Basturma is very easy to make at home, especially if you have a proven recipe. For the uninitiated, we note that basturma is a cured cut of beef, roe deer, elk or deer. This dish is very popular in the countries of the former Ottoman Empire.
In ancient times, only hunters ate basturma. After all, it was done so that the meat product would last longer. Nowadays it is a delicacy that is served as slices.
Step-by-step recipe for basturma at home
To prepare such a snack there is no need to have any special culinary skills. After all, this dish is surprisingly easy to make. For it we will need:
- beef tenderloin (no thicker than 3 centimeters) - about 1200 g;
- bay leaf - 3 leaves;
- brown sugar - approximately 15 g;
- garlic cloves - about 5 cloves;
- juniper berries - several pieces;
- coarse sea salt - about 12 dessert spoons;
- ground chili pepper - about 5 dessert spoons;
- ground cloves - dessert spoon;
- blue fenugreek - 5 dessert spoons;
- coriander - a small full spoon.
Choice of meat ingredient
Basturma is made especially tasty at home from beef. To choose it correctly, it is better to go to the market. For such a snack, it is advisable to purchase a whole and large tenderloin. The main thing is that the meat is as fresh as possible.
If you do not like the taste of beef, then you should remember that preparing basturma at home can be done using deer, roe deer or elk meat. It should also be said that some housewives even use birds to create such cuttings.
The best part of the carcass for basturma is the fillet. She is very gentle. This fact contributes not only to fast, but also tasty preparation of the dish. As mentioned above, it is very important to purchase the tenderloin fresh (from a young animal).
Preparing the meat component
In order for you to get real Armenian basturma at home, you should properly process the meat product. It must be rinsed in cool water and then cut into long, but not very thick pieces. In this case, they need to be dried with paper towels in advance. It is also advisable to remove all hard films and other veins from the meat ingredient.
Salting the ingredient
After processing the beef, you should start salting it. To do this, mix coarse sea salt and sugar in a separate bowl. You need to rub all the pieces with the resulting mixture and, placing them in a deep glass or ceramic bowl, cover with thick gauze cloth. In this form, the workpiece must be put in the refrigerator. After 12 hours, the meat should be turned over. And after a similar amount of time, it needs to be removed from the dish and rinsed with cold water. In this case, the beef should noticeably change in color and become similar to a boiled product.
Beef drying
To make basturma tender and tasty at home, after salting it must be dried in the open air. To do this, the pieces of meat product need to be blotted again with paper towels, and then placed on a wire rack and placed under a fan. The beef should remain in this form for 6-8 hours. During this time, the meat will noticeably dry out.
Pressing the meat
As you can see, basturma is quite easy to make at home. However, to fully prepare it you will need a lot of time.
After drying the meat product, it should be carefully removed from the mesh and wrapped in clean and dry gauze. If necessary, it can be tied with silk threads. Having placed the beef in a deep and wide dish, it needs to be placed under heavy pressure (about 10 kg). In this form, the workpiece must be put in the refrigerator for exactly one day.
Mixing spices
The presented recipe for basturma at home requires the use of only aromatic spices and seasonings. The taste and smell of the finished snack will directly depend on their taste and smell.
So, to prepare the lubricating mass, we need to grate the garlic cloves and then mix them with broken bay leaves, juniper berries and ground chili pepper. In addition, to the above ingredients you need to add ground cloves, blue fenugreek and coriander. In order for the bulk mass to acquire a porridge-like consistency, it is recommended to dilute it with a small amount of water.
Drying process
After you get the aromatic mass of spices, you should generously lubricate the pieces of beef with it, and then hang them in a well-ventilated area (in a draft). In this state, the product should dry for two weeks. During this time, the meat will dry completely, become aromatic and very tender.
Serve to the table
After drying the basturma at home, a photo of which is presented in this article, it is placed in a dry container and sent to the refrigerator. If necessary, the finished product is cut into thin pieces, and then beautifully laid out on a flat plate and served to the table as a tasty and aromatic delicacy snack.
How to make chicken basturma at home?
If you want to make basturma not from beef, we recommend purchasing chicken breasts.
