Spicy Beef Tartare

Spicy Beef Tartare is a restaurant-quality dish that’s simple enough to prepare in your own kitchen! This unique twist on traditional French-style recipes features sirloin steak, Calabrian chilies, capers, grainy mustard, and a hot aioli. It’s rich, bright, and creamy with a kick!

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Why you’ll love this recipe

Flavorful: You don’t have to go out to a high-end restaurant to enjoy a quality dish like spicy beef tartare. It’s incredibly easy to prepare at home, and it tastes just like a professional chef made it.
Quick: This recipe is enjoyed raw and chilled, meaning it’s perfect to serve during warm weather months. You don’t even have to turn the oven on!
Healthy: It’s low in carbs and keto-friendly, plus it is packed with protein and other nutrients. It makes a great addition to a healthy and balanced diet.

Watch How To Make Spicy Beef Tartare

The best spicy beef tartare

Spicy beef tartare is a variation of traditional steak tartare, which is a dish made of raw beef and egg yolk. If you’re hesitant to try this dish, don’t worry! It’s both delicious and safe to eat.

Spicy beef tartare on a plate with chips.

Sirloin steak is chopped finely and seasoned with capers, shallots, Worcestershire, and grainy mustard. To up the spice, I decided to add Calabrian chilies. This Italian pepper is fruity, smoky, and slightly sweet with a medium-high heat level.

The combination is complex in flavor with crispy, creamy, and chewy textures. It’s bright, savory, and warming, making each bite different than the last. Enjoy this meal slightly chilled with crostini, toasted baguettes, or even potato chips for the best eating experience.

Ingredients & substitutions

Sirloin steak: Since it is served raw, it’s extremely important to use high-quality meat. If possible, purchase your steak straight from the butcher counter and let them know you’ll be eating it raw. Alternatively, use top round beef.
Capers: Add a briny, slightly tangy, and bright element that balances the richness of the other ingredients. Plus, frying them perfectly crisps them up, adding a unique texture.
Avocado oil: I prefer avocado oil since it’s light and neutral, but you can use other vegetable oil varieties like olive oil, grapeseed oil, or safflower oil.
Calabrian chili: Added to both the spicy beef tartare mixture and the aioli for medium-hot heat, fruity, and subtly smoky flavors. Calabrian chilies sit around 25,000 to 40,000 Scoville Heat Units on the Scoville Scale, so good replacements include serranos, Fresno chilies, red pepper flakes, or chili garlic paste.
Shallots: Adds bite and zestiness without overpowering the beef. If you don’t have shallots, spring onions are the next best option.
Worcestershire sauce: Provides savory, umami-rich, and salty flavors. No Worchestershire? Use tamari, soy sauce, or liquid aminos.
Grainy mustard: You can also use a mixture of grainy mustard and smooth Dijon mustard or horseradish for more of a kick.
Flaky sea salt: For a balanced saltiness and a beautiful garnish. Use a brand like Maldon for the best taste and appearance.
Egg yolk: To serve on top of the spicy beef tartare, creating an ultra-rich flavor and silky-smooth texture. Keep it refrigerated until serving time.
Chives: I love to add finely chopped chives to the top for a pop of color and zesty flavor. You can also try green onions, parsley, or cilantro if you prefer.
Mayonnaise: Mixed with Calabrian chilies to create a rich, creamy, and spicy aioli for serving with the tartare.

Sliced beef, capers cooking, fried capers, and marinade.

How to make spicy beef tartare

Chill and slice the beef: Freeze the beef on a small plate until it firms up slightly, which takes about 20 minutes. Cut chilled beef into ¼-inch slices, then strips, and finally cubes Keep the beef in the fridge while you prep the rest of the ingredients.
Fry the capers: Dry the capers with a paper towel. In a small pan, heat the avocado oil and fry the capers over medium. Remove them from the heat once they are nice and crispy. Transfer them to a paper towel-lined plate to cool completely.
Combine the add-ins: In a mixing bowl, combine the Calabrian chilies, fried capers, finely chopped shallots, Worcestershire sauce, and grainy mustard.
Add the beef: Add cubed beef and flaky sea salt, mixing until well incorporated. Taste and adjust the salt or chilies to suit your preferences.
Mix the aioli: Add Calabrian chili and mayonnaise to a mason jar and blend them together with a stick blender until smooth.
Assemble spicy beef tartare: Before serving, chill the plate. Once chilled, use a pastry brush to make a paint stroke with the Calabrian chili aioli. Add a round mold on top, spoon the steak tartare inside, then remove the mold.
Add finishing touches: Top your spicy beef tartare with fresh egg yolk, a sprinkle of flaky sea salt, and finely chopped chives. Serve immediately while chilled!

