Steak Tartare with Halen Môn
With a feast of raw meat, the only things separating a gritty fifth-century encampment at the foothills of the Altai Mountains in Kazakhstan and a bistro in Paris, Buenos Aires, New York, or Tokyo are the rimmings. In the modern case, these might involve a glowing egg yolk cradled in a caldera of flesh, slivers of oily anchovy, the pickled plumpness of capers—an interplay of texture and flavor, of raw and cured, oils and acids, aromatics and salt. The spectral freshness and crackling crunch of Halen Môn penetrates through this wonderful exchange and substantiates it—footnotes in the secret life your mind leads during the most intense moments of pleasure at the table.
Recipe information
Yield
serves 2
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Slice the tenderloin thinly. Cut the slices into strips and the strips into small pieces. Chop until the meat is fine enough to mold, but is still in discernible pieces. Mix in the Worcestershire sauce, pepper, and mustard until well blended. Using your fingers, shape the meat into two small rounds, no more than 4 inches across, on two plates. Make a deep well in the center of each meat patty and put an egg yolk in each well.
Step 2
In a small bowl, lightly mash the anchovies and capers with a fork. Mix in the vinegar and olive oil. Dollop half of this mixture on each plate at 12 o’clock. Mix the red onion and chives together and put a small mound on each plate at 6 o’clock. Put a three-finger pinch of salt on each plate at 3 o’clock and a spoonful of mustard at 9 o’clock.
Step 3
To eat, mix the anchovy-caper mixture into the egg yolk with a fork. Work the egg mixture into the meat, incorporating the onion mixture, salt, and pepper to taste. Eat on or with toast.
