Salted and air-dried mutton, cooked into beans or eaten sliced. Balkan herders preserved sheep this way, and the Ottoman pastırma tradition gave the region its word for salted, pressed, dried meat.
It is a whole-cut cure held at ambient temperature for months, where the salt must reach the centre before anything else does, and the cold dry mountain air is the equipment.
What goes into it
- mutton, in large pieces or whole legs
- coarse salt
- sometimes smoke
How it is made
The meat is salted heavily for a week or more, pressed under weights, and then hung in cold dry mountain air for one to three months, sometimes with light smoking. It loses a great deal of weight and ends hard and intensely salty, and it must be soaked and long-simmered before it is edible.
How long it takes: one to three months of drying
How it is eaten
Soaked and boiled into a bean pot with paprika, or sliced thin as it is.
History
Dried mutton preserved by Balkan herders; the Ottoman pastırma tradition gave the region its name for salted, pressed dried meat.
Frequently asked questions
What is Pastrma?
Pastrma is a charcuterie & cured from North Macedonia: salted and air-dried mutton, cooked into beans or eaten sliced. Dried mutton preserved by Balkan herders; the Ottoman pastırma tradition gave the region its name for salted, pressed dried meat.
How is Pastrma made?
The meat is salted heavily for a week or more, pressed under weights, and then hung in cold dry mountain air for one to three months, sometimes with light smoking. It loses a great deal of weight and ends hard and intensely salty, and it must be soaked and long-simmered before it is edible. It takes one to three months of drying.
Can I make Pastrma at home?
No, and the atlas gives no method for it. It is a whole-cut cure held at ambient temperature for months, where the salt must reach the centre before anything else does, and the cold dry mountain air is the equipment.
What goes into Pastrma?
Mutton, in large pieces or whole legs, coarse salt, sometimes smoke.
How is Pastrma eaten?
Soaked and boiled into a bean pot with paprika, or sliced thin as it is.
