Homemade steak tartare: which meat grinder should you use?
For homemade beef tartare, the best tool for one or two people is a well-sharpened knife, and a screw-driven meat grinder equipped with a large plate as soon as you start hosting or preparing it often. A successful tartare depends on a precise texture, neither too fine nor too coarse, and this grain depends directly on the tool used. This guide helps you choose the right equipment according to how often you prepare it, the quantity to grind, and the hygiene rules this dish imposes, because raw meat allows no room for error.
Why prepare homemade tartare instead of buying it?
Pre-packaged tartare is often ground several hours before sale. The meat has already been exposed to the air, temperature fluctuations, and contact with other pieces. Preparing tartare at home means taking back control of every step:
- freshness: the meat is ground in the minutes preceding the meal, which limits bacterial proliferation;
- choice of cut: rump, rump heart, or fillet, depending on your budget and tastes;
- custom texture: traditional coarse grain or slightly finer, depending on the plate;
- budget: whole meat generally costs less than pre-prepared tartare.
How much meat to allow per person for tartare?
The quantity changes depending on whether the tartare is served as a starter or a main course.
Allow 150 to 180 g of net meat per person as a main course, and about 100 g as a starter. The meat does not lose weight when ground, unlike when cooked, so the calculation remains simple: weigh the trimmed meat, without sinew, at the time of purchase.
What texture to aim for for authentic beef tartare?
This is the central question. Tartare is not ground like the meat of a homemade burger steak, nor like a stuffing. The meat must retain body, small pieces that the teeth perceive. In terms of plate size, we are talking about a diameter of 6 to 8 mm for a result faithful to the brasserie recipe, which is the 7 mm plate on our three-plate grinders.
If the meat is ground too finely, it becomes pasty, loses all its hold on the plate, and looks more like a mousse than a tartare. If it is cut too coarsely, the dish looks like a poorly cut carpaccio and the seasoning no longer distributes evenly.
The knife method produces a slightly irregular result, considered by many to be the most authentic version. The meat grinder with a coarse plate reproduces this result in a few seconds, with a regularity that the knife alone does not always achieve.
What tool to use to grind the meat for tartare?
Knife and grinder give excellent results. The choice depends on the frequency of preparation, the quantity to grind, and the desired comfort.
The knife technique: for purists
A well-sharpened knife, a clean work surface, and a little technique: that is all you need for a traditional knife tartare. We first cut into thick slices, then strips, then we chop by crossing the blade strokes. The result is slightly irregular, which is precisely what enthusiasts are looking for. The limit is obvious: for more than two people, the gesture becomes long and tiring, and for hosting, the knife alone quickly reaches its limits.
The manual grinder: control and precision at a low price
A manual meat grinder equipped with a large plate reproduces the texture obtained with a knife, in a fraction of the time. You control the speed of the pass and can stop at any time to check the grain. It is the reference tool for those who prepare tartare once or twice a week. The meat must be very cold, taken out of the refrigerator at the last minute, to pass cleanly through the mechanism without heating up. A solid cast iron or stainless steel body and a table clamp ensure stability during grinding.
The electric grinder: for large quantities
To prepare tartare for six people or more, an electric meat grinder equipped with a coarse plate settles the question in less than a minute. Check that the model comes with several interchangeable plates, including one with large perforations to preserve the chew of the dish. The main constraint remains cleaning: a complete disassembly after each use, with a rinse in cold water first, because hot water cooks the proteins on the walls.
Can you use an electric mini bowl grinder to make tartare?
The mini bowl grinder is often the only appliance already present in the kitchen.
Not in a satisfactory way. A bowl grinder with a rotating blade grinds by pulse and produces an irregular texture, often too fine. For a decent tartare, you need a screw-driven meat grinder with a perforated plate, whether manual or electric: these are two different types of appliances.
Choosing the right plate: the decisive element for tartare
The plate makes or breaks the texture of the tartare. Not all meat grinders come with several plates. For tartare use, check that the model includes at least:
- a coarse plate, 6 to 8 mm: the ultimate tartare plate, which preserves the chew;
- a medium plate, 4 to 5 mm: for a more homogeneous result, suitable for patties, light stuffings, or meatballs;
- a fine plate, 3 mm: for pâté or fine sausages, not suitable for tartare.
Models that include two or three plates at purchase offer real versatility: you go from tartare to homemade sausages according to the needs of the moment, and the meat grinder plate guide specifies the diameter to favor for each.
Food safety: the non-negotiable rules
Raw ground meat is one of the most sensitive foods bacteriologically. These precautions directly condition the safety of the dish:
- buy the meat the same day, as a whole piece, from a butcher or in a fast-rotation section;
- prepare the tartare in the 30 minutes preceding service, and never store it ground from one meal to the next;
- put the metal parts of the grinder in the refrigerator 30 minutes before grinding, to limit the heat of friction;
- disassemble and clean the grinder immediately after use: cold water, then dish soap and brush, then complete drying.
For piece-by-piece cleaning, follow our method for cleaning an electric meat grinder.
Should you freeze the meat before making homemade tartare?
Prior freezing is a piece of advice that often circulates, but its scope is limited.
Prior freezing at -18 °C for 24 hours eliminates certain parasites, but does not protect against bacteria like E. coli or Salmonella. The freshness of the meat and the hygiene of the equipment remain the real guarantees. For pregnant women, young children, and fragile people, raw tartare should be avoided.
Homemade tartare: equip yourself with the right grinder
A suitable meat grinder transforms the preparation of tartare into a quick, precise, and reproducible gesture. Whether manual for simplicity and control, or electric for large quantities, the result depends above all on the plate and rigor on the freshness of the meat.
For tartare once or twice a week, a stable manual grinder with a large plate is enough: our cast iron grinder n°8, for example, stays well in place thanks to its massive body and its table clamp. For occasional tartare, the well-sharpened knife remains an excellent option. Find our complete selection of meat grinders, manual and electric.
Our entire range is gathered on Hachoir Cuisine.