Pastirma
From davik 12 years ago
- 1 month to make
- Serves 16
It's getting cooler, which means this is the time to start curing meat, and this one is a rich, spicy, delicious cured beef common among many of the countries that made up the Ottoman empire. It originated in Armenia and is very common in Turkey, though I was originally introduced to it by an Egyptian roommate in undergrad. Read more It can also be called basturma or any one of a number of others depending on country. See less
Ingredients
- A roughly 2 lb piece of beef like inside round. You want it to be fairly lean and with the grain of the meat running along the axis of the meat; you could use something like tenderloin if you want to shell out the money, but you don't want something thin like brisket. See note 1. shopping list
- salt for curing, you're looking for about a ten to one mix of kosher salt to pink salt* (see note 2) shopping list
- Seasoning: shopping list
- 4 T red pepper powder (a mix of paprika and cayenne to taste) shopping list
- 1/2 t salt shopping list
- 1-2 t black pepper, ground shopping list
- 1/2 T cumin shopping list
- 3 T methi (fenugreek) seeds, ground shopping list
- 1 t allspice, ground shopping list
- 3-4 cloves garlic, crushed shopping list
- Note one: this is a piece of meat that's going to hang at close to room temperature for a month, and likely won't be cooked, so get the good stuff. Don't just get stuff from the supermarket, but find yourself a good butcher and get to know them so you know you're getting quality meat. shopping list
- Note two: You'll occasionally hear stuff about how nitrites aren't safe (and pink salt is 6.25% sodium nitrite), but in small quantities it's just fine and occurs naturally in food we eat. More importantly, it inhibits the growth of botulism. I don't do any curing outside of short cures in the fridge without nitrite, and I wouldn't do any multi-month cures without nitrate. shopping list
How to make it
- Trim the meat, then thoroughly coat the meat with the curing salt. Put in a dish and cover with plastic wrap before weighting down and refrigerating for 3-4 days. Turn the meat once a day, and when the time is up it should be fairly solid to the touch.
- When done, rinse the meat, soak it for 20-30 minutes, then thoroughly dry it.
- Run a piece of string through a corner of the meat, then hang it up to dry in a cool place (60 F, ~60% humidity) for two weeks. Check it regularly, and if any white or green mold is starting, scrub the whole thing down with white vinegar. If black mold forms, or if the mold recurs, pitch the whole thing (I've never had this happen, but better to be safe). Some recipes call for wrapping in cheese cloth, but that's just asking for mold.
- After those two weeks, mix the seasoning together with enough water to make a thick paste, then rub it all over the meat. Hang it to dry for another two weeks.
- At this point you're ready to eat, just slice it thinly and chow down (yeah, the dried seasoning mix will crumble off, but it's imparted its flavor); alternatively, sauteing some up in a skillet then scrambling some eggs with it would be a traditional use.
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