If you like carpaccio and you didn't like what you made yourself, it was probably the quality of the meat. Beef tenderloin is the cut I've been served in restaurants and it is the cut of beef I make it from.

I've seen reference to others using sirloin and strip loins but my preference is beef tenderloin.

The beef needs to be cut paper thin.

Drizzled with good quality olive oil, lots of fresh ground black pepper and shaved Reggiano Parmesan.

So it was the quality. Hm. Will have to check around.

Thanks Ann!

p.s. I like mine with a small drizzle of caper sauce, a snap of arugula, and a bit of, believe it or not, hardboiled egg
:)

Rob, my son likes capers on his carpaccio too. I'm not a fan of capers. Probably because they are pickled in vinegar and I'm not a big fan of any vinegar.

Ann

Freezing the meat may have hurt the cause. Can you get it from a butcher, have them slice it?

I would use fillet only.

John, not "frozen hard" (does that make sense), just enough to be able to slice it thinly.

Islay, I appreciate what you're saying, but tenderloin is the "back end" of filet mignon, so I am basically using a filet. It is what our local upscale steakhouse uses (there is my problem! Their quality is likely a thousand times better).

I truly suspected that quality was the issue since amount of time I cooked it wasn't even a part of the equation. I really wanted it to shine as it was a very nice looking piece of meat. I don't waste the very few times I eat red meat, so I thought it'd be one of those that went to good use. Wonder where, in Nashville, I could buy GREAT quality next time? It was good, but not "great" (read sparkly zazzles going off in the air! eye rolling, great).

I'm confused. You cooked the meat??????

I've never cooked "carpaccio".

No, no I did not cook the meat. So that could not have been the cause for my ennui about how it turned out.

:)

Here is a trick for slicing a soft round piece of meat like tenderloin. Wrap it in plastic wrap, pulling the plastic hard to squeeze the meat into a tight round log. Use a thin slicer, thin meaning both thickness of blade and distance from spine to edge. Very sharp. Wet blade in water before each slice. Slice right through the plastic, long smooth strokes.

I can't think of any glaring reason why your carpaccio didn't turn out, besides meat quality. Or, maybe just didn't have enough flavor enhancing stuff on it? Salt, capers, etc? Just straight raw beef is kind of bland tasting, to me.

Rob, freezing to just firm up the meat enough to slice wouldn't hurt the quality. Freezing really is the easiest way to slice beef for Carpaccio and get is as thin as it should be. You want it almost "see through". I have a commercial style electric slicer and I still partially freeze the beef for this dish.

Ann

It's true that fillet doesn't have much in the way of flavour - no fat!

I have wondered the same thing islay. I bet there is a "fattier" cut that might work to give me the beef flavor for which I hankered.

I found one recipe which suggested rump steak. Worth a try perhaps.