Basturma is a dried meat dish of Armenian cuisine. This delicacy is difficult to find in stores, and the price is correspondingly high. Therefore, basturma lovers prefer to cook it at home. The process is long, but the result is worth it.
Previously, basturma was made mainly by hunters. They needed to preserve a large amount of meat for a long time in a warm climate. Naturally, neither refrigerators nor freezers existed at that time. But homemade jerky meat remained fresh for about six months, and therefore enjoyed great popularity.
Making basturma at home is quite simple, but the cooking process itself will take a lot of time. The longer the meat is dried, the tastier and more tender it will become. This delicacy is prepared from low-fat fresh tenderloin of beef or lamb.
Ingredients for making homemade basturma:
- beef tenderloin - 1 kg;
- dry red wine -1 l;
- salt -6 tbsp. spoons;
- ground red pepper - 2 tsp;
- chaman - 2 tsp;
- sumac - 2 tsp;
- ground nut grass - 1 tsp;
- garlic - 4 cloves.
In order to coat the meat before drying, you will need the following seasonings:
- salt - 3 tsp;
- chaman - 1 tsp;
- sumac - 1 teaspoon;
- ground red pepper - 2 tsp;
- dry red wine - 150 ml.
- flour - 50-100 g.
To roll basturma, you will need additionally:
- salt;
- chaman;
- sumy;
- ground red pepper.
Basturma recipe
Pour wine into a large saucepan and mix with sumac, chaman, hazelnuts, salt and minced garlic. Place a whole piece of tenderloin in the marinade prepared in this way, press it down with something heavy, close the container with a lid and put it in a cool place for exactly a week. At the same time, the marinade should cover the meat completely.
After seven days, remove the meat, let the excess liquid drain, and blot the rest with paper towels. Make a dough to cover the meat. To do this, mix all the ingredients in the indicated amount.
The dough for rolling should be slightly thicker in consistency than for pancakes.
Apply the mixture to the tenderloin, with a layer thickness of about 2 cm. Dip the meat in the spice mixture of your choice.
Put the piece on a strong thread and hang in a dry, cool and dark place that is well ventilated for at least 10 days, and preferably 2-3 weeks. During this time, the meat is saturated with spices and dries well.
The finished homemade basturma should be the same hardness as the sausage.
Serve this delicacy cut into slices, always with herbs. A glass of good wine will not be superfluous.
