Pastirma .....mmmmmmmm Turkish Bacon

Turkey 


Pastırma ( also known as Muslim bacon , but enjoyed by Jews as well for the very same reason)


Ingredients: 1kg fillet of beef 8 tbsp fenugreek seeds, ground 65g red capsicum or capsicum paste ( sold in Turkish stores as SALÇA ( pronounced Salcha) also sold in european deli's Hungarian and Serbians use as well ), diced 15g hot chillies, chopped 100g garlic cloves, peeled plenty of fine sea salt 2 tsp ground cumin 


Trim all the fat from the fillet, wash well and pat dry. Place in a non-reactive dish and cover with the sea salt. Set aside for about 4 hours, or until the blood and juices have finished being drawn from the meat. Wash thoroughly then continue curing the meat. Place in a non-reactive dish and cover with salt. Place clingfilm over the top then cover with a board and weigh down. Set aside over night in the refrigerator. Each day, pour off any brine and add more salt. Re-cover and put the weights on top again then return to the refrigerator.


Continue this process until no more liquid comes out of the meat (about 12 to 15 days). Remove the meat and wash to remove any excess salt from the surface. Place in a large pan, cover with plenty of water then set aside over night to leach out most of the salt. Drain the meat and wash then pat dry with a clean tea towel. Using a stout needle thread butcher's twine through one end of the meat then hang up in a cool and dry place (typically it's hung from the ceiling in the kitchen).


Allow about 2 days for the beef to air-dry. After this time check the meat by pressing with your hands (it should feel dry but not hard). After this time, 


preparing the Çemen 


prepare pastırma spice. Mash the garlic very finely in a mortar or food processor. Add the casicum and chilli and mash once again to combine then work in the cumin and add up to 500ml water to form a paste that should be the consistency of mashed potatoes. Coat the meat with the Çemen then hang up in an airy place (there needs to be plenty of circulating air – the patio is good)


. Do this on a sunny week and 3 or 4 days hanging should be sufficient. By the end of the air drying the Çemen covering should be tacky to the touch but the meat inside should still have some give. Cover with a clean cheesecloth, pop in a plastic bag and either freeze or refrigerate. To use, slice very thinly and fry.