Beef Carpaccio was said to be invented by Giuseppe Cipriani in 1950 at his landmark restaurant Harry's Bar in Venice, Italy. Named after the Renaissance painter Vittore Carpaccio who use of red in his paintings was his personal signature. Thin sliced impeccable fresh raw beef served with a cold vinaigrette made of olive oil or Aioli and fresh arugula are the main components of the dish. Also thinly shaved or grated Parmigiano can add extra glutamates which really amp up the beefy flavor.
Harry’s Bar opened in 1931, and Cipriani's philosophy was to serve customers as you would want to be served yourself. When a female customer requested a raw meat preparation, they determined it was not very ladylike to ask for raw meat on her visits and came up with the code word "Carpaccio" when she ordered the dish.
Slicing the Carpaccio at Home can be a Challenge
Making the dish at home can be a slight challenge. Restaurants often use electric deli slicers to get ultra thin slices. To assimilate you can slice thin and then pound out between two sheets of plastic wrap with a meat tenderizing hammer. You want to pound gently so as to flatten but not break the fibers.
After pounding to a thin uniform thickness remove one side of the plastic wrap and flip over on to a chilled plate. You can at this point smooth the edges with the flat side of the tenderizing hammer, sliding over the plastic wrap gently. The carpaccio's can be prepped ahead of time and left covered in the fridge for a day. After a day exposure to air makes the meat oxidize and turn an un-appealing color. For pounding, a stainless steel mallet is ideal, but you can use any heavy flat object, like the bottom of a small frying pan or even a wine bottle.Also you could try and ask a butcher at the meat counter to do the slicing for you. It is great to develop a relationship with Butchers and Fish Mongers, to get great products and extra services.
Beef is Classic Choice for Carpaccio
Beef is the classic meat for carpaccio, and the preferred cut is tenderloin. Sirloin also has great flavor and texture for carpaccio. Some restaurants use eye of the round -- an economic cut that is shaped like a tenderloin but actually has more flavor than filet. Commonly used in Vietnamese pho, the eye round can tend to have a spidery piece of gristle running down the center. With thin slicing or pounding minor occurances of fat are barley noticeable, but if there is a large fat pocket try and remove it and smooth the beef with plastic wrap. Buffalo and Venison also make great carpaccio, while lamb can be good but the gamey flavor can scare off non-adventurous eaters. .
Modern Interpretations Include Tuna Carpaccio
Now a days many creative chefs are also using fish, vegetables and even fruit to stand in for the beef classic. Restaurant Le Bernadin in New York made Tuna Carpaccio popular, since red tuna looks similar to beef and is great in raw preparations, it is a natural stand in.
Other top chefs have used portabello mushrooms, beets, radishes and even pineapple for takes on the classic. The idea is usually taking a raw or barely cooked component, slicing super thin and dressing the top like a composed salad.
In Italy cold cuts like Prosciutto and Bresaola are often thinly sliced on a platter and dressed in a similar manner as carpaccio for an Antipasto.
Ingredients for classic Beef Carpaccio (serves 4-6)
- 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 pound beef tenderloin, trimmed of fat and sinew
- 2 cups arugula leaves, torn
- 1 ounce freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- Juice two lemons
- 2 tablespoons capers
- Sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
- Slice beef tenderloin very thinly with a very sharp knife, pound and arrange on plate or platter.
- Season with salt and fresh pepper
- Drizzle olive oil and lemon juice on top of the beef, scatter with capers.
- Place arugula leaves on top dressed with olive oil and lemon
- Finish with gratings of Parmesan cheese.
- Serve with crusty bread if desired.
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