Goat meat heavily salted, sun-dried and rubbed with oregano — Cypriot preservation from long before refrigeration, using the hills’ own herbs to finish it. It is hard, intensely salty and eaten in small pieces.
Drying raw meat in the open depends on Cypriot summer heat, very low humidity and constant sun; in a damp climate the same method spoils the meat from the inside.
What goes into it
- goat meat, cut in strips
- coarse salt, in quantity
- dried oregano from the hills
How it is made
Strips of goat are packed in a great deal of salt for a day or two, then hung in full sun and dry wind until hard, over several days. Once dry they are rinsed of excess salt, dried again and rubbed with crumbled oregano, which both flavours and helps keep insects off.
How long it takes: a week to ten days of salting and drying
How it is eaten
Torn into small pieces as meze with zivania, or boiled into soups and pulses.
History
Goat was preserved by salting and drying in the Cypriot sun long before refrigeration; oregano from the hills flavours the finished meat.
Frequently asked questions
What is Tsamarella?
Tsamarella is a charcuterie & cured from Cyprus: goat meat heavily salted, sun-dried and rubbed with oregano. Goat was preserved by salting and drying in the Cypriot sun long before refrigeration; oregano from the hills flavours the finished meat.
How is Tsamarella made?
Strips of goat are packed in a great deal of salt for a day or two, then hung in full sun and dry wind until hard, over several days. Once dry they are rinsed of excess salt, dried again and rubbed with crumbled oregano, which both flavours and helps keep insects off. It takes a week to ten days of salting and drying.
Can I make Tsamarella at home?
No, and the atlas gives no method for it. Drying raw meat in the open depends on Cypriot summer heat, very low humidity and constant sun; in a damp climate the same method spoils the meat from the inside.
What goes into Tsamarella?
Goat meat, cut in strips, coarse salt, in quantity, dried oregano from the hills.
How is Tsamarella eaten?
Torn into small pieces as meze with zivania, or boiled into soups and pulses.
