question about turning a striploin into carpaccio

[shaun-in-to]

I want to try a recipe I tore out of a magazine a few years back but can't quite picture the process. You season and sear a 10-oz elk striploin (presumably boneless striploin steak), then "roll it very tight to form a tube," wrap it in plastic and freeze it for a bit. Does this sound okay? I can't see trying to roll up a partially cooked thick steak...

 

[mistral]

Carpaccio is supposed to be sliced really thin, right?

The reason the recipe has you freeze it a bit is that you can easily shave the meat with at sharp knive to nearly paper thin slices.

You sear the outside for looks, then slice really thinly to show off the nice and raw inside, plus thinly slicing the meat makes for easier chewing if raw.

 

[shaun-in-to]

Thanks, I understand the freezing part, it's the rolling I don't get...

I guess the slices are supposed to end up looking like pancetta, where you can see that it's been rolled. I can see doing that with a raw piece of meat, but won't the searing sort of harden or toughen the outside, making it harder to roll up tight?

 

[mistral]

If you have seared it really, really fast, and that means with a smoking hot pan. . .

The meat will be essentiall raw with a very, very thin seared layer on each side. It should feel like raw, other than the thin, seared crust.

Maybe the meat is rolled so you can easily long strips. The less length to the piece of meat, the thinner the strips you can cut from it?