Spinach Artichoke Dip with Bacon

This Spinach Artichoke Dip with crunchy smoky bacon will disappear in a flash at your next party! Make this for football parties, game nights with friends, or any gathering that needs a dip on the table.

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Everything You Need to Know About Steak Tartare

Steak tartare. Or beef tartare. One of those classic preparations that seem to be constantly falling in and out of vogue. Off-putting to some and a coveted delicacy for others, the dish retains a certain mystery and charm for being wholly unique, simple, yet still somewhat difficult to execute and undeniably French. Or is it? And what exactly is beef tartare (or steak tartare) anyway?

What Is Steak Tartare?

Simply put, steak tartare is a dish of finely chopped beef, served raw and mixed with any number of accompaniments but most commonly egg yolk, Worcestershire sauce, Dijon mustard, hot sauce, fresh herbs, and other seasonings. It’s often served with bread or toast of some kind, and though it can stand alone as a main course, is often positioned on restaurant menus as an appetizer. Any meat, fish, or even vegetable can be served “tartare” style but for the purposes of this article, we’ll focus on the original. Beef. 

A Brief History of Steak Tartare

Born of necessity, tartare is said to have originated in the “Tartary” region of Northern Asia (between modern-day India and Russia), as a quick and easy way for Mongolian and Turkish horsemen to make their not-so-fresh raw meat edible. Legend has it that the men would ride with flanks of raw beef, horse, and camel tucked under their saddles to tenderize it before giving it a fine chop or grind and mixing it with eggs and milk to soften the undoubtedly terrible taste.

It wasn’t until the 20th century in the upscale hotels of Paris when the dish earned a more elite mark, and despite its Asian roots, has become as much a part of the French cooking lexicon as crème brûlée or coq au vin. Nowadays, you’ll find the dish, and variations of it, on menus in trendy eateries, classic French restaurants, and steakhouses alike. At New York’s Her Name Was Carmen, for instance, Chef Omar Ben-Hammou makes a steak tartare (seen below) with Dijon, shallots, chives, and olive oil, finished with a drizzle of lemon, puffed quinoa, and cured egg yolk flakes on top.

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Tonight…this Steak Tartare is yours with its Cured Egg Yolk, Creme Fraiche, & Caviar. 🤤

A post shared by Her Name Was Carmen (@hernamewascarmen) on Dec 7, 2018 at 10:51am PST

Ingredients Needed for Steak Tartare

The most important ingredient to consider is, of course, the beef. Because it’s being served raw there is absolutely no excuse or substitute for a less than excellent product. If you have a trusty local butcher, that would be a great place to start. Let them know you are making beef tartare and that you need their freshest cut of beef tenderloin. Because there is no cooking involved, tenderloin is the preferred cut—mostly free of gristle with a rich and even texture, and tender, of course. But a good sirloin would also suffice if no tenderloin can be had. From there be sure you have a fresh egg yolk for binding along with herbs and other seasonings of your choosing. Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, and good Dijon mustard are popular figures in beef tartare, as are fresh parsley, fish sauce, capers, and minced shallot.

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Tips for Making Steak Tartare

Making beef or steak tartare is about as simple as you might think (no oven!), but the devil is truly in the details. For starters, try to chill or even par-freeze the beef before starting so it is nice and cold when served, and easier to dice and work with.

From there, mince the beef with a well-sharpened chef’s knife. In my opinion, the finer the chop the better it works in this dish, but there is an argument for a chunkier tartare, too. Chopping the beef by hand is the traditional method but a meat grinder or food processor will also do the trick. After that, gently mix the chopped beef in with the egg yolk and Worcestershire sauce, salt, and pepper, Dijon mustard, and herbs until evenly distributed. Finally, form the beef into a hockey puck-sized round using your hands for a rustic look or food mold, like the one below, for a more refined presentation, and serve immediately.

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For a more eye-catching (and classic) presentation, feel free to gently set the egg yolk atop the tartare and allow yourself or guests to mix it in manually with a small spoon. 