So, we need:
- fresh chicken fillet - 500 g;
- brown sugar - 3 large spoons;
- sea salt - 3 large spoons;
- coriander - 2 dessert spoons;
- savory - 2 large spoons;
- ground paprika - a large spoon;
- red pepper - use to taste.
Cooking process
To prepare chicken basturma, the fillet pieces should be washed, cleaned of fat and films, and then dried with paper towels.
In a small bowl you need to mix sugar, salt and rub the resulting mixture onto the meat product. After this, it must be placed in the refrigerator under a press and left for 3 days.
After time, the salted breasts need to be cleaned of excess spices, and then tightly wrapped in three layers of gauze and placed under pressure again for a day. Next, you need to mix all the remaining spices and dilute them with water to a paste-like consistency.
Thus, the resulting spicy mass should be generously lubricated with chicken fillets, wound with threads and hung in a cool and ventilated place. In this form, the product should dry for about 3 days.
After the specified time has passed, the meat should be wrapped again in gauze and dried in the same position for another 14 days.
After a long and tedious wait, a chicken breast appetizer can be safely sliced and presented to the holiday table.
Not many people know that even the most exquisite delicacies can be made at home! An example of a meat snack is basturma. In this article we will tell you the recipes and subtleties of its preparation.
Recipe contents:
The history of the appearance of basturma goes back to the deep Turkic past of the Ottoman Empire. It is a basturma - a dried tenderloin, which is most often prepared from beef. The process of its preparation is indicated by several stages. The first is that the meat is salted for several days. The second is rubbed with salt and kept under pressure to remove excess moisture and give shape. The third one is breaded in spices. The fourth one is hung to dry in a dry, ventilated room. The whole process takes about 25 days, but it's worth it!
To prepare basturma, it is not enough to have high-quality meat; you will also need a specific spice - chaman, or another name for blue fenugreek. You can buy the spice at any spice market.
How to cook basturma - general cooking principles
Basturma is aromatic dried meat for which seasonings and spices are used. The prices for this delicacy in stores are quite steep. And in order not to spend money on buying expensive treats, you can prepare it at home. Moreover, there is nothing complicated here. The main thing is to stock up on the right amount of time.
The food is prepared using the salting and drying method. For these purposes, it is advisable to use meat from young animals - this can be tenderloin, fillet or a wide edge with a layer of fat. Basturma is usually made from beef, but you can also use pork, horse meat, lamb, and chicken. The set of spices is usually as follows: garlic, black and red pepper seeds, chaman, savory, suneli hops, paprika and coriander. Spices are mixed and diluted with water. It is allowed to use a little cognac or wine. The consistency of the mass should be like thick sour cream. Pre-salted meat is rolled in this mixture and dried for 2-3 weeks.
From the kitchen equipment you need to have a cutting board, a form for meat and several containers: for marinade, preparing a mixture of spices. In addition, it is necessary to prepare heavy oppression (weight), a thick cord for winding, clean gauze and hooks for hanging.
Homemade basturma is truly delicious dry-cured meat! And it’s definitely worth making it yourself at home!
- Calorie content per 100 g - 240 kcal.
- Number of servings - 1 basturma
- Preparation time - up to 4 weeks
Ingredients:
- Pork tenderloin - 500 g
- Salt - 3 tbsp.
- Granulated sugar - 4 tbsp.
- Paprika - 1 tsp.
- Mixture of sweet and hot peppers - 1 tsp.
- Filtered water - 2 tbsp.
Step-by-step preparation:
- Wash the pork tenderloin well and pat dry thoroughly with napkins.
- Mix salt and sugar in a deep container.
- Place the tenderloin on a cutting board and rub in the salt and sugar well.
- Place it in a deep container and leave it in the refrigerator for 3 days, covering it with a napkin. During this time, the meat will release a lot of white juice.
- Wipe the pieces dry with a napkin, cover with gauze and place a press on top.
- Leave the pork overnight at room temperature.
- Wipe dry afterwards. The workpiece becomes flat and decreases in size.
- Mix all dry ingredients well and dilute with water.
