What is tiger meat? Why raw beef became a South Dakota food favorite

Makenzie Huber
Argus Leader

This article is one of 18 South Dakota food favorites. For the complete list, go here.

Tiger meat: Raw hamburger seasoned and cured, eaten like a dip with crackers. Commonly referred to as "South Dakota steak tartare." 

The name's a bit misleading, but tiger meat isn't made with tiger. It's just ground beef ... raw. 

Tiger meat is similar to steak tartare, which originated among Germans and Russians. The dish made its way to America by German and Russian immigrants and passed down through generations. 

The dish can be found in states with larger German-Russian histories, including Minnesota (where it's commonly called cannibal burger), North Dakota, Kansas (raw burger or wildcat) and Texas (called parisa around the San Antonio area). While it's restricted to those small German-Russian communities and families in other states, tiger meat is known statewide in South Dakota and claimed as a South Dakota food by many. 

Tiger meat: Raw hamburger seasoned and cured, eaten like a dip with crackers. Commonly referred to as "South Dakota steak tartare."

Although the origin of the name is a mystery, the snack can mainly be found in two parts of South Dakota — northeast South Dakota, provided by Kessler's, and southeast South Dakota, provided by Meridian Corner. 

Kessler's claims tiger meat as a fourth-generation family recipe rooted in the Prohibition era. 

According to Reed Kessler, owner of Kessler's, his great, great grandfather, Jacob Sahli, introduced tiger meat to the Aberdeen area when he made homemade whiskey and tiger meat. Kessler's great grandfather, George Kessler, opened the store in 1939 and started selling the food. 

At Meridian Corner, Roland Svartoien follows his parents' recipe that was developed in the '30s. But the dish has always been popular in the area, Svartoien said. 

"It's been in Meridian Corner as far back as I can remember," he said. "It's kind of like chislic or deer meat. It's been around forever." 

Kelly Streyle mostly sticks to his own recipe though. The farmer from Menno grew up snacking on tiger meat and learned it from his mother, who ate it as a child herself in the '50s. 

He and a handful of friends get together about once a year in the winter and prepare tiger meat together, trimming fat off roasts, grinding them up, seasoning it and curing it with salt for a few days. 

"It's just a reason to get together," Streyle said. "I don't know how many other people eat raw meat outside of South Dakota." 

The top 18 South Dakota foods