Chef Dalton Jones will show you how to make a beef tartare with classic French flavors. Dalton spent about three years at Husk in Nashville where he worked as a butcher and sous chef. You will also learn two ways to cut beef for tartare. We used top round for this.
Classic French Beef Tartare
Chef Dalton Jones
Prep time: 12 minutes
Total time: 17 minutes
If you’ve never made a beef tartare before, why not start with a classic? We went with a top round steak for this tartare. You can either hand cut it or use a meat grinder. If you have a Kitchenaid stand mixer, there are many meat grinder attachments you can buy.
While hand cut beef is classic, and only requires a knife, you can use freshly ground meat in this recipe. It all comes down to the texture – hand cut beef has more of a chew to it – and equipment – do you own a meat grinder attachment?
When making tartares, there aren’t set ratios like there would be if you were baking something. It’s a little bit freeform and customizable to your own preferences. You need something acidic, something with fat, and an alium. The quantities given in the recipe are really just starting points. Once you have added and mixed everything, add more of anything that aligns with your tastebuds and what you like.
Hand cut top round beef tartare with classic French flavors
Ingredients List
About 8oz beef top round
1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon finely diced (bruniose) shallots
1.5 to 2 tablespoons finely diced (brunoise) cornichons
1 tablespoon thinly sliced chives
1.5 teaspoons dijon mustard
1 lemon, zest and juice
2 big pinches of flaky sea salt (ie malden) plus more to taste.
Prep
Trim and cut the the beef for tartare. You can hand cut or use a meat grinder attachment for a stand mixer. Chef Dalton demonstrates both methods in the video below.
If you want a brighter, more vibrant color to your meat, chill it in the fridge for about 10 minutes after hand cutting or grinding it. This is because the myoglobin will start to bind with oxygen.
How to Make Classic French Beef Tartare
Step 1
In a large bowl add the egg yolk, shallots, cornichons, and chives. Mix with a fork. Add the mustard, zest from about half of the lemon, and juice from half of the lemon.
Step 2
Add the cut beef and flaky salt and stir to mix everything together. Taste and adjust things to your liking.
Step 3
Plate using a ring mold, or don’t. Serve with something like potato chips or toasted bread
Classic French Beef Tartare
Ingredients
- 8oz beef top round
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon finely diced (bruniose) shallots
- 2 tablespoons finely diced (brunoise) cornichons
- 1 tablespoon thinly sliced chives
- 1.5 teaspoons dijon mustard
- 1 lemon, zest and juice
- 2 big pinches of flaky sea salt (ie malden) plus more to taste.
- Potato chips or toasted bread, for serving
Instructions
- Trim and cut the the beef for tartare. You can hand cut or use a meat grinder attachment for a stand mixer. Chef Dalton demonstrates both methods in this video.
- If you want a brighter, more vibrant color to your meat, chill it in the fridge for about 10 minutes after hand cutting or grinding it. This is because the myoglobin will start to bind with oxygen.
- In a large bowl add the egg yolk, shallots, cornichons, and chives. Mix with a fork. Add the mustard, zest from about half of the lemon, and juice from half of the lemon.
- Add the cut beef and flaky salt and stir to mix everything together. Taste and adjust things to your liking.
- Plate using a ring mold, or don’t. Serve with something like potato chips or toasted bread
Notes
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