How to Garnish Steak Tartare

The finished tartare can be served with toasted bread. Rye or French baguette are popular choices for toast, just be sure it’s something sturdy enough to hold a heaping scoop of beef tartare without folding. Capers, anchovies, or bright and salty cornichon pickles are good to cut through the rich beef and egg. The raw beef dish can also be served over a bed of greens or with a small side of french fries (frites).

Raw DataWhat Is the Difference Between Ceviche and Tartare?Safety Concerns

Because serving raw beef is a fairly uncommon practice people often want to know if it’s safe to eat. The short answer is, as long as you’re working with quality beef and you keep it refrigerated until serving, there is little cause for alarm when serving and eating beef or steak tartare. As with any raw food, there is a heightened possibility of foodborne illness so take a bit of extra precaution when selecting and preparing the beef for tartare.

Drinks to Pair with Steak Tartare

Because you might save this one for a dinner party or special event, it may be helpful to learn what wines and beers pair best with beef tartare.

Chowhound’s resident sommelier and general drinks nerd, Pamela Vachon, reminds that “steak tartare is still steak, after all, with added richness, so classic beef pairings with a little heft and grip still hold up, like a big Cabernet Sauvignon or a meaty Syrah. Or, if you like your tartare with a little extra spice, something with some sweetness like an off-dry Riesling gives a nice counterpoint to the heat.” And don’t worry if wine’s not your thing: “There’s always beer,” says Vachon. “An extremely rare burger (i.e. tartare) sometimes just begs for a crisp, refreshing pilsner or Kolsch.” Sufferfest, a newer brewery in San Francisco makes a dandy Kolsch called “Repeat” brewed with bee pollen that would do just the trick.

Classic Steak Tartare Recipe

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This recipe is as classic as it gets. The rich beef gets a salty umami tang from the anchovies and heat from a few dashes of Tabasco. As you already know, any good beef or steak tartare starts with good beef. From there you can tinker with the flavorings and accompaniments but keep in mind a balance of salt, umami, and bright herb is ideal for this dish. Get our Classic Steak Tartar recipe.

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A Helpful Guide to 10 Common Steak Cuts & How to Cook Them

How to cook steak depends on what cut you’re dealing with, and when it comes to picking a choice piece of steak, you’ve got options—and questions to answer. Which is the most tender piece of meat? How marbled should it be? Which is the leanest cut? What if I don’t have a grill?

Here’s a handy guide of what you need to know if you want to carnivore like a pro—and even if you’re just going out to a steakhouse, it can help you decide what exactly you’d like to order.

Filet Mignon

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Also known as tenderloin, filet mignon is the most tender cut you can find (and the most expensive!). Not attached to a bone, this lean and tender steak offers a mild and almost buttery flavor. Although smaller than most other cuts of steak, tenderloins are cut thicker than most (two to three inches).

The key to sealing in all the flavor and juicy goodness is to cook this cut quickly. We recommend searing the outside until browned (2-4 minutes each side) and then finishing it in the oven (5-10 minutes, depending on your preference). Their fine texture means they’re not particularly suited for marinades, but you can always add a bold sauce like a port wine reduction. For an even richer indulgence, get our Blue Cheese Butter Filet Mignon recipe.

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Related Reading: The Best Meat Delivery Services for 2020

T-Bones & Porterhouse Steak

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Cut and sold bone-in, the T-Bone (porterhouse) is named for the distinctive T-shaped bone separating two halves of meat. Cut from the front end of the steer’s back, the T-bone is half tenderloin and half NY Strip (surrounding a vertebrae that separates them), and so offers the best of both worlds: the juicy beefiness of a strip steak paired with the succulence of tenderloin. (Porterhouses are similar, but cut from farther back).

Point of fact: in order to be classified as a porterhouse, per USDA regulations, the tenderloin portion must be 1.25 inches wide. That’s more than double the tenderloin you’ll find in a T-bone (only half an inch wide).

