Delicate spherified A5 Wagyu beef tartare spheres that burst with hand-chopped texture, paired with airy smoked bone marrow foam and crispy pickled shallot elements. A refined, multi-sensory Michelin-level starter showcasing pure beef flavor with surprise and elegance.

Spherifying the tartare rather than mounding it changes the eating experience more than the flavor — the sodium alginate skin holds everything in until the bite breaks it, so the beef's texture stays genuinely raw and hand-chopped instead of packed and dense the way a traditional tartare ring often ends up. Cold-smoking the bone marrow before it's blended into foam keeps that smoke a top note instead of cooking it out.

Serves 4 as a starter

Ingredients:

• 200g – A5 Wagyu beef tenderloin or ribeye (sushi-grade, highest quality)
• 1 small – Shallot (finely brunoise)
• 1 tbsp – Capers (drained and chopped)
• 1 tbsp – Cornichons (finely chopped)
• 1 tsp – Dijon mustard
• 1 tsp – Worcestershire sauce
• 1 – Egg yolk
• 1 tsp – Extra virgin olive oil
• 1g – Sodium alginate (for spherification)
• 2g – Calcium lactate (for spherification bath)
• 100g – Beef bone marrow
• 100ml – Heavy cream
• 50ml – Beef stock (reduced)
• 2 large – Shallots (for pickled crisps)
• 100ml – Rice vinegar (for pickling)
• as needed – Micro herbs (chervil, parsley)
• as needed – Aged balsamic reduction

Speciality Items:

• Spherification kit
• Cold smoke gun
• Precision immersion circulator / sous-vide setup
• Kunz spoon
• Japanese mandoline
• High-power blender for foam
• 0.01g precision digital scale
• Ring molds

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Steps:

1. Chill Wagyu and hand-chop finely. Mix with shallot, capers, cornichons, mustard, Worcestershire, egg yolk, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Refrigerate.
2. Pickle shallot slices in rice vinegar, sugar, and salt mixture. Dehydrate or quick-fry until crisp.
3. Prepare smoked bone marrow foam: Roast marrow, blend with reduced stock and cream, cold-smoke, then aerate with siphon or Pacojet.
4. Create spherification bath with sodium alginate. Mix calcium lactate into tartare. Form and set spheres in the bath, rinse, and hold in cold water.
5. Plate with Kunz spoon: balsamic smear, tartare spheres, marrow foam quenelle, shallot crisps, micro herbs, and gold leaf if desired.

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