Pairing Wine with Steak Tartare (à la Française)

I mostly eat a vegetarian diet, but I occasionally long for a nice steak or beef dish. Last week, I satisfied my cravings by making a steak tartare à la Française.

There are many recipes for steak tartare, from traditional to exotic, with various choices of condiments and spices. However, being born and raised in France, I will offer a French recipe. As a side note, as a child, I enjoyed my steak tartare cooked! It is a great way to add some flavors to beef while making it child-friendly.

My recipe is from Anthony Bourdain's "Les Halles" cookbook. As Anthony explains, "the key to a successful steak tartare is fresh beef, freshly hand-chopped at the very last minute and mixed tableside. A home meat grinder with a fairly wide mesh blade is nice to have, but you can and should use a very sharp knife and simply chop and chop and chop until fine. The texture will be superior. And do not dare use a food processor on this dish - you'll utterly destroy it."

Ingredients for 6 people: 2 egg yolks; 2 Tbsp Dijon mustard; 4 anchovy filets, finely chopped; 2 tsp ketchup; 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce; Tabasco sauce, to taste; Freshly ground black pepper; ¼ cup olive oil; 1 oz Cognac; 1 small onion, freshly and finely chopped; 2 oz capers, rinsed; 2 oz cornichons, finely chopped; 4 sprig of flat parsley, finely chopped; 1 ¼ lb(s) fresh sirloin, finely chopped.

Directions: Place the egg yolks in a large stainless-steel bowl and add the mustard and anchovies. Mix well, then add the ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco, and pepper and mix well again. Slowly whisk in the oil, then add the Cognac and mix again. Fold in the onion, capers, cornichons, and parsley. Add the chopped meat to the bowl and mix well using a spoon or your hands. Divide the meat evenly among the six chilled dinner plates and, using a ring mold or spatula, form it into disks on the plates. Serve this dish immediately with some bread toasts. I ate my steak tartare with a fresh spinach salad sprinkled with balsamic vinegar. However, French fries are usually served with this dish.

Pairing this steak tartare with wine is quite fun. Play with the many flavors of the dish by accompanying it with light peppery reds (such as fresh Cabernet Franc, light Cabernet Sauvignon, Zweigelt, Blaufrankish, Mencia, Schiava, Lagrein, and Carignan), earthy complex rosés and spicy non-fruity whites.

I accompanied my steak tartare with a delicious Cabernet Franc from Bernard Baudry (the 2015 Cuvee Domaine). Its bouquet of dark cherry, blackberry liqueur, violet, earth, black and pepper paired beautifully with the flavors of the dish and its bright acidity, gorgeous minerality and supple silky tannin worked great with the earthy notes of the steak tartare.

Below is a list of wines that we currently have in stock that will pair wonderfully with this steak tartare. I hope you will enjoy these pairings!

-Caroline Coursant