- Tie the workpiece with ropes and form a loop for hanging.
- Dredge the pork well on all sides in the spices.
- Bandage it loosely with gauze.
- Hang the meat on the balcony and leave for 3 days.
- Remove it and bandage it tightly with gauze.
- Hang it up again for 14 days.
- After this time, the delicacy will be ready.
A popular cured meat delicacy in the Middle East, basturma is very easy to make at home. And you will see this now.
Ingredients:
- Beef - 1.2 kg
- Blue fenugreek (utskho-suneli seeds) - 160 g
- Sugar - 10 g
- Coriander - 1/4 tsp.
- Bay leaf - 2 pcs.
- Garlic - 5 cloves
- Sea salt - 12 tsp.
- Chili (ground pepper) - 5 tsp.
- Cloves - 1 pc.
- Juniper - 3-4 berries
- Cut the prepared tenderloin into 2 equal pieces and wash thoroughly.
- Mix sea salt with sugar. Roll the tenderloin in this mixture on all sides.
- Cover the meat with a cloth, place in a tray and leave at room temperature for 5-7 hours.
- Next, place the product in the refrigerator overnight. A salty solution forms in the tray.
- Turn the meat over and leave for another 12 hours so that it lies in the solution on the other side.
- Rinse off the salt, dry the tenderloin with a paper towel and cover with a clean cloth. Tie it with a rope and put it under a press for a day. After this time, all excess moisture will be removed from the meat, and the tenderloin will become dense and elastic.
- Prepare chaman - spices. Crush the garlic, add blue fenugreek, juniper, chili pepper, cloves, coriander, bay leaf. Pour in cold water and stir the spices until smooth.
- Coat the tenderloin with chaman and let air dry for about 2.5-3 hours.
- Repeat the coating 2 more times.
- Then hang the basturma in the open air and leave for 2 weeks.
On the eve of the New Year and Christmas holidays, caring housewives prepare snacks in advance. Homemade basturma will be a magnificent decoration for a festive feast.
Ingredients:
- Beef tenderloin - 1 kg
- Salt - 1 tbsp.
- Sugar - 2 tbsp.
- Bay leaf (ground) - 3 pcs.
- Ground black pepper - 1 tbsp.
- Fenugreek (ground seeds) - 900 g
- Ground allspice - 2 tsp.
- Ground red pepper (paprika and chili in a 1:1 ratio) - 900 g
- Ground black pepper - 2 tsp.
- Pressed garlic - 450 g
- Cumin - 2 tsp.
- Water (warm) - 2 tbsp.
- Wash the tenderloin with water, remove the films and dry with a paper towel.
- Mix the salt and sugar and rub the dried tenderloin evenly.
- Place it in a container and put something heavy on top. Cover with a lid and place in the refrigerator. Store for a week, turning to the other side every day. The meat should release juice.
- Then immerse the tenderloin in cold water for 2 days.
- Then remove and leave to drain.
- Dry in a ventilated place at room temperature for 4 days.
- Prepare chaman.
- Pour water into a saucepan and boil. Remove the pan from the heat and cool to 30°C.
- Pour the water slowly and constantly stirring into the fenugreek. The mass should become thick like mustard. Leave it to cool.
- Then add the rest of the spices and stir until the mass acquires the consistency of a homogeneous paste. Cover it and set it aside for 12 hours.
- After this time, dip the tenderloin into the prepared spice mixture, covering it with a layer of at least 7 mm.
- Hang the clippings on a string in a dark place, away from direct sunlight. Leave the basturma for 2-4 weeks.
Refined dried meat without heat treatment - basturma. It costs crazy money on the food market! But each of us can do it, because... Apart from temporary difficulties, the cooking process does not present any other difficulties.
Ingredients:
- Chicken breast - 250 g
- Cognac - 50 ml
- Sweet ground paprika - 2 pinches
- Ground red pepper - 1 g
- Black peppercorns - 1 tsp.
- Ground black pepper - 1 tsp.
- Sugar - 1 tsp.
- Mix of spices for meat - 2 g
- Salt - 5 g
- Sumac - 2 pinches
- Mix all the above spices.
