Chef Danilo Cortellini
Thinly sliced raw beef might sound weird to some, and even in Italy, it isn’t common everywhere but in some region in the northwest of the country, beef carpaccio is considered very traditional and it is now easy to find it in Italian restaurants’ menu all around the world.
Like a beef tartar, often simply accompanied by a few salad leaves, a yolk dressing and freshly shaved Grana Padano PDO, beef carpaccio is the perfect starter to a meal or, if served in larger portions with a nice salad can be the perfect one-dish meal on a hot summer day.
Ask you butcher for a lean cut of beef and ask if they can slice it thinly for you, unless you want to buy a whole piece and store it like I show in my video.
Chef’s tip
If you can get hold of a whole piece of beef rump (or any other lean cut of beef), roll it tightly in cling film and freeze it. Slice it thinly only when you need it using a slicing machine or a kitchen mandolin (or a very sharp knife). Make sure you don’t fully defrost it so that you have clean cuts on the slices but most importantly you defrost only what’s needed. A beef loin or rib eye works too but it has a higher fat content.