Card #17
Level 2 Β· Really Hard
Steak Tartare with Bone Marrow and Quail Egg
Buy the good stuff or you'll be eating hospital food tonight
No cooking to hide behind here, just superb beef, a sharp knife and a lot of nerve. Buy the best you can find, keep everything ice cold and serve the moment it's made, with roasted marrow on the side for extra swagger.
The challenge
- Sourcing safe raw beef
- Hand-mincing to exact texture
- Roasting marrow perfectly
- Balancing multiple condiments
- Plating presentation
Classic French raw beef preparation elevated with bone marrow and quail egg. High-quality beef gets hand-minced with a knife to achieve the right texture - food processors turn it to paste, so every cut matters.
A raw quail egg yolk sits on top, and the whole thing requires confident plating since there's nowhere to hide mistakes. You're serving raw meat, so sourcing matters enormously - one dodgy cut and you're risking food poisoning.
Prep: 40 minutes, plus chilling Β Β·Β Cook: 20 minutes
Ingredients
For the tartare
- 300 g (10.5 oz) very fresh beef fillet (tenderloin), bought the same day from a butcher you trust
- 1 small shallot, very finely chopped
- 1 tbsp capers, rinsed and chopped
- 4 cornichons, finely chopped
- 1 tbsp each finely chopped chives and flat-leaf parsley
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- A few drops of Tabasco
- 1 tbsp good olive oil
- Flaky sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 4 quail eggs, very fresh
For the marrow and to serve
- 4 canoe-cut (lengthwise) beef marrow bones, about 10 cm (4 in) long
- Coarse salt
- Sourdough or baguette slices, toasted
- A few soft herb leaves (basil or parsley), to garnish
Method
- Source it rightTell your butcher you're making tartare and ask for a whole piece of fillet cut fresh for you, not pre-minced meat. Keep it in the coldest part of the fridge and use it the same day. Raw beef carries a real food-safety risk, so it isn't recommended for pregnant people, young children, the elderly or anyone with a weakened immune system.
- Prep the marrow bonesIf you have time, soak the bones in cold salted water in the fridge for 12-24 hours, changing the water a couple of times, to draw out blood. Pat dry. Heat the oven to 220Β°C (430Β°F).
- Chill everythingPut the beef in the freezer for 20-30 minutes to firm up (it makes clean cuts much easier). Chill a mixing bowl and your serving plates too. Wash and sanitise your board and knife.
- Make the dressingIn the chilled bowl, mix the shallot, capers, cornichons, mustard, Worcestershire, Tabasco and olive oil. Set the herbs aside.
- Hand-mince the beefTrim off any silverskin or sinew. With your sharpest knife, slice the beef into 3 mm (1/8 in) slices, then cut into thin strips, then across into tiny 3 mm (1/8 in) dice. Use clean, decisive cuts rather than hacking, which smears the meat. Work quickly and keep the diced beef over a bowl of ice.
- Roast the marrowPlace the bones cut side up on a tray, sprinkle with coarse salt and roast for 15-20 minutes until the marrow is soft, bubbling and just starting to pull away from the edge of the bone. Pull them out before the marrow melts away completely.
- Season and balanceFold the beef and herbs into the dressing with a fork, then season with flaky salt and pepper. Taste a little: you want the mustard, acid, salt and heat all present but none of them shouting over the beef. Adjust a pinch at a time.
- Plate with confidenceSet a 7-8 cm (3 in) ring mould in the centre of each cold plate, pack in the tartare gently and level the top. Make a shallow dip in the centre with the back of a teaspoon and lift off the ring.
- Crack the quail eggsUse a small serrated knife to saw off the top of each quail egg, then tip the yolk back and forth between the shell halves to separate it. Slide one yolk into the dip on each tartare.
- Serve immediatelyAdd a marrow bone and toast to each plate, garnish with a herb leaf and a final pinch of flaky salt, and serve straight away. Spread the hot marrow on toast and pile tartare on top.
- Send your doctor a postcardServe straight away with a little confidence and a lot of good beef. Text your doctor "we're all good" as a precaution. If everyone is still upright tomorrow, you can officially call yourself a raw-meat professional.
Tips from the trenches
- Never use pre-minced beef for tartare. The surface of a whole muscle is the only part exposed to bacteria; mincing spreads it right through.
- A slightly frozen piece of beef plus a very sharp knife is the secret to neat, even dice instead of mush.
- Season at the very last minute. Salt and acid start to 'cook' the beef and change its colour if it sits.
- Quail eggs are easier to open with a serrated knife or special quail egg scissors than by cracking them like hen's eggs.
βEating is so intimate. It's very sensual. When you invite someone to sit at your table and you want to cook for them, you're inviting a person into your life.ββ Maya Angelou
