Carne Cruda all'Albese (Italian Beef Tartare)

Name: Carne Cruda all'Albese (Piedmontese Italian Tartare)
Prep time: 25 min
Total time: 25 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 400g (14 oz) very lean whole-muscle beef or veal — Fassona topside (fesa) or eye of round (girello) if you can get it, otherwise beef tenderloin or trimmed topside; 4–5 tbsp best extra virgin olive oil, ideally a mild Ligurian or northern Italian oil; 1 small garlic clove, peeled and halved; 1/2 lemon (about 1–1½ tbsp juice), plus wedges to serve; Fine sea salt and freshly ground white or black pepper; To finish (choose one): 30g Parmigiano Reggiano, shaved; or 10–20g fresh white truffle (Tuber magnatum) in season; or 1 very fresh small porcini, thinly sliced; Optional: 1 tender inner celery stalk, very thinly sliced; Grissini (breadsticks) or thin toasted bread, to serve

⏱ Prep: 25 min 🍽 Serves: 4 as a starter 📊 Difficulty: Easy

Knife-chopped raw beef dressed with olive oil, the Piedmontese carne cruda

Carne cruda all'albese is the raw beef of Piedmont, and the answer to anyone searching for an Italian tartare recipe. Lean meat from the local Razza Piemontese breed — known as Fassona or Fassone — is chopped with a heavy knife until it is fine and almost silky (battuta al coltello, “beaten with the knife”), then dressed at the last moment with extra virgin olive oil, lemon, salt, pepper and a whisper of garlic. There are no capers, no mustard and no egg yolk. In autumn it is finished with shaved white truffle from Alba; the rest of the year, with shavings of Parmigiano Reggiano or a few slices of raw porcini.

Because the dressing is so plain, this is the purest test of your beef in the whole tartare family. Buy a small, lean, whole-muscle piece — our guide to the best cut of beef for tartare explains the options — and put your effort into the knife work. If you have made the classic French steak tartare, think of this as the same technique with everything but the meat taken away.

Raw beef is not safe for everyone. Pregnant people, infants and young children, older adults, and anyone immunocompromised should avoid raw meat entirely and be offered a cooked alternative. For everyone else, use whole-muscle beef from a butcher you trust, never pre-ground beef, keep it below 4°C/40°F from shop to plate, cut it to order, and eat it the same day. This recipe reflects our editorial guidance and does not replace the rules of your local food-safety authority. See our disclaimer and our full answer on whether beef tartare is safe.

Ingredients

400g (14 oz) very lean whole-muscle beef or veal — Fassona topside (fesa) or eye of round (girello) if you can get it, otherwise beef tenderloin or trimmed topside
4–5 tbsp best extra virgin olive oil, ideally a mild Ligurian or northern Italian oil
1 small garlic clove, peeled and halved
1/2 lemon (about 1–1½ tbsp juice), plus wedges to serve
Fine sea salt and freshly ground white or black pepper
To finish (choose one): 30g Parmigiano Reggiano, shaved; or 10–20g fresh white truffle (Tuber magnatum) in season; or 1 very fresh small porcini, thinly sliced
Optional: 1 tender inner celery stalk, very thinly sliced
Grissini (breadsticks) or thin toasted bread, to serve

Instructions

Put the garlic halves in the olive oil and leave for 20–30 minutes while you prepare the meat, so the oil takes on a light garlic note without raw heat. Chill four plates and a mixing bowl.
Trim the beef of every trace of fat, silverskin and connective tissue — Piedmontese carne cruda is almost fat-free. Firm the meat in the freezer for 15–20 minutes if it is soft.
On a chilled board, slice the beef thinly, cut the slices into strips, then into small dice. Keep chopping with a heavy knife, gathering and re-chopping, until the meat is very fine but still has texture (battuta al coltello). Do not use a mincer or food processor.
Transfer the meat to the chilled bowl. Remove the garlic from the oil. Season the meat with salt and pepper and fold in about 3 tbsp of the garlic oil with a fork.
Only now, just before serving, add the lemon juice a little at a time and taste. Lemon starts to turn the surface of the meat grey within minutes, so it goes in last.
Divide among the cold plates, spreading each portion into a thin, even round with the back of a spoon or pressing it into a ring. Drizzle with the remaining oil.
Finish with shaved Parmigiano, shaved white truffle or sliced raw porcini, and a few slices of celery if using. Serve immediately with lemon wedges and grissini.

Nutrition Information (per serving)

Calories 235

Protein 23g

Fat 15g

Carbs 1g

Estimates with Parmigiano; truffle or porcini versions are slightly lower in fat. Values vary with the cut and the amount of oil.

