Tartare Cut

Tartare cut is a technique of finely hand-chopping raw meat (most often beef fillet) or fish (tuna, salmon) with a knife to prepare the refined dish tartare. It is fundamentally important that the product be chopped with a knife and not minced: grinding in a mincer crushes the fibres, squeezes out the juices, and spoils the texture.

With a very sharp heavy knife a choice, impeccably fresh piece is first cut into thin slices, then into matchsticks, and then into a fine dice, until a uniform yet not pasty mass is obtained in which every piece can be felt. Hand chopping preserves the springy, succulent texture and natural flavour of the raw product. The chopped tartare is seasoned at once: the classic beef version with egg yolk, capers, shallot, Dijon mustard, and Worcestershire sauce; the fish version with citrus, olive oil, and herbs. Because the dish is entirely raw, the quality and freshness of the product and the impeccable sharpness of the knife play a decisive role.