For this cut, we recommend searing each side quickly in a cast iron skillet with a generous amount of olive oil, and finishing it on the grill. Remember to keep the tenderloin side further from the heat source as it will cook more quickly than the strip side. You’ll know you’ve nailed  it when you take a bite of this mouth-wateringly marbled, medium rare masterpiece. Try this deliciously simple Porterhouse Steak recipe or our Bistecca Fiorentina recipe.

Related Reading: Should You Buy Your Steak from Costco?

NY Strip Steak

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The measure of any good steakhouse can be taken by how well they prepare a New York strip steak. Also known as Kansas City strip, Manhattan, shell steak, strip loin, and club steak, the New York strip is characterized by the perfectly-balanced marbling that gives it its beefy full-flavor. This cut is often enjoyed rare or blue to showcase its natural tender texture, and is a great candidate for broiling, although it can certainly be grilled or pan-fried, too. Get our Caramelized Shallot New York Strip Steak recipe.

Related Reading: Fun Facts About the Country’s Oldest Steakhouses

Rib-Eye Steak

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Tender and moist, the rib-eye has long been a steak lover’s favorite. Also known as the Delmonico, the Scotch fillet, and the Spencer (to name a few), the rib-eye has heaps of fat marbling throughout. The central eye of the meat has a finer grain, with a looser and fattier outer layer. All that generous, fatty marbling gives the rib-eye a particularly gamey flavor that serious meat eaters enjoy.

While a rib-eye cut is boneless, its close cousin, the rib steak, is cut with the bone attached.

Does a little spice sound nice? If so, get our Akudjura-Crusted Ribeye Steak recipe or our Steak au Poivre recipe.

Tri-Tip Steak

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Cut from the bottom sirloin, sitting adjacent to the flap (a.k.a. the sirloin tip), tri-tip steak is also sometimes sold as Newport steak, Santa Maria steak, triangle roast, or bottom sirloin—but you can always spot it by its uneven triangular shape (proportioned sort of like an elf hat), and size; it generally falls in the range of one and a half to two and a half pounds. Most commonly cooked in the style of Santa Maria barbecue (dry-rubbed and grilled over oak chips on the central coast of California), tri-tip also takes well to most marinades—try our Harissa Marinated Tri-Tip or our Hoisin Marinated Tri-Tip for starters—and can be roasted or braised if you don’t want to grill. If you do, though, try our Argentine Grilled Tri-Tip recipe.

Related Reading: Dry Rubs vs Marinades | What Is the Difference Between Barbecuing and Grilling?

Flank Steak

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Flank steaks, from the hard-working abdominal area, need high heat and a thin slice to stay tender. By butterflying them, you cut them across the grain, solving the need to slice in one fell swoop. The resultant curtain of meat is perfect for stuffing and rolling up, so grab a good marinade and start packing! Or try our Teriyaki Grilled Flank Steak recipe.

Flat Iron Steak

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Also known as a top blade steak, flat irons, as their name implies, are a uniformly thick, rectangular cut taken from the shoulder. Cook them too long or over too low heat, and they can be hard to chew. But put them over a high flame for a quick sear on the grill, and you’ll wind up with a beefy, tender delight. They also take well to marinades (sensing a theme?).

Related Reading: Steak Frites, Perfected

Hanger Steak

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Thin, long, and ropy, hanger steak comes from a part of a cow’s belly that literally hangs low, hence the name. It’s similar to flank steak in texture and tender as long as you don’t overcook it. Go fast and high, either on the grill or in a skillet, and marinate the meat for extra flavor.

Related Reading: Chefs Share Their Favorite Meat Marinades

Skirt Steak

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Skirt steak, a long cut from the diaphragm, has big beefy flavor and a very loose grain (even looser than the flank) that sucks marinades right up (we especially like one with miso). But it can be on the tough side, so you’ll need to slice it thin or otherwise risk gnawing your way through it. These factors combined make it ideal for stir-fries, like our Beef and Broccoli Noodles recipe, or in classic Grilled Steak Fajitas.

