Kitfo Recipe (Ethiopian Steak Tartare) | A Spicy Perspective (2024)

FAQs

How to make kitfo step by step in English? ›

"Kitfo is one of the typical dishes of Ethiopian cooking. The main ingredients of Kitfo is beef, clarified butter and mitmita. Mitmita is a very spicy pepper powder which is made of cayenne-type tiny dark-orange chili peppers seasoned with spices such as cloves, cardamom seed and salt."

Asfaw recommends lean cuts of meat, like top round, for raw beef dishes, and Messob grinds the meat for kitfo fresh, often right when it's ordered. “You can't even grind it and keep it the whole day and serve it in the evening,” he says, because it loses its flavor.

A culinary specialty of the Gurage region of Central Ethiopia, kitfo is a rich and flavorful dish made with minced raw lean beef, spices (the classic Ethiopian spice blend known as mitmita), and an herb-infused clarified butter known as niter kibbeh. Kitfo is renowned for its bold flavor and luxurious texture.

Kitfo (Amharic: ክትፎ, IPA: [kɨtfo]) is an Ethiopian traditional dish that originated among the Gurage people. It consists of minced raw beef, marinated in mitmita (a chili powder-based spice blend) and niter kibbeh (a clarified butter infused with herbs and spices).

The Ethiopian dish known as tere siga offers exactly what it promises. Translating to “raw meat,” the meal consists of thick strips of just that: raw meat, usually cut off a hanging carcass (most often, a cow), served with a fiery spice blend (mitmita) and a small bowl of a runny, spicy mustard sauce (senafich).

If you visit one of Ethiopia's kitfo houses, you will notice that the restaurant offers just one dish on the menu: kitfo, finely ground, raw beef, mixed with butter and marinated in a spicy chili blend (mitmita). The beef is almost always grass-fed, as grain-fed beef can lend itself to a different texture and flavor.

The Ethiopian dishes of kitfo or lebleb kitfo are not safe to eat. However, there are strong cultural reasons for this practice, so people may not take your advice. The best control measure against meatborne zoonotic diseases is to cook the meat thoroughly before consumption.

You will also see the expression Tibs on our menu. Tibs is simply sauteed instead of stewed. It has its own unique seasoning, and is usually milder in the spice rating then Wot. All our meat dishes are beef, chicken or lamb.

The even simpler tere siga, or “raw meat,” requires no preparation at all : Presented with long strips of meat, the gourmand uses a knife to cut off piece after piece.

What is the most popular meat in Ethiopia? ›

Tibs: Sliced beef or lamb, pan fried in butter, garlic and onion, tibs is one of the most popular dishes among Ethiopians. Shekla tibs (pictured) is served in a clay pot.

Eating raw meat in Ethiopia has been associated with cultural practices. Ox is the most common meat consumed, but for some Ethiopians, eating raw goat— a more expensive sort of meat— is also very popular.

Often called the national dish of Ethiopia, the berbere-spiced chicken and egg stew is usually reserved by home cooks for occasions such as family gatherings, religious holidays, and weddings, in part because making doro wat can be very time-consuming.

If you find that you have leftover tartare, don't toss it out! You can have it for lunch the next day. Spread the leftover tartare on a piece of toast and put it under the broiler for about a minute.

Kitfo is a traditional Ethiopian dish that was created by the Gurage people. It is made from finely minced raw beef that is marinated in a blend of chili powder-based spice mix called mitmita and niter kibbeh, a clarified butter infused with herbs and spices.

Kitfo consists of minced raw beef, marinated in mitmita (a chili powder based spice blend) and niter kibbeh (a clarified butter infused with herbs and spices). The word comes from the Ethio-Semitic root k-t-f, meaning "to chop finely; mince." Kitfo cooked lightly rare is known as kitfo leb leb.