Beef basturma - how to cook basturma at home, quick recipe.

The recipe for its preparation is lengthy, but quite simple. We will describe the fastest way to make it, preserving the cooking traditions as much as possible.

Traditionally, basturma is prepared in fairly large pieces, about 6 cm thick. Moreover, the preparation takes quite a long time, up to four weeks or more, under conditions of aging at 8°C.

At home, basturma is dried in the refrigerator, which in turn serves as an excellent dryer. Of course, it’s better to have a “spare” refrigerator, because stationary ones usually don’t have enough space. Then the whole process under normal conditions will not be difficult at all. If there is no second refrigerator, use our simplified method.

In order to make beef basturma in a quick way, we prepare the meat into thinner strips. The cooking time is reduced significantly, and most importantly, a second refrigerator is not required for drying. Instant basturma at home boasts an excellent taste that every gourmet will appreciate. The taste of meat is much better than industrial (store-bought) preparation.

Making basturma at home.

For a meat delicacy, we select fresh beef meat, tenderloin or fillet; you can also use a rump.

Then, we buy chaman from spice merchants. It is advisable not to replace it with ground cumin, although it will be just as tasty, but with it it will no longer be basturma.

Chaman, also known as fenugreek (lat. Trigonella) is a plant of the Legume family of the Moth subfamily (Faboideae). There are about 130 species in their genus. The most famous representatives of fenugreek are hay (Trigonella foenum-graecum) and blue (Trigonella caerulea).

You will also need: coarse rock salt (it is forbidden to use iodized salt!), sugar (brown unrefined cane sugar is preferable, but regular sugar is fine), red and black pepper, paprika, a little cumin and allspice to taste.

Well, now, how to make basturma - day one.

Wash the meat thoroughly and dry with paper towels. Cut into strips about 2 cm thick. We do this carefully, because this is not easy to do.

For one kilogram of meat you will need:

3 tablespoons salt;

2 tablespoons sugar;

1 teaspoon black pepper.

Meat must be salted dry. To do this, rub it with the pickling mixture.

Next, it should be laid so that the meat juice goes to the side and the meat remains dry. To do this, it is better to use a mesh (many even adapt to a metal colander with legs). We place it on a plate, place the meat on top, and the juice flows freely into the plate itself.If there is no suitable mesh in the house, you need to come up with your own design. It is important to achieve the result - maximum access to air for the meat.

Place the meat in the refrigerator for three days, in which it is usually +5-7°C. At the same time, we turn the meat at least twice a day, giving it full opportunity to “breathe.”

On the fourth day we will prepare the marinade with chaman.

For one kilogram of meat you will need:

1.5 tablespoons chaman;

2 tablespoons of a mixture of hot red pepper and paprika (1:1);

1 teaspoon black pepper;

1 tablespoon crushed garlic.

Before passing the garlic through a garlic press (you can grate it on a grater with small holes), the garlic should be thoroughly washed!

The marinade can be supplemented with a pinch of allspice and cumin if desired.

We dilute the chaman with boiled water (water temperature slightly above room temperature) until it looks like liquid sour cream. Stir in the remaining spices according to the recipe. Chaman gradually absorbs water and begins to swell and thicken. Add water again and stir thoroughly. We repeat the procedure until a jelly-like mass appears. The amount of marinade you get is quite large; it needs to be placed in the refrigerator for a day.

In total, the salting of the meat has already lasted four days; the thin slices have already been sufficiently salted and are ready for further marinating.

Day five.

We prepare a deep container, wash and dry thoroughly. We place our basturma in it, after covering it evenly with marinade. It takes more to marinate three days, during which the meat should be turned over so that the marinade adheres evenly from edge to edge.

Day eight.

We place our marinated slices on a baking sheet or tray and place them in a “draft” (an ordinary window sill can protrude here). We need to achieve a dry spice crust. As soon as one side is covered with this, turn the meat slices over to the other side and scroll until the meat is equally beautiful on all sides. Typically, this “drying” takes days. two.

We store the rest of the chaman in the refrigerator; you can envelop the meat with it several times to obtain a thicker crust.

When the crust of the desired size is reached, remove the meat from the baking sheet and hang it as biltong. If the basturma has hardened (there is no need to wait until it becomes a stone) and the softness inside cannot be felt, then it is ready.

It is usually served at the table as thin sliced ​​meat, or placed on sandwiches. For a beautiful presentation, you need to cut at a large angle so that the slices are thin and oblong.

Beef basturma should be stored in a cool and preferably ventilated place. It would be great for her to remain suspended in a cool pantry or closet. For “apartment” housewives, there is only one option left - a refrigerator. It should be noted that dried meat does not like plastic bags, then its shelf life is reduced to a minimum. In good conditions (the desired temperature and ventilated room), the shelf life is from two months, but not more than six months.

To conclude the recipe for preparing beef quicksturma at home, I would like to offer two videos. The first one is from YouTube user “Everything for 100”.

And second, from “ADVENTURER AND TRAVEL” Armenian beef basturma. Cook with pleasure.