Steak Tartare

Steak tartare is finely chopped raw beef seasoned with capers, onion and mustard, bound with a raw egg yolk and mixed tableside. It's a French bistro classic served entirely uncooked, and one of the few main courses on a menu where the kitchen's job stops at the chopping board.

What it actually is

A well-trimmed cut of beef — usually a lean, tender cut like fillet or rump, never anything sinewy — is hand-chopped fine with a knife rather than run through a grinder, which keeps the texture distinct rather than mushy. It's seasoned with finely diced onion, capers, a spoonful of mustard, Worcestershire sauce and a dash of Tabasco, and a raw egg yolk is set on top, either whole in its shell half or already worked through, depending on the house style.

The tableside mixing, when it happens, is part of the theatre of the dish — a server or the guest folds the yolk and seasonings through the meat at the table, finishing the dish in front of the person eating it.

How it's served

• Mounded on a plate, a raw egg yolk on top or already mixed through.
• With frites and a green salad, the standard French bistro pairing.
• Seasoned or mixed at the table, in kitchens that keep the theatre of the dish.

Writing it on a menu

• Flag raw egg clearly, along with the fact that the beef is served raw; both carry real food-safety considerations guests should know about upfront.
• Say if it's mixed in the kitchen or at the table, since the two are genuinely different service styles.
• Note the cut of beef used, since quality and trim matter more here than in almost any cooked beef dish.
• Mention that it's hand-chopped, not ground, if that's how your kitchen prepares it, since the texture is a real point of craft worth naming.