Cubed beef, cubed beef with seasonings, chili aioli, and building spicy steak tartare.

Serving suggestions

Whether you’re serving your spicy beef tartare as a dinner centerpiece or an appetizer, you’ll want to pair it with lots of sides! Test out some of these ideas to see what you prefer:

Bread: Crostini, toasted baguette, croutons, or crackers.
Chips and crackers: Potato chips, plantain chips, vegetable chips, French fries, water crackers, tostadas, or Melba toasts.
Fruit and vegetables: Cornichons (gherkins), pickled onions, lemon wedges, cherry tomatoes, cucumber slices, salad greens, or lettuce boats.
Sauces: Extra Worcestershire, mustard, aioli, mayonnaise, or even ketchup.

Top of spicy beef tartare with broken egg yolk.

Frequently asked questions

Is raw beef safe to eat?

There is always a risk of foodborne illness when consuming raw beef, so make sure to use high-quality beef that’s been stored and prepared correctly. If you do this, the risk is very minimal.

Is it safe to eat raw eggs?

Like raw meat, there are some risks associated with eating raw eggs. To reduce the chances of bacterial illnesses, the best thing you can do is use pasteurized eggs. This means they are heated just enough for bacteria to be killed off, making the eggs very safe to eat raw.

What’s the difference between minced beef and steak tartare?

Minced beef is cooked ground beef used in recipes such as burgers, shepherd’s pies, and meatballs. Steak tartare is made from finely chopped raw beef and is meant to be consumed raw.

Spicy beef tartare with broken egg yolk and chips on a plate.

Storage

Leftover spicy beef tartare can safely be stored if you follow these tips and instructions:

Fridge: As long as you’re using high-quality meat, you can store steak tartare in the fridge for up to 2 days. Keep tartare in an airtight container, and make sure the fridge is at or below 40°F. This will slow the growth of any harmful bacteria.
Freezer: It’s not recommended to freeze spicy beef tartare since the texture and flavor will change too much once it thaws. Plus, freezing may not kill all the bacteria in the raw meat, so there is still a risk of foodborne illness.

Note: If you’re not sure when you’ve made your beef tartare and it’s left in the fridge, it should be disposed of for safety reasons.

Variations

French: Use the same ingredients, but ditch the spicy peppers. You can even add some parsley and tarragon.
German: Combine sirloin steak, gherkins, spices, and onions.
Korean: Make it with raw beef, gochujang (Korean chili paste), sesame oil, soy sauce, raw egg yolk, and pear or apple slices.
American: American-style tartare can be made with sirloin, herbs, spices, bacon, and blue cheese.

Note: There there are many variations of tartare within each country, but these are just some ideas to inspire you!

Top tips

High-quality beef: Use the freshest and highest quality beef you can find. Some examples include sirloin, filet mignon, and rib-eye. You also want it to be free of gristle, fat, and sinew (connective tissue). Just mention to the butcher that you’ll be eating it raw!
Chill before preparing: Chill the sirloin in the freezer for 20 minutes before slicing it. This helps the meat hold its shape and not become mushy or soft.
Chop finely: Cut into small, even pieces. You want them to be quite small to achieve the desired texture you’re going for.
Mix gently: Mix your seasoning with the beef thoroughly, but do so gently so the texture stays consistent.
Chill before serving: Chill the spicy beef tartare for about 30 minutes prior to serving it. This allows the flavors to meld together and the beef to firm up.

Looking for more low-carb or keto recipes?

If you enjoyed this spicy beef tartare recipe, be sure to check out some more low-carb and keto dishes like these:

If you try this Apple Cider Braised Beef Roast let me know what you think! Rate and review this recipe in the comments below. Don’t forget to take a picture and tag me on Instagram @lenaskitchenblog!