If you are the type of pirate who gets a periodic craving for a good piece of beef but a warm steak loses its appeal in the summer heat, this recipe might be just your thing. “Black and blue” is the designation for a steak charred black on the outside but still raw on the inside, which is a lovely way to treat a good cut of meat. It’s a tricky preparation though, requiring a cut thick enough to get charred before the inside overcooks. Filet is thick enough, but low on flavor. The marinade and dressing pick up the slack on that front here, and the fresh, crunchy summer salad just makes the whole thing seem exotic. Sort of a bold take on steak tartare … let’s call it Steak TartARRRRRRRRRR, shall we?
Black-and-Blue Beef Salad
For beef: A generous pound of beef fillet 2 garlic cloves About 2″ fresh ginger 1 tbsp dark soy sauce 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil 1 tbsp honey 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar For salad: 1 red onion 1 pint cherry tomatoes 1 cucumber, preferably English or 2-3 Persian 5 or 6 radishes 2 hot or 1 sweet red pepper 2 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
For dressing: 2 tbsp dark soy sauce 2 tbsp toasted sesame oil 1 tbsp honey Juice of 1 lime
For efficiency, make the marinade and dressing at the same time, the former in a ziploc or container fit for marinating the beef and the latter in a mason jar or other shakeable container. And yes … another magic moment for the ulu and bowl…let others grate their garlic and ginger on a microplane. It’s more piratey (and safer for your knuckles that you’ve probably already beaten up hauling on canvas) to chop at it with a curved blade until it’s diced to a fare-thee-well.


Set the steaks aside tented with foil for a few minutes, then slice into bite-sized chunks. This is the beauty of black-and-blue…flavor and texture just brilliant.