fat = 15g
  • Saturated Fat = 0
  • Carbohydrates = 5.7g
  • Sugar = 0
  • Protein = 33g

As you can see, the nutritional value of steak tartare is not too crazy.

However, just because this dish does have protein does not mean that you can eat as much as you want!

While it may be healthy, the calorie content is still quite high if you are eating huge amounts of steak tartare at once!

So, be sure to watch out for how much of this dish you are eating at one time.

Other Considerations

It’s worth keeping in mind that steak tartare will not be for everyone. It’s important to be aware that there are some people who may have food allergies to certain ingredients found in steak tartare.

People with seafood allergies, especially shellfish-related allergies, should definitely avoid eating this dish!

The reason that you should keep this in mind is that it is very common for fish sauce or oyster sauce to be used when cooking steak tartare.

So, if you are allergic to either of those items there is a pretty good chance that the dish itself will cause some sort of negative reaction for you!

Another thing to think about when it comes to eating steak tartare is what restaurants you should be going to in order to get this meal.

A lot of restaurants that serve steak tartare have it prepared by the same people every single time.

The reason for this is because it’s just not worth it to them to train their employees how to properly prepare this dish since they know that once someone orders it, they are probably going to be getting a big chunk of raw meat.

Therefore, if you or someone in your group has a shellfish allergy and the restaurant is not very well-known, it’s probably best to find another place to eat!

Conclusion

Steak tartare is a very tasty dish that people tend to eat all over the world.

While it may be hard to find in some countries, this dish can certainly be found in almost every part of Europe!

Even though steak tartare contains raw meat, the dish actually has quite a bit of nutritional value and many different benefits.

So, if you are looking for a healthy meal that is not too difficult to make, steak tartare may be right up your alley!

Just remember to try out this dish at a restaurant before you cook it up yourself.

That way, you can see what the typical serving size looks like and get familiar with the taste of the steak tartare before you start making it at home.

Thanks for taking the time to read this post and I hope you now know more about steak tartare.

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