Beef tartare, potted beef with dripping and sourdough toast
- medium
- 4
- 4 hours 30 minutes
This stunning beef rump starter uses this beautiful cut for two different preparations – a classic beef tartare and delicious potted beef recipe. Paul serves the dish with his spin on gentleman's relish – to save time you can use a good-quality brown sauce instead if preferred. The relish makes more than is needed for this recipe, but it can be stored in sterilised jars and kept for a host of other dishes.
First published in 2017
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Ingredients
Metric
Imperial
Potted beef
Gentleman's relish
- 4kg plums
- 500ml of white wine vinegar
- 500g of pitted prunes
- 350g of soft brown sugar
- 100ml of Worcestershire sauce
- 5 onions, chopped
- 10 Granny Smith apples, cored and chopped (no need to peel)
- 10 red plums, stoned and chopped
- 15 anchovy fillets
- 5 tbsp of English mustard
- 3 tbsp of ground mixed spice
- 250ml of tamarind paste
- 250ml of water
- 200ml of fresh orange juice
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 tsp ground white pepper
Confit egg yolks
- 6 eggs
Sauce gribiche for the tartare
Beef tartare
- 200g of beef rump, trimmed of fat and sinew
- 20g of banana shallot, finely diced
- Tabasco, 2–3 drops
To serve
- sourdough bread, toasted
- wood sorrel
SAVE RECIPE
Equipment
- Apple wood chips
- Water bath
- Liquidiser
- Piping bags 2
- 5cm round mould
Method
1
To begin, prepare the beef rump for the potted beef. Add the rump to a large container and add the wine, vegetables (not including the diced shallots) and thyme to cover. Leave to marinate for 24 hours
2
The night before serving, cut the plum tomatoes for the gentleman's relish in half. Spread applewood chips in a deep flameproof baking tray and place over a high flame, allowing the chips to smoke and catch fire. As soon as the chips catch, smother with a lid to extinguish and top with a wire rack that fits inside the tray
- 4kg plums
3
Place the tomato halves on the rack and seal the entire tray with tin foil to create a smoke box. At this point, remove from the heat and leave the tomatoes covered for a few hours to infuse. Transfer to a container with a sealable lid and place in the fridge overnight
4
The next day, place the tomatoes in a heavy-based pan along with the rest of the ingredients. Cook for 2–3 hours over a medium heat until the liquid has reduced by 3/4
- 1 tsp ground white pepper
- 500ml of white wine vinegar
- 500g of pitted prunes
- 350g of soft brown sugar
- 100ml of Worcestershire sauce
- 5 onions, chopped
- 10 Granny Smith apples, cored and chopped (no need to peel)
- 10 red plums, stoned and chopped
- 15 anchovy fillets
- 5 tbsp of English mustard
- 3 tbsp of ground mixed spice
- 250ml of tamarind paste
- 250ml of water
- 200ml of fresh orange juice
- 2 garlic cloves
5
Drain the beef rump from the marinade and reserve the wine and vegetables separately
6
Place a large pan over a medium-high heat with a dash of oil and add the beef. Colour all over until nicely caramelised then remove from the pan and add the vegetables. Brown the vegetables nicely then transfer to a large saucepan, along with the beef
- sunflower oil
7
Add the wine to the pan and reduce by half. Transfer to the saucepan with the beef and vegetables, add the stock and top the pan with a lid. Cook over a low heat for 3–4 hours until the beef is tender and breaking apart
- 1l beef stock
8
Meanwhile, place the eggs for the confit egg yolks in a waterbath preheated to 62°C and cook for 2 hours
- 6 eggs
9
Add the finely diced shallots for the beef to a small pan and submerge in oil. Confit very slowly over a low heat until the shallots are soft and caramelised. Drain and set aside
- 75g of shallots, finely diced
- sunflower oil
10
When the beef is ready, remove the meat from the pan and flake into a mixing bowl. Pass the cooking liquid through a sieve into a clean pan and reduce the liquid until thick and rich. Add to the meat, season with salt and pepper and stir through. Season with sherry vinegar and the confit shallots
11
Once all mixed and tasting good, transfer to small pots and even out the top. Place in the fridge to set before capping with the beef dripping
12
Transfer the gentleman's relish to a liquidiser, blend until smooth then pass through a fine sieve. Transfer to sterilised jars and keep in the fridge
13
To finish the confit egg yolk, peel each egg and blend the yolks in a liquidiser until smooth. Pass through a fine sieve and transfer to piping bags or squeezy bottles
15
Once all of the fat has been released, pass through a fine sieve and season with salt. Pour over the set rump pots (it’s crucial that the beef is cold and set before topping with the fat). Chill in the fridge to set, then remove prior to serving to allow the fat to soften slightly
17
Finely slice then dice the beef rump for the tartare and add to a bowl. Add the shallots and gribiche, then a few drops of Tabasco to taste for a kick of heat
- Tabasco, 2–3 drops
- 200g of beef rump, trimmed of fat and sinew
- 20g of banana shallot, finely diced
18
To serve, place the ring mould on a plate and add a portion of beef tartare. Remove the ring and pipe a round of egg yolk on top before repeating with the other plates
19
Add a dish of the potted beef to the plate and pipe on some gentleman's relish. Finish with slices of sourdough toast and wood sorrel leaves
- wood sorrel
- sourdough bread, toasted
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