Sirloin Steak

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The sirloin is the name for the general lower back area of a steer. There are a few different cuts that come from here, although most steak that’s sold as “sirloin steak” is taken from the bottom area, which is a bit on the tough side and moderately flavored. They’re fine as whole steaks, but perhaps better cut into smaller pieces and marinated for use in kebabs and such, like our Beef and Vegetable Kebab recipe.

Related Video: Learn How to Make a Wagyu Katsu Sando, the Most Expensive Steak Sandwich in America

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Easy Smothered Pork Chops

These smothered pork chops really hit the spot. Thick cut pork chops are pan seared and smothered in onion gravy — just what you need to chase away the winter blues. Make it a meal and serve it over mashed potatoes!

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7 Instant Pot Meal Prep Tips to Streamline Your Week

Meal prep is a year-round game. No matter what else you may be attending to, you’re always eating breakfast, lunch, and dinner and you never have as much time as you’d like to get it all together.

Enter the Instant Pot, which helps make meal prep much quicker and more streamlined. And meal prepping in turn helps you eat healthier, save money, and spend less time figuring out what to eat during the busy work week.

So get yourself some meal prep containers to hold all of your not-that-hard work, organize your fridge so you can actually find everything in there, and consider some handy Instant Pot accessories—and at least one part of your life can actually get less complicated.

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Here are seven ways to use your Instant Pot to meal prep breakfast, lunch, and dinner for the week—with recipes and ideas on what to do with your various components so you don’t get bored of any of them.

1. Make a Big Batch of Hard-Boiled Eggs

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One of a meal prepper’s best friends, hard-boiled eggs (technically steamed, in this case) are perfect for so much: Eat them on their own with a quick sprinkle of everything bagel seasoning for breakfast, slice and add to lunchtime salads or sandwiches, devil them for a snack, or use them to jazz up a bowl of ramen at dinnertime. With the Instant Pot, it’s incredibly easy to cook a big batch of eggs at once and have them come out perfectly every time—plus, they peel like a dream. I still marvel at the way the shells slip right off every time I make them.

According to Damn Delicious, you should cook them for about four minutes if you like them slightly jammy or six minutes for totally firm (but still bright yellow) yolks. In either case, be sure to shock them in ice water to stop them from cooking any further.

As for exactly how to use them, here are some recipes that call on hard-cooked eggs to help inspire you:

• Egg salad gribiche
• Slow cooker pork ramen with boiled eggs
• Roasted beet tzatziki salad
• Brussels sprouts Caesar salad (especially good with soft-boiled eggs)
• Sriracha deviled eggs

2. Poach Chicken Breasts—and Save the Broth

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The Instant Pot makes foolproof poached chicken breasts too, and like the eggs, this protein can be turned into countless dishes from chicken salad to enchiladas.

My go-to Instant Pot poached chicken recipe is from Amy + Jacky, but I usually change up the recommended seasonings. I leave out the oregano, rosemary, and thyme and instead add some whole peppercorns and a couple of peeled, smashed cloves of garlic. This ensures that the chicken will work in virtually any dish you can dream up (e.g., you can use the same batch of chicken in numerous recipes for the week).

That said, you can also add other ingredients to the pot if you know you want to use the chicken in specific dishes. Add some cumin and oregano and maybe a dried chile if you’ll be turning your chicken into burritos and tacos, for instance.

The beautiful bonus here is that the cooking liquid turns into a deeply delicious broth that’s way better than the boxed or canned stuff in your pantry. You’ll have about four cups in total. Save it to make soup later in the week or simply use it in place of water to cook more flavorful rice or couscous than usual.

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Just be sure to cut way back on the salt in whatever recipe you use, because the broth is already very well-seasoned. If you don’t need it the same week you use the chicken, it freezes perfectly in an air-tight plastic or silicone bag (lay flat to freeze so it takes up less room)—or if you tend to use smaller amounts of stock or broth at one time, consider these “Souper Cubes” silicone freezing trays instead.

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You can use bone-in chicken if you like (theoretically, it should make an even richer and more flavorful broth) but I usually don’t bother.