- Pour in cognac and mix well until smooth and thick.
- Rinse the chicken breast with water and pat dry with a paper towel.
- Roll the breast on all sides in this mixture.
- Place the fillet in a bowl and leave it in the refrigerator under pressure for 2 days.
- Then rinse off the spices and dry with a paper towel. The breast becomes reddish in color.
- Rub the pepper mixture all over the breast.
- Fold the gauze in half and wrap the chicken breast so that there are no gaps. Tie with a cord.
- Dry the breast on the balcony or in a well-ventilated area for 1-2 weeks.
Will decorate any table, an excellent snack for beer, an excellent ingredient for canapés - luxurious beef basturma. Prepare it and surprise your guests at your New Year's celebration.
Ingredients:
- Beef - 1 kg
- Salt - 2 tbsp.
- Brown sugar - 1 tbsp.
- Ground pepper mixture - 1 tsp.
- Fenugreek grains (shamballa) - 1 tbsp.
- Red hot pepper - 0.5 tbsp.
- Ground paprika - 0.5 tbsp.
- Ground black pepper - 1 tsp.
- Dried garlic - 1 tbsp.
- Cumin (jeera) - 1 tsp.
- Remove films from the meat, wash and dry with a paper towel.
- Cut the beef across the grain into strips of approximately 3 cm.
- Prepare the salting mixture. Mix sugar, salt and pepper.
- Rub the mixture over the beef.
- Place the meat in a clean container and put it in the refrigerator. Turn it over morning and evening to prevent it from suffocating. Do this procedure for 3 days.
- Prepare chaman. Mix all the remaining dry spices and grind them with a coffee grinder.
- Dilute the resulting mixture with boiled water at room temperature to the consistency of liquid sour cream. Chaman swells quickly, so you will have to gradually add water to it.
- Coat the beef with the marinade, place it in the refrigerator for 3 days, turning it on the other side 2 times a day. For basturma, you should get a characteristic spice crust 0.5 cm thick.
- Hang the workpiece in a draft to dry with access to air. The specific drying time will depend on the thickness of the meat. Pieces 1 cm thick will dry in 2 days. When the meat becomes firm, but not tough, it is ready.
Video recipes:
I suggest preparing delicious Armenian basturma. This is an excellent meat appetizer for any holiday feast and more. After reading many recipes, I decided to go with this option. The final version pleased everyone at home. It turns out that you should have taken 2 kg of beef, not 1, because it flies away very quickly.
Take the following products. The original recipe indicates the amount of water - 3 cups. I used 300 ml.
Rinse the beef well and dry. Prick with a fork. Place in a suitable container and sprinkle with salt on both sides. Place in the refrigerator for 2 days.
After this time, remove from the refrigerator and keep in running water for about 15-20 minutes. Then dry with a paper towel. Place the cloth on the board, lay the beef, and cover with the other half of the cloth. Place a heavy load on top. Leave in this position for 2 days.
Then thread a thick thread from one edge and hang it in a ventilated area for 3-4 days, at room temperature.
Two days before the end of drying, prepare chaman - this is a pickling mixture. Dissolve ground fenugreek in warm water. Mix well so that there are no lumps. The mixture should have the consistency of liquid sour cream. Place in the refrigerator for a day.
Then add ground black pepper, hot pepper, a little salt and ground paprika until the mixture turns red. It took me about two packs of 20 g each.
Add grated garlic. Stir.
Rinse the dried beef well and place it in a container with chaman. Grease well on all sides. Place in the refrigerator for 8-10 days. The more the beef is marinated, the tastier the basturma will be. During marinating, periodically turn over and grease all places.
This is what my basturma looks like after 10 days of marinating.
Hang to dry for 3-4 days. If the basturma is dry to the touch, then everything is ready. You can store it in the refrigerator for a very long time, after wrapping it in film.
Cut the Armenian basturma into thin slices and serve.
Bon appetit!
