[Sca-cooks] carpaccio?

Phil Troy / G. Tacitus Adamantius adamantius1 at verizon.net
Tue Jul 22 04:42:10 PDT 2008


On Jul 22, 2008, at 2:50 AM, Stefan li Rous wrote:

> Antonia mentioned:
> <<< I like raw beef (carpaccio etc.), but not if it has any  
> noticable fat on
> it.>>>
>
> What is carpaccio? We've discussed at least one raw meat dish here  
> before, but I don't remember this being it. From the name, I assume  
> this is Italian. Is that true? What other types of raw meat dishes  
> are there? Do such meats need to be from a particular cut of meat or  
> a particular animal?


It's a dish of thinly sliced raw beef (sometimes slightly thicker  
slices, pounded to a paper-thin "cutlet"), laid out on a wide platter,  
garnished with drizzles of olive oil, black pepper, shavings of  
parmigiano-reggiano, sometimes capers, or, in lieu of all that, a  
mustard and lemon vinaigrette. Usually from the tenderloin/fillet of  
beef, it is alleged to have been created at Harry's American Bar in  
Venice in 1950. It doesn't necessarily reflect any particular Italian  
tradition of raw-meat-eating per se (although it is done there);  
apparently a diner came in and asked for a dish to be made of uncooked  
beef on doctor's orders.

Today the term "carpaccio" is applied to all sorts of non-beef items  
including tuna, veal, tomatoes, and various other fruits and  
vegetables that are thinly sliced and laid out across a wide platter  
and garnished.

Other raw meat dishes include kibbeh, which is found in various places  
in the Middle East, generally made with ground lamb, bulgur, onion and  
seasonings, often baked but sometimes eaten raw, raw liver from  
various animals eaten in France, Italy and elsewhere, several raw beef  
dishes eaten in various parts of Africa, and raw beef served as  
sashimi in Japan and Korea. I'm sure there are more...

Adamantius




"Most men worry about their own bellies, and other people's souls,  
when we all ought to worry about our own souls, and other people's  
bellies."
			-- Rabbi Israel Salanter




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