Carpaccio - A Real Food Post

Dinner for one doesn't have to be sad. Though you may be tempted to dip into the fast food, frozen burrito, or nuclear noodles, there are plenty of quick and easy options. On a whim, I decided to make beef carpaccio. Why? Why not? It's decidedly quick and easy, versatile, and beyond delicious. According to The New Food Lover's Companion,

carpaccio [kahr-PAH-chee-oh] Italian in origin, carpaccio consists of thin shavings of raw beef FILLET, which may be drizzled with olive oil and lemon juice or served with a mayonnaise or mustard sauce. The dish is often topped with capers and sometimes onions. It's generally served as an appetizer.

As a side note, "fillet" should not be confused with "filet". A fillet is any boneless piece of meat or fish. A Filet (Mignon) is a steak cut from the skinny end of a beef tenderloin (the other end being the chateaubriand), and it is one of the most tender pieces of the cow

Back to the carpaccio. The dish was purportedly created in Harry's Bar in Venice, Italy, a popular American ex-pat hangout, by proprietor Giuseppe Cipriani, but raw meat preparations have been around for a while. It was named after artist Vittore Carpaccio. With moderate portions and fresh vegetables, it can be really nutritious too! There's a similar dish made in Tuscany that consists of marinated pork and shaved artichokes (when in season).

Rule number one of carpaccio is that tenderer is betterer. That said, I wouldn't use veal because it isn't all that flavorful. Nor would it be as attractive on the plate. The most tender cuts of beef are the tenderloin and the strip loin. Most of the ribeye is sufficiently tender, as are parts of the sirloin. I used the sirloin tip. The store happened to have a perfectly sized and shaped piece for my purposes. This piece is about 12 ounces and has a triangular prism shape. My carpaccio did not meet the traditional guidelines but these days you can slap any name on anything and people will eat it up. Foolish sheep. I suppose it's less cumbersome a name than actually describing all of the components of the dish. This is the spiced-and-seared variant. I made a spice rub consisting of ground mustard, fennel seeds, coriander, green peppercorns, and salt. I like to grind my own spices in a coffee grinder (different from the one that you use for coffee), but you can probably find everything pre-ground. Coat the meat in the spice mix and allow it to sit for a few minutes.



Why sear? A few reasons: First and foremost is safety. Even if you get your meat from a reputable source (I get mine from Whole Foods), there's always the risk of stray pathogens. These tend to be only on the surface, especially on very solid cuts of meat (as compared with skirt steaks which have lots of spaces and surface area). A quick, hot sear in a pan, grill, or broiler is all you need to reasonably ensure your safety. Of course, no amount of cooking will eliminate the junk that's in your meat if it comes from the average factory farm or bulk processor. The next reasons to sear the meat are texture and flavor. If your pan is sufficiently hot, you can get a good crust on the outside of the meat. Finally, with a good sear, the sliced meat will have a really pretty appearance, with a frame of cooked around the brightly colored raw center. Aesthetics count too.

A cast iron pan is best for searing because it is, due to its thickness, black color, surface texture, and metal composition, a spectacular conductor of heat. The pan should be very hot and no oil is necessary. You don't want the meat to linger in the pan too long or else the middle of the meat will cook. You only want a millimeter-thick (or so) layer of cooked meat around the raw center. Cook the meat on all sides. It shouldn't take a full minute on each side to cook the meat. It's also probably better to lean towards under-cooking, rather than over-cooking, while you get the hang of the timing.

Resting the meat is crucial. If you slice it as soon as you pull it out of the pan, it'll "bleed" all over the place. Note that this isn't actually blood but loose muscle proteins and other compounds suspended in water. As the meat rests, the muscle re-absorbs the liquid and holds onto it for good. Your patience will be rewarded. (Also, this is a cold dish. It helps to have meat that isn't hot.)



Once the meat is cooled to room temperature, thinly slice it with your sharpest non-serrated knife. A longer knife is better because you'll be able to slice more evenly with long strokes, avoiding the stair-step appearance of shoddily sliced meat. The meat mallet will also smooth out some imperfections. Pound the meat as thinly as possible. I can't really explain how to pound the meat properly; you'll have to get a feel for what muscle movements work best for you, your meat, and your mallet. It's okay if you screw a few up. Just eat the bad ones before they make it to the plate. Arrange the meat as desired around the plate. Notice that the entire surface of the place that isn't covered with meat is perfectly clean. This results from careful plating and, more importantly, allowing the meat to rest sufficiently before slicing (lest it leak liquid all over the place).



It helps to have some extra color contrast on the plate. And vegetables. I'd planned on doing shaved asparagus but my corner produce market didn't have any! Instead I used fennel (shaved with a vegetable peeler), watercress, and arugula. Any salad greens and tender vegetables work very well. Also, the red, white, and green Italian flag theme works nicely. Gently toss the veggies in a light, simple dressing. I just used balsamic vinegar, oil, and salt.



To finish off the dish, I whipped up a quick mustard sauce. Let's call it lazy aioli. Combine equal parts mayonnaise (I used the commercial olive oil stuff that has a bit less fat in it) and dijon mustard. Flavor with roasted or granulated garlic and thin out with a little bit of water and/or white wine vinegar. If you're making this dish for lots of people, you can put it in a squeeze bottle to garnish more attractively but if you're cooking for one like I am, you can use a zip-top bag as a piping bag by cutting off a tiny bit of the corner. Please forgive the uneven lines resulting from this MacGyver'd process.



Tada! It was quite delicious. There's about 7 ounces of meat on this plate - a decent portion for a shared appetizer or solo entree. The nice thing about carpaccio is that you really can bend it to fit your tastes. The following picture is a rather hearty appetizer from a lovely little restaurant in Girona, Spain, where I had one of the greatest meals of my life. The meat is tissue paper thin, a definite plus. It's liberally garnished with pine nuts and a heavy drizzle of syrupy balsamic vinegar, crisped onion shavings, and chopped herbs. I'd actually prefer a bit less garnish to let the flavor of the meat shine through. Oh well. Enjoy.