How to eat raw meat

24 Dec 2012
Ben Mounsey


You don't have to be a fad dieter (or Hannibal Lecter) to savour the taste of raw flesh. James Lowe, of the London-based chef collective Young Turks, created a delicious "raw beef rib with oysters and chickweed" dish for pop-up restaurant The Loft Project.

Here he outlines how you can put raw meat on your menu.

Keep it fresh
Use the freshest, finest meat you can, and stick to red meat. "Make sure beef has been properly aged," says Lowe. With raw food "you have no way of killing surface bacteria, so use freshly prepared, high-quality ingredients."

Let it breathe
"If you treat the meat too heavily you are kind of curing it," says Lowe. "Don't wash it; although sushi chefs sometimes rinse fish with a salt, sugar or vinegar brine." You can freeze the meat, which can kill bacteria but not the taste.

Choose the knife
An exact cut is crucial. "Use a sharp knife ­­ otherwise you just end up crushing it, which alters the texture," says Lowe. The right tools will also give you greater accuracy so you can avoid fatty, knotty areas.

Pick a partner
Alcohol- or citrus-based dips kill some, but not all, bacteria. Lowe left his beef "plain but with some interesting seasonings. I made an emulsion with raw oysters seasoned with vinegar from pickled elderberry capers."

Expand your menu
"There are plenty of ways to serve raw meat," says Lowe. "It kind of depends on the season: you would find an acidic, sparkly, raw fish dish more fun and appropriate in the summer than the middle of winter."