Carpaccio di Manzo alla Cipriani con Salsa Maionese

Ingredients

• 600 g beef tenderloin, trimmed of all silver skin and fat, completely fresh (same day)
• For the Cipriani sauce
• 120 ml mayonnaise, thin, freshly whisked
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp lemon juice, freshly squeezed
• 30 ml whole milk, to thin the sauce to the consistency of single cream

Method

1. 1
   Trim the tenderloin of all silver skin and fat. Wrap tightly in cling film, shape into an even cylinder, and place in the freezer for 2 hours — firm but not rock-hard when pressed through the wrapping.
2. 2
   Place serving plates in the refrigerator while the beef freezes. They must be cold when the beef arrives on them.
3. 3
   Whisk together the mayonnaise, Worcestershire sauce, and lemon juice. Add milk a little at a time, whisking continuously, until the sauce flows like single cream — it must drizzle freely from a spoon, not sit or mound. This is where the dish lives or dies: a sauce too thick will mask the beef entirely; too thin and it will puddle. Refrigerate until needed; the sauce keeps up to 3 days.
4. 4
   Remove the beef from the freezer. Using a meat slicer or a very sharp, long-bladed knife, cut paper-thin slices of 1–1.5 mm. Work quickly; the beef should still be firm when sliced.
5. 5
   Lay the slices on the cold plates without overlapping — each slice separated from the next. The beef should be translucent and crimson-pink against the plate.
6. 6
   Apply the Cipriani sauce in a fine drizzle over the beef, using a squeeze bottle or the tip of a spoon. The sauce dresses the beef; it does not cover it. Serve immediately.