Steak Tartare: Accidentally Perfect Keto

Steak tartare is raw minced beef mixed with egg yolk, mustard, capers, shallots, Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco, and parsley, served with toast or frites on the side. Remove the toast and the frites and what you have is a dish that is almost entirely fat and protein with negligible carbs. It’s one of the best things on a Brussels brasserie menu and it requires no modification whatsoever, just the standard request to swap the side for a salad.

Belgium takes steak tartare seriously. It’s a staple at brasseries rather than a special occasion dish, it’s often prepared tableside, and the quality of the beef matters, which in Belgium generally means the quality is good. It’s not a dish you order at a place you’re uncertain about, but at any brasserie with a proper kitchen it’s reliably excellent.

What’s in it

The base is beef, typically a lean cut like filet or sirloin, minced or finely chopped. The fat content is lower than a cooked steak, which means the dish is mostly protein with the fat coming from the egg yolk and the olive oil sometimes used in the dressing. From a keto perspective everything in it is fine: the mustard has trace carbs, the Worcestershire sauce has a small amount of sugar, the capers and shallots are negligible quantities. A full portion of steak tartare is well under 5g of carbs.

The egg yolk is important both for flavour and texture: it binds the mixture and adds richness. Some versions mix it in, others serve it whole in a small depression in the top of the meat for you to mix yourself.

Ordering it in Brussels

Most Brussels brasseries have steak tartare on the menu. It’s listed as either steak tartare or filet américain préparé, the latter being the same dish, sometimes with slightly different seasoning conventions. Filet américain also exists as a cold spread for sandwiches, which is the same raw beef preparation used more casually. Both are fine.

Ask for the side to be salade or légumes rather than frites or toast. You’ll get the actual dish with nothing subtracted.

Some brasseries prepare it tableside, adding the condiments and mixing in front of you. This is the better version both for freshness and for the ability to adjust seasoning as it’s made. If you have preferences, more mustard or less Tabasco, say so before they start mixing.

Making it at home

It’s straightforward to make at home if you use good beef from a butcher you trust. Ask for freshly minced filet or sirloin and use it the same day.

Per person:

• 150-180g freshly minced beef
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon capers, roughly chopped
• 1 small shallot, very finely diced
• A few dashes of Worcestershire sauce
• A few dashes of Tabasco
• Salt, pepper, parsley

Mix everything together, taste and adjust. Serve immediately. A small green salad alongside is all you need.

The version you make at home won’t quite match a good brasserie version: there’s something about the freshness of beef minced to order and mixed immediately that’s hard to replicate, but it’s close enough to be worth making regularly. It’s also one of the faster proper meals you can put together, which matters on weeknights.

One of the genuinely good things about eating keto in Brussels is that the city has a strong tradition of exactly this kind of food: quality protein, minimal interference. Steak tartare is the clearest example.