Carne cruda in Piedmont: what makes it Italian

Raw beef is part of everyday eating in southern Piedmont — the Langhe, the Roero and the town of Alba — where it is one of the standard antipasti of a trattoria meal, alongside vitello tonnato and peppers with bagna cauda. The dish depends on the local cattle. Razza Piemontese animals carry a natural “double-muscling” trait that gives very lean, fine-grained meat with little marbling; the name Fassona is used for this beef locally. That leanness is exactly what you want raw: clean, sweet, and pale red.

“All'albese” can mean two related plates. In some places it is thinly sliced raw meat dressed with oil, lemon and Parmigiano — close to what the rest of the world calls carpaccio. More often today, and in this recipe, it is chopped by knife, which is why it gets compared to tartare. Both follow the same principle: the best meat, dressed as little as possible.

Is “tartare crudo” the same thing?

In Italian, crudo just means raw, so “tartare crudo” or “tartare di manzo crudo” is a slightly redundant way of saying raw beef tartare. On Italian menus you will see tartare di Fassona, battuta di Fassona or simply carne cruda. A tartare in an Italian restaurant may be dressed in the French style with mustard and capers; a battuta or carne cruda almost always follows the Piedmontese oil-and-lemon approach above. The wider family of raw Italian plates is explained in tartare, carpaccio, crudo and ceviche.

Truffle season and wine

White truffles from the Alba area are generally in season from around October to December, and a few shavings over carne cruda are one of the classic ways to eat them, because the plain, cool meat lets the aroma carry. Outside the season, skip truffle oil — most of it is flavoured synthetically — and use Parmigiano instead. To drink, stay local: a young Dolcetto d'Alba, a Barbera, or a Nebbiolo Langhe. More ideas in our wine pairing guide.

Variations

With anchovy. Some Piedmontese cooks fold in a little finely chopped salted anchovy fillet, a nod to bagna cauda. Use one fillet for 400g of meat.
Veal. Traditional carne cruda is often made from young Piedmontese animals, so the meat is closer to veal than to mature beef. Lean veal topside works well and tastes milder.
Sliced (carpaccio-style). Freeze the whole piece for 30–40 minutes, slice as thinly as possible, flatten between sheets of cling film and dress the same way.
With a raw yolk. Not traditional in Alba, but common in modern restaurants. See egg safety for raw preparations first.
Cooked alternative. For guests who should not eat raw beef, sear a thin whole slice of the same meat very briefly on each side and dress it with the same oil, lemon and Parmigiano.

Troubleshooting

Meat turned grey on the plate. The lemon went in too early. Dress with oil first and add lemon only at the table.
Paste-like texture. The meat was minced or processed, or it was warm when chopped. Chop cold, by hand, and stop while you can still see individual pieces. See master knife skills.
Tastes of raw garlic. Rub the bowl with the cut clove or infuse the oil briefly instead of chopping garlic into the meat.
Bland. Plain dishes need correct salt. Season, taste, and add a pinch more salt before reaching for more lemon.

Make-ahead & storage

Carne cruda is made to order. You can trim the meat and prepare the garnishes up to two hours ahead and keep them covered and cold, but chop, dress and serve in one go, and never keep leftovers once the meat has been dressed or has sat at the table. For the reasoning behind these rules, read the complete food safety guide.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is carne cruda?

Carne cruda (“raw meat”) is Piedmont's traditional raw beef: very lean meat, usually from the Razza Piemontese (Fassona) breed, chopped finely with a knife and dressed with olive oil, lemon, salt, pepper and a little garlic. Around Alba it is served as carne cruda all'albese, often finished with Parmigiano or white truffle.

What is the difference between carne cruda and French beef tartare?

French tartare is bound with egg yolk, mustard and Worcestershire and studded with capers, shallot and cornichons. Carne cruda uses only oil, lemon, salt, pepper and garlic, so it tastes much more of the meat itself. It is also usually leaner and chopped a little finer.

What is the best Italian tartare recipe?

The most traditional Italian tartare is carne cruda all'albese: 400g very lean beef chopped by hand, dressed with about 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, a squeeze of lemon added at the last moment, salt, pepper and a hint of garlic, then finished with shaved Parmigiano or white truffle.

What does tartare crudo mean?

Crudo is Italian for raw, so “tartare crudo” just means raw tartare. In Italy the Piedmontese version is usually called carne cruda, battuta al coltello or tartare di Fassona.

Can I use regular beef instead of Fassona?

Yes. Use a very lean whole-muscle cut such as tenderloin, eye of round or well-trimmed topside, bought from a butcher you trust and cut the same day. The flavour will be a little richer and the texture a little less fine than Piedmontese beef.

Who should not eat carne cruda?

Pregnant people, young children, older adults and anyone with a weakened immune system should avoid raw beef. Offer them a quickly seared slice of the same meat with the same dressing instead. See our guide to who should avoid tartare.