3. Cook a Week’s Worth of Oatmeal for Breakfast

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If you like oatmeal for breakfast but never have time to tend a pot on a weekday morning, make a big batch on Sunday in the Instant Pot. This Instant Pot oatmeal recipe works for both steel cut and rolled oats and uses almond milk because cow’s milk is more likely to scorch—so it’s also vegan. The base recipe is simply flavored with cinnamon and a pinch of salt, but once it’s cooked, you can add brown sugar or maple syrup and a splash of vanilla if you’d like before topping it however you please.

You can simply keep portioning it out of one big bowl all week, but a better option is to let it cool, then freeze it in muffin tins before popping the frozen oatmeal rounds out and sealing them in an air-tight plastic bag. (Silicone muffin pans make unmolding much easier.)

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This way you can store the cooked oatmeal for far longer (in case you don’t feel like oats every day). All you need to do at breakfast time is microwave one or two portions of the oatmeal with a splash of milk. If you top each portion with fresh berries or other fruit (like ripe banana slices and berries or roasted pears and apples) before freezing, it’s an even quicker option on a busy morning.

4. Make Homemade Yogurt for the Week

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Not all Instant Pots have the yogurt-making function, but if yours does, take advantage of it. Not only is it far cheaper, healthier (since there’s less added sugar—or none at all), and more environmentally friendly than buying yogurt at the store, it’ll give you a real sense of satisfaction. If you keep it plain, you can use it in savory recipes throughout the week (think meat marinades, creamy sauces, and even healthier mashed potatoes) as well as eating it with honey, granola, and/or fruit for breakfast.

This guide to Instant Pot yogurt recipes includes directions for making nonfat, full fat, and Greek yogurt.

5. Make Pulled Pork, Beef, or Chicken

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One of the best uses of the Instant Pot is to make a huge hunk of meat into a pile of tender shredded protein you can portion into various dishes throughout the week. Chicken, beef, and pork are right at home in tacos, sandwiches, rice bowls, nachos, and even soup.

Exactly how versatile your protein is depends on how you season it, but if you keep your base flavors on the more neutral side you can always dress your meat up with sauce for individual dishes later. This Instant Pot pulled pork recipe with garlic, onion, salt, and pepper, for instance, can turn into BBQ sliders one night with the addition of your favorite barbecue sauce but also meld seamlessly into fried rice (or cauliflower fried rice) another evening with a splash of soy sauce, sesame oil, and grated ginger.

If you have a stand mixer, heads-up—it’s also great for shredding cooked meat in a jiffy! (But then you do have more to wash up.)

6. Cook a Big Batch of Grains for Sides and Salads

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You can cook rice and other grains in the Instant Pot too, either on their own or via the PIP (pot in pot) method. There’s even an official Instant Pot rice and grains chart with cooking times and water ratios for several types of grains. Jot it down or print it out and keep it near the pressure cooker.

As with meats, the more mildly you season your grains, the more versatile they are. You can use them plain as the base of a saucy grain bowl or under a main dish like butter chicken, mix in other ingredients and seasonings for a hearty but healthy grain salad or pilaf, stir them into soups and stews, or even blend them with veggies and beans for meatless burger patties.

7. Make a Big Pot of Beans From Scratch

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Canned beans are great in a pinch, but they cost more per pound, can be a pain to store in bulk if you don’t have a pantry, and they’re never quite as good as beans cooked from dried (plus, some people have concerns about the linings in commercial canned goods). Luckily, the Instant Pot makes it possible to cook dried beans in a fraction of the time compared to conventional methods—and you don’t have to soak them first. Make a batch of your desired variety on Sunday and use them in various meals throughout the week.

Here are some ideas for using Instant Pot Black Beans, a personal favorite—note that one can of beans (commonly called for in recipes) is equivalent to about 1.5 cups:

• Breakfast burrito bowls (which can also use your Instant Pot poached chicken or shredded protein)
• Vegetarian black bean breakfast burritos
• Black bean hummus
• Refried black beans
• Bacon and black bean chili
• Stuffed poblano peppers with black beans and cheese
• Black bean burgers

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