Basturma from beef: a recipe, types, features of preparation and responses

Among the various meat delicacies, basturma stands out. If a person is not a vegetarian in principle, from time to time he necessarily allows himself to eat this wonderful food. One trouble: it is very, very expensive. In addition, the consumer's gustatory views do not always coincide with the opinion of the manufacturer. And disappointment after taking a sample from a tidbit is very painful. However, there are comforting news: at home a delicious basturma from beef can be cooked! The recipe will require the cook to be patient. But the result will be exactly the same as what the cook planned to get.

Step One: Pickling

To get the right, at the same time tender and dense beef basturma , the prescription prescribes meat for the beginning to salivate. There are two ways to do this.

The first method. Beef is abundantly poured over with salt; You can even put it on a pillow of salt and pour a snowdrift on top. Excess meat does not pick up, so you can not be afraid to overdo it. Capacity is covered and put in a cool. How much will be salted home basturma from beef, the recipe does not specify: time strongly depends on the size of pieces, the age of the slaughtered animal and the desired degree of salinity. At least three days. But many can stand up to a week. The main rule - do not forget to turn over regularly.

The second method. A brine is prepared based on two tablespoons of salt per liter of water. In a cold form, they pour chunks of meat, crush them from above and also expose them to a cool place. With this method, the beef is greased more quickly - in a day or two you can proceed to the next stage.
We recommend using the first option. The brine method is bad because the meat after it becomes loose. And the next steps in its processing will take more time.

Step two: drying

The corned beef is removed from the salty container through the allotted time and diligently washed in running water. The remaining salt crystals will not spoil the meat: first, in some places it will be more salty, and secondly - hard and dry. If for some reason running water is not available, the beef is soaked in a basin of five hours with frequent changes of water in it.

After washing, the meat is dampened with napkins, wrapped in a clean chopper, placed between two plates (can be chopped) and pressed down with oppression. This procedure will allow you to squeeze out the remainder of the water before the drop. Under pressure, the future basturma should lie between 2 and 4 days. Do not forget to regularly change the napkin.

Step Three: Drying

Any recipe for making basturma from beef requires a minimum of a week (and usually much longer) to wax the salted meat. For this, it is rubbed with spices. Their choice can be individual; The most common is pepper. After this, a hole is made in the slice of the future basturma, through which the twine or thick thread is twisted. Beef wrapped in gauze (to avoid the ingress of dust and "gatherings" of insects) and suspended in a secluded place. To him are certain requirements:

1. The room should not be wet.
2. Basturma needs to be constantly ventilated. So look for a corner where the draft is walking.
3. The meat should not be exposed to the sun. Actually, it would be nice to keep it in a dark place, but not everyone can find it. So at least pritenite suspended delicacy.

The signal that you have on hand already usable beef basturma, the recipe suggests dryness of the outer layer and darkening of meat in the middle. Usually it takes from 10 days to two weeks.

Important: chaman

If you prefer the Armenian basturma of beef, the recipe recommends the use of a chaman. This is the name of the spicy mixture in which the drying must pass. To make it in a glass of warm water, a glass of fenugreek dissolves, a spoonful of sugar, a crushed garlic to taste, ground fragrant, red, black pepper, chopped laurel leaves and cumin (spoonful) interfere. The mixture should be very thick, viscous. Under the napkin, it is insisted for half a day, after which the beef is coated with chaman. Further actions - as in the preparation of other varieties of basturma. The only difference is that after three days of drying, the chaman must be scraped off and a new layer applied.

Secrets of basturma

1. The salt used must be a coarse fraction. Otherwise, it will dissolve too quickly, and the beef will become stiff.
2. It is advisable to buy meat from a young animal - it produces a more tender basturma from beef. The recipe also insists on using the tenderloin. But that's just not necessary: the delicacy is beautifully obtained from other parts of the carcass.
3. Do not try to wilt a hunk of beef in one piece: it does not guarantee success for a long time. It is necessary to cut it along the fibers into long narrow strips.
4. If you use a chaman, pay attention: it includes garlic. With this spice, the basturma turns out to be more fragrant and spicy, but all the time you'll have to put up with the persistent garlic flavor throughout the house. In addition, the appearance of basturma slightly worsens from garlic. Experienced cooks recommend at the stage of "almost ready" to replace the old layer of the chaman with a new one, with the garlic introduced, and before that use the mixture without it.

Basturma of beef at home: a recipe with wine

To some, this delicacy seems harsh and dryish. For them - an alternative way to prepare it. Kilogram of beef is divided into strips, abundantly, from all sides, rubbed with salt and in a closed container hides in the refrigerator for five hours. Then the beef is dried from the liquid that has emerged, it is pinched in a pair of places with a fork, again rubbed with salt, only now - in a mixture with red pepper, garlic and fenugreek, and returns to the salty jug. Prepared in this way, the meat is poured with dry red wine so that it does not appear anywhere - it will take about a liter and a quarter. Above it is oppression - and for a week in the refrigerator. After the basturma is dried, wrapped in cotton cloth - and under load, in the refrigerator, for another couple of days. Further it is suspended for four days in a suitable place for primary wilting. And, finally, it is smeared with a mixture of black pepper, salt and flour, taken in one spoon and loosened in half a glass of wine. You can also enter coriander and cumin. After ten days of milking, you can try.