![]() ![]() ![]() In the early days of the 20th century this dish was called " steak a l'Americaine", steak the American way. Nowadays, s teak tartare is a patty of ground beef, topped with capers, an egg yolk, seasonings, and served tableside so that each guest can mix in the ingredients themselves and adjust it to taste. They were so busy running about and doing Tartar things that they did not have time to stop, cook and eat, so they consumed raw steak that they tenderized by putting it underneath their saddle for a day's ride. It's a variation on the famous steak tartare, a dish supposedly named after the nomadic Tartars who roamed the plains of Russia. How the name came about is anybody's guess. Not for the faint of heart, and most certainly not for anybody with a compromised immune system, or the elderly, children, pregnant women, it is however a much sought-after product and dearly missed by Dutch expats. My butcher had nothing to say to that, so just nodded at the piece of wrapped top sirloin steak I was holding in my hand and said that it would do nicely.įilet americain, or American filet, is a raw beef spread that is served on a roll for lunch, or on crackers as an appetizer. Hmmm."I don't know", I hesitated, "I guess I'm just making sure I buy good quality meat from you and keep my fingers crossed" and smiled nicely. ![]() With some crackers", I added, sheepishly, as if the addition of carbs would all of a sudden make the concept somehow sound more sane. "But how can you make sure nobody gets sick?" he then wondered out loud. "Well, see, you don't cook it", I said, "you just mix it all together and eat it. "So how do you cook it then?" he asked, not sure whether he heard me right. But when I told him I was going to let it sit for a while and then eat it raw, I lost him. Up until there it all sounded like a precursor to a nicely grilled hamburger, which is what everybody else in line ahead of me was asking for. Raw. I had him nodding agreeably up to the "mixing in the seasonings" part. I had just asked him to recommend a cut of beef for filet americain. He shook his head, so I explained to him that I wanted a tender piece of beef to grind up, mix in with some seasonings and then eat it on a bread roll. "You are going to do WHAT?!" my butcher exclaimed, wide eyed. ![]()
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