Homemade basturma - general principles of preparation
Basturma is a dish of Armenian, and according to other sources, Turkish cuisine. Basturma is nothing more than aromatic dried meat, for the preparation of which various spices and seasonings are used. Basturma is cut into thin slices and served as a cold appetizer. Basturma is a delicacy, and the prices for it in stores are steep. Why spend money on buying such an expensive treat when you can easily prepare it at home? There is nothing complicated about this, but you will have to reserve enough time. On average, the cooking time for basturma ranges from two to four weeks.
Basturma is prepared by salting and drying. For such purposes, it is better to use the meat of young animals. Most often, basturma is made from beef, but you can also take pork, lamb, horse meat, and even chicken. Spices usually include ground red pepper, savory, suneli hops, garlic, paprika and coriander. All spices are mixed in a bowl and then diluted with water (you can also use a little cognac or wine). The thickness of the mixture should be similar to sour cream. Salted pieces of meat are rolled in this mixture and dried for two to three weeks.
Homemade basturma - preparing food and dishes
Kitchen equipment you will need is a bowl or pan for marinade and preparing a mixture of spices, a form for meat and a cutting board. Among other things, you need to prepare a heavy load (oppression), hooks for hanging, thick thread for winding and clean gauze.
Preparation of basturma begins with processing the meat: wash the fillet, cut off all excess (films, skins, fat), dry the meat with paper napkins. The meat is then rubbed with a mixture of salt and sugar and left to salt. Then the process of preparing basturma begins. To do this, you need to make a mixture of the spices used with the addition of water, cognac or wine. The thickness of the mixture should resemble sour cream.
Homemade basturma recipes:
Recipe 1: Homemade basturma
Homemade basturma is usually made from beef. Thick pieces of meat are dried in the refrigerator, the curing time is several weeks. It took a long time, but what a result!
Required ingredients:
- Beef tenderloin;
- Garlic;
- Fenugreek;
- Sea salt;
- Sugar;
- Ground chili pepper;
- Bay leaf (ground);
- Coriander seeds;
- Juniper berry;
- Carnation.
Cooking method:
Take beef tenderloin, wash it, cut it in half. Mix coarse sea salt with two teaspoons of sugar. Dip the meat generously in this mixture, wrap it in gauze, and leave for 6 hours at room temperature. Then we put the beef in the refrigerator. We leave for 12 hours, after which we turn the meat over and leave for another 12 hours. After the specified time has passed, remove the beef, rinse it from salt, and dry it with paper towels. Leave to dry at room temperature. We wrap the beef again with gauze and tighten it tightly with ropes. We put a load on top and leave it for one day. Now we prepare the deboning: pass the garlic through a press, mix with chaman (fenugreek), chili pepper, ground bay leaf, coriander seeds, cloves and juniper berries. Dilute this mixture in cold water and mix. The deboning should look like thick sour cream. There should be enough mixture to cover both pieces of meat. Roll the meat in this mixture, leave for 3 hours in the open air (at room temperature), repeat this operation two more times. After the last deboning, we hang the beef in a draft and leave it to dry for 2 weeks. After this time, homemade basturma will be ready. The meat can be cut into pieces and served.
Recipe 2: Homemade basturma with cognac
Why buy expensive basturma in the store when you can easily prepare it at home? Of course, it takes a long time to prepare, but it’s worth it! To prepare basturma according to this recipe, you will need any spices and cognac.
Required ingredients:
- One and a half kilograms of meat;
- Salt;
- Any seasonings;
- Chaman;
- Cognac (you can take wine).
Cooking method:
We wash a piece of meat (you can take pork or beef tenderloin) and make cuts with a knife. Rub salt generously so that it gets into the cuts. Leave it in the refrigerator to cure for two days. After that, we take it out, wrap it tightly in gauze, put a weight on top and leave it for another two days. Then we hang it and leave it to dry for one week. We take our favorite seasonings, be sure to add chaman (fenugreek), dilute it all with wine or cognac (you can add a little water) so that you get a creamy consistency. Coat the dried meat with the resulting mixture and put it in a cool place for a week. After 7 days, remove the meat from the marinade, wrap it in cloth and hang it for a week.
