Steak Carpaccio Salad

By approaching steak carpaccio as you would a traditional salad, you'll ensure that everything is dressed and seasoned properly. Plus, it all comes together in just 10 minutes.

By
J. Kenji López-Alt
Kenji Lopez Alt
Culinary Consultant
Kenji is the former culinary director for Serious Eats and a current culinary consultant for the site. He is also a New York Times food columnist and the author of The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science.
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Updated October 30, 2024
Closeup of steak carpaccio salad, served with a quartered lemon half.

Serious Eats / J. Kenji López-Alt

Why It Works

  • The hint of browned or smoky flavor from a chilled seared steak adds depth to the other flavors in traditional steak carpaccio.
  • Serving the carpaccio as a dressed salad delivers optimal flavor in each bite and makes the dish easier to eat.

Despite finding a second home for the steak I cooked with Adam Savage in the form of this easy seared steak tataki with cucumbers and ponzu, I still found myself with leftover, refrigerated, perfectly seared rare steak, with no place to go. My wife, Adri, is a huge lover of carpaccio, though we manage to order it only once or twice a year. That's partly because meat is a rare order for us (no pun intended) at a restaurant, and also because it's become so darn difficult to find a good version.

Most restaurants serve flavorless frozen beef, sliced thinner than you'd actually want it (carpaccio shouldn't have the texture of wet tissue paper) and presented in suboptimal ways. Typically, carpaccio is served by tiling a plate with thinly sliced beef; drizzling that beef with olive oil; scattering it with capers, Parmesan shavings, and onion slivers; and perhaps placing a little pile of arugula in the center, along with some lemon wedges.* Eating it becomes an exercise in balancing capers on the beef, trying to make sure that enough lemon gets on each bite, and dragging undressed arugula through the olive oil in an attempt to dress it. It's not ideal.

*I don't want to even get into the places that squirt massive amounts of mayo-like dressing or—god forbid—balsamic vinegar over the surface. This exists, and it is not pretty.

To solve those issues, instead of simply slicing and topping, I decided to thinly slice my steak and use it to make something more like a salad version of carpaccio.

This way, you ensure that everything is dressed and seasoned properly before it even gets to the table. Chopped capers worked into a vinaigrette lend their flavor to each bite. Lemon juice is suspended in an emulsion that coats greens evenly (and, for the sake of tradition, you can even leave a few lemon wedges on the plate for anyone who likes their carpaccio extra lemony). A small dollop of whole-grain mustard enhances the brightness of the capers and helps with the emulsion. Beef, arugula, cheese, and onions can all be picked up in one forkful. It just makes more sense to me.

Closeup of steak carpaccio salad, served with a quartered lemon half.

Serious Eats / J. Kenji López-Alt

In fact, I liked this salad so much—including the little hint of smokiness that the grilled steak gave it—that I don't think I'll ever order regular carpaccio again. Does anyone else want to join me in my Make Carpaccio 3D movement?

July 2016

Recipe Details

Steak Carpaccio Salad Recipe

Prep 10 mins
Total 10 mins
Serves 2 servings

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons (25g) capers, drained, rinsed, and chopped

  • 2 teaspoons (10ml) whole grain mustard

  • 1 tablespoon (15ml) juice from half a lemon, the other half cut into wedges

  • 3 tablespoons (45ml) extra-virgin olive oil

  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

  • 3 ounces arugula leaves (about 3 loosely packed cups; 85g)

  • 1 1/2 ounces (45g) red onion (about 1/4 of a medium onion), very thinly sliced

  • 4 to 6 ounces (115 to 170g) leftover cooked steak, sliced as thinly as possible

  • 1 ounce (30g) Parmigiano-Reggiano, shaved with a vegetable peeler

Directions

  1. Whisk together capers, mustard, lemon juice, and olive oil in a medium bowl. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Add arugula and red onion and toss to coat. Transfer to a serving dish, arrange steak and Parmesan shavings on top, and drizzle with any dressing remaining in the bowl. Sprinkle steak with a little salt and pepper. Serve with lemon wedges.

Special Equipment

Whisk, sharp chef's knife or slicing knife, vegetable peeler

Read More

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
428Calories
36gFat
8gCarbs
21gProtein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 2
Amount per serving
Calories428
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 36g46%
Saturated Fat 9g46%
Cholesterol 67mg22%
Sodium 854mg37%
Total Carbohydrate 8g3%
Dietary Fiber 2g6%
Total Sugars 2g
Protein 21g
Vitamin C 14mg70%
Calcium 213mg16%
Iron 2mg12%
Potassium 427mg9%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

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