Pastirma

Ingredients

Meat and cure

• 1.5 kgbeef eye of round, tenderloin or flank, trimmed of all silverskin
• Coarse non-iodised salt, about 8% of the meat weight (120 g)
• 2 tspcuring salt no. 2 (0.25% of meat weight) – strongly recommended for safety

Çemen paste

• 150 gground fenugreek (çemen otu)
• 1whole head of garlic, about 60 g, crushed to a paste
• 60 gsweet paprika
• 20 ghot paprika or ground chilli
• 1 tspground cumin
• 1 tspground allspice
• 1 tspsalt
• About 300 ml cold water

Directions

1. Trim the beef into even strips about 6 cm thick with no thin tapering ends, which would over-dry.
2. Rub the salt and curing salt over every surface, pack the meat in a non-reactive tray, cover and refrigerate for 3–5 days, turning daily and pouring off the brine that draws out.
3. Rinse the meat well, soak it in cold water for 2 hours to pull back the surface salt, then pat dry.
4. Press it: lay the strips between boards under an even weight in the fridge for 12–24 hours. The meat should flatten to about two-thirds of its thickness and feel firm and dense – this pressing is characteristic of pastırma and drives out remaining moisture.
5. Hang in a cool, airy place at 12–15°C (55–60°F) with 70–75% humidity for 10–14 days, until the meat has lost about 30–35% of its starting weight and is dark, dry to the touch and stiff.
6. Mix the çemen: whisk the fenugreek, garlic, both paprikas, cumin, allspice and salt with enough cold water to make a thick, sticky paste, then rest it 12 hours in the fridge to swell and mellow.
7. Coat the meat in a 3–5 mm layer of çemen, working it into every crevice, and hang again for 7–10 days until the paste has dried to a firm, matte, brick-red sheath that does not smear.
8. Slice paper-thin across the grain to serve, raw, with bread and raki; or fry the slices briefly in a pan and break eggs over them for pastırmalı yumurta.

Technique

• Curing salt (nitrite/nitrate) is not traditional in every village recipe, but it is the reliable defence against Clostridium botulinum in a slow air-dry. If you omit it, work strictly below 15°C (60°F) and never in a warm kitchen.
• Weight loss, not the calendar, tells you when it is ready. Weigh the meat before hanging and aim for a 35–40% total loss by the end.
• Kayseri is the home of pastırma, where the dry continental autumn provides exactly the cool, breezy conditions needed. Watch for case hardening – if the outside dries far faster than the centre, raise the humidity.

Substitutions

• No curing chamber? A wine fridge set to 13°C (55°F) with a small fan and a bowl of salt water, or a cool cellar in autumn, both work.
• Fenugreek is essential to çemen, but if only whole seeds are available, soak and grind them; the powder must be fresh or the paste tastes musty.

Variations

• Sırt and kuşgömü are the prized cuts, taken from the back and the shoulder-eye, each with its own name and price.
• A lighter cure with less çemen, sold as ‘az çemenli’, for people who find the fenugreek overpowering.

History

The name means pressed, and the method is linked to Byzantine paston; Kayseri’s dry autumn air made it the pastırma capital.

Frequently asked questions

What is Pastirma?

Pastirma is a charcuterie & cured from Turkey: air-dried cured beef sheathed in çemen paste of fenugreek, garlic and paprika. The name means pressed, and the method is linked to Byzantine paston; Kayseri’s dry autumn air made it the pastırma capital.

How long does Pastirma take to make?

Pastirma takes 1 hr of preparation and 4 weeks of cooking. The recipe makes about 700 g cured beef. It is rated hard to make.

What can I substitute in Pastirma?

Yes, within limits. No curing chamber? A wine fridge set to 13°C (55°F) with a small fan and a bowl of salt water, or a cool cellar in autumn, both work. Fenugreek is essential to çemen, but if only whole seeds are available, soak and grind them; the powder must be fresh or the paste tastes musty.

What is the most important thing to get right in Pastirma?

Curing salt (nitrite/nitrate) is not traditional in every village recipe, but it is the reliable defence against Clostridium botulinum in a slow air-dry. If you omit it, work strictly below 15°C (60°F) and never in a warm kitchen.