Recipe 3: Armenian basturma
Try making delicious Armenian basturma using this recipe. The cooking technique is not much different from other recipes, but there are some subtleties.
Required ingredients:
- Beef;
- Garlic;
- Salt;
- Saltpeter;
- Ground red pepper;
- Caraway.
Cooking method:
We wash the meat fillet thoroughly, dry it and cut it into pieces 6 centimeters thick, 10 centimeters wide and about 30 centimeters long. We take a large wide container, place pieces of meat in it in even rows, add salt and saltpeter. Mix everything so that the pieces of meat are evenly covered with this mixture. Cover the beef with clean gauze, leave for 3 days, then turn over and leave for the same amount of time. After the specified time has passed, we take out the meat, rinse it under water, and put it out in the open air to dry. Now we spread a clean cloth on the table, lay out the meat in rows, pull the cloth tightly and tie it. We place a board on the meat and a weight on it. We leave it in this state for 6 hours, then we change the fabric and keep it under pressure for another two hours. After this, we hang the pieces of meat and leave them in the air for 12 hours. The beef should be thoroughly dried. We wash the cumin seeds and crush them. Finely chop the garlic or pass it through a press. Mix garlic, red pepper and cumin in a bowl, add a small amount of water and stir. The consistency of the mixture should resemble liquid sour cream. Rub the dried meat with the resulting mixture, place it in rows in a container, and leave for 4 days. We repeat this procedure two or three more times, after which we hang the meat for 10 days. After the specified time, basturma can be served.
Recipe 4: Beef basturma
Beef basturma according to this recipe turns out very tasty! The meat is perfect for any feast and will be an excellent snack for alcoholic drinks. You can use any seasonings, but for this recipe you definitely need to add suneli hops.
Required ingredients:
- Beef pulp;
- Iodized salt;
- Sugar;
- Paprika;
- Khmeli-suneli;
- Cognac;
- Garlic;
- Pepper mixture;
- Coriander.
Cooking method:
Cut the meat into large layers, wash and dry. Prepare the marinade: mix 50 ml of cognac, one and a half tablespoons of coarse iodized salt, half a tablespoon of sugar, four tablespoons of paprika and two tablespoons of suneli hops. Place the meat in a pan, pour in the seasoning mixture, mix, thoroughly rubbing the marinade into the meat and place under pressure. Place the beef in the refrigerator for one day. The next day, take out the pan with the meat and drain the juice. We wash the meat itself in running water and dry it. Now let’s prepare a mixture of seasonings for deboning: finely chop the garlic (or take dried garlic), add the mixture with pepper, coriander and suneli hops. Roll the pieces of meat thoroughly in a mixture of spices. We hang the pieces of beef on hooks and leave them to dry for four days (if using an electric dryer). If the meat is dried in the usual way, the drying time increases to ten days. Beef basturma is ready.
Recipe 5: Chicken basturma
Usually basturma is made from beef, but contrary to popular belief, such an appetizer can also be made from chicken. Give free rein to your imagination, experiment with different spices and eventually find the perfect cooking option. Or you can use the ready-made recipe presented below.
Required ingredients:
- Half a kilo of chicken fillet;
- 3 tablespoons of salt;
- 3 spoons of sugar;
- 2 spoons of savory;
- 2 teaspoons coriander;
- Spoon of paprika;
- Red pepper.
Cooking method:
We wash the pieces of chicken fillet, remove the films from them, and dry the fillets with paper towels. In a bowl, mix salt and sugar and rub the resulting mixture onto the fillets. Place the chicken under a press and put it in the refrigerator for 3 days. After this time, take out the fillet, rinse it from salt, and dry it. Now we wrap the chicken in gauze, place it under pressure, and leave it for one day. Next, mix savory, coriander, paprika and red pepper. Add enough water to the spices to form a creamy mass. Dip the chicken pieces in the resulting mixture, hang them on a hook, and leave them in a cool place for 3 days. After this, we wrap the fillet again in gauze and hang it to dry for another two weeks.
Recipe 6: Homemade pork basturma
Basturma can also be made from pork. It turns out no less tasty than if the appetizer was made from beef.
