Air-dried beef under a thick crust of fenugreek paste and garlic, sliced thin and fried with eggs. The name is the Turkish bastırma, pressed; Armenian butchers who settled in Cairo made it a Cairene speciality, sold from specialist shops downtown.
It is a whole-muscle cure dried at ambient temperature for weeks, where safety depends on the salt reaching the centre before anything else does; the pressing and the drying conditions are the method, not the spice paste.
What goes into it
- beef, usually from the round or the loin
- coarse salt
- fenugreek flour
- garlic, in quantity
- paprika and hot pepper
- cumin
How it is made
The whole muscle is buried in salt for several days, then washed and pressed under weights to force out remaining moisture and compact it. It is hung to dry for a week or two, then coated all over in a thick paste of ground fenugreek, garlic and spices called çemen, and hung again until the crust sets hard and the meat inside is firm.
How long it takes: three to six weeks
How it is eaten
Sliced paper-thin and fried with eggs, in a sandwich with tomato, or as meze.
History
The name is Turkish bastirma, pressed; Armenian butchers who settled in Cairo made it a Cairene speciality sold from specialist shops downtown.
Frequently asked questions
What is Bastirma?
Bastirma is a charcuterie & cured from Egypt: air-dried beef under a thick fenugreek-garlic crust, fried with eggs. The name is Turkish bastirma, pressed; Armenian butchers who settled in Cairo made it a Cairene speciality sold from specialist shops downtown.
How is Bastirma made?
The whole muscle is buried in salt for several days, then washed and pressed under weights to force out remaining moisture and compact it. It is hung to dry for a week or two, then coated all over in a thick paste of ground fenugreek, garlic and spices called çemen, and hung again until the crust sets hard and the meat inside is firm. It takes three to six weeks.
Can I make Bastirma at home?
No, and the atlas gives no method for it. It is a whole-muscle cure dried at ambient temperature for weeks, where safety depends on the salt reaching the centre before anything else does; the pressing and the drying conditions are the method, not the spice paste.
What goes into Bastirma?
Beef, usually from the round or the loin, coarse salt, fenugreek flour, garlic, in quantity, paprika and hot pepper, cumin.
How is Bastirma eaten?
Sliced paper-thin and fried with eggs, in a sandwich with tomato, or as meze.