Required ingredients:
- Pork tenderloin;
- Five tablespoons of brown sugar;
- Four tablespoons of coarse salt;
- Three spoons of savory;
- Coriander – teaspoon;
- Sumac - slightly smaller than coriander;
- Paprika;
- Garlic;
- Ground red pepper.
Cooking method:
Mix sugar in a bowl with salt. Thoroughly rub pieces of washed and dried tenderloin with this mixture. Place the tenderloin in a mold and refrigerate for 3 days. After this time, the meat should become denser and tougher. Now mix savory, coriander, sumac, paprika, ground garlic and red pepper. Add water to the seasonings and mix. The mass should turn out like thick sour cream, i.e., such that the mixture can be easily applied to the meat and distributed. We tie the tenderloin with a rope and roll it in spices. We hang the pork out in the open air and leave it for three days. Then we remove the pork, wrap it in gauze, tie it tightly and hang it out for two weeks.
To prepare basturma, it is best to take the meat of young animals - it can be tenderloin, fillet or a wide edge with a layer of fat. The meat can be cut into long strips or layers several centimeters thick. If basturma is prepared with wine, then take about a liter of the drink per kilogram of beef. The pieces of meat should be completely covered with wine. The fillet must be able to stand under pressure, so you need to put a board or plate on the meat, and place pressure on top. In this form, the meat is infused for 3 to 7 days. If the delicacy is prepared from chicken fillet, the wilting time is significantly reduced, since the chicken itself cooks faster than beef or pork.
Follow the recipe strictly, then you will be able to prepare real Armenian basturma: hot, spicy, incredibly tasty. The result will captivate everyone.
Traditionally, basturma in Armenia is prepared by men. They generally try to keep women away from meat. And if we are talking about preparing dried beef - basturma - then an exclusively male approach is suitable here. Only a man can choose a decent piece of beef tenderloin and choose the wine for the marinade. And the most important ingredients are spices for coating the meat, which will then dry for several days in a cool place.
Correct basturma in Armenian always contains seasonings in the recipe - chaman and sumac. Without them, basturma is no longer quite basturma. You can look for these spices at the market from traders of Caucasian seasonings - they will certainly be there.
What is needed for basturma in Armenian
Ingredients for Armenian basturma:
- 2 kg beef tenderloin (young meat).
For the marinade:
- 1 liter of homemade red wine (dry);
- 7 tbsp. spoons of coarse salt;
- 1 small head;
- 4 teaspoons hot red pepper (freshly ground);
- 1 tbsp. a spoonful of sumac seasoning (this is dried in a special way and ground).
To coat meat before drying:
- 0.75 glasses of dry wine (also red);
- 4 teaspoons salt;
- 2 teaspoons each of sumac and chaman;
- 3 tsp. hot red pepper (finely ground);
- flour.
A certain amount of salt, chaman, ground pepper and sumac will be needed for the final coating of the basturma.
Recipe for making Armenian basturma
- The process begins by mixing all the ingredients for the marinade in a wide bowl and chopping the garlic. By the way, it is better to take coarse rock salt.
- The tenderloin, previously washed, is immersed in wine with spices so that it is completely hidden under the liquid. On top - sterile gauze and oppression. Leave covered in a cool room. We wait 1 week.
- Remove the marinated beef. The meat will become unusually aromatic. We hang it to let the marinade drain.
- In the meantime, prepare a dough based on seasonings, wine, flour and salt (ingredients for coating). The consistency of the dough is slightly thicker than for pancakes. Spread the dough onto the meat so that the layer thickness is about 3 mm.
- In a separate bowl, make a mixture of spices and salt. When the dough dries a little, but is still sticky, roll the dough.
- Then we pierce it with a long hook or string it on culinary thread. Hang in a dry place with cool air. We gain patience and dry the meat for 2 weeks.
- Now you can enjoy the magnificent spicy taste of basturma - the No. 1 hit!
Video recipe: classic basturma
You will probably find many variations in the preparation of basturma - from chicken breast, turkey, even pork. However, real Armenian basturma is made from beef. The classic video recipe is attached!