Armenian · appetizer

Basturma (Air-Dried Beef in Chaman Crust)

Basturma (Air-Dried Beef in Chaman Crust) reads umami 7.0, allium 5.0 and richness 4.9 on Palate's 0–10 flavor X-ray — a Armenian appetizer, about 606 hr 30 min. Measured from the recipe itself: ingredients and technique.

The flavor X-ray — six axes, 0–10

The measured notes (of 18)

Umami 7.0 · Allium 5.0 · Richness 4.9 · Salinity 4.7 · Heat 4.2 · Earthy 2.9 · Warm Spice 2.7 · Sweetness 2.1 · Nutty 2.0 · Bitterness 1.7 · Floral 1.1 · Herbaceous 1.1 · Sourness 0.7 · Fruity 0.6

What's in it (9)

Time & effort: about 606 hr 30 min (30 min active) · effort: medium

Nutrition (per 100 g, engine-estimated): 95.1 kcal, 13.7 g protein, 2.9 g fat, 4.8 g carbs

Dietary: Contains meat — engine-derived; double-check anything allergy-critical.

How it's cooked (9 steps)

  1. Bury the beef completely in the coarse salt in a non-reactive dish and refrigerate 3 days, turning it daily and pouring off the liquid that draws out.
  2. Rinse the salt off thoroughly and soak the meat in cold water for 2 hours, changing the water once, or the finished basturma will be inedibly salty.
  3. Wrap it in a clean cloth, lay it between two boards with a 3 kg weight on top and refrigerate 2 days. Pressing drives out the remaining moisture and gives basturma its flat, dense shape.
  4. Hang it in a cool, airy, dark place at 12 to 15C for 6 days, until the surface is dry and firm and the meat has darkened.
  5. Whisk the fenugreek, paprika, chilli, garlic, cumin and allspice with the water into a smooth paste. Ground fenugreek is chaman and it is the taste people mean when they say basturma; nothing else has that maple-and-bitter smell.
  6. Let the paste stand 4 hours. It swells and thickens dramatically as the fenugreek hydrates, so do not adjust the water before this.
  7. Coat the meat all over in a layer about 5 mm thick, working it into every crease.
  8. Hang it again for 14 days, until the crust is dry and hard to the touch and the meat inside is firm all the way through with no soft spot at the centre.
  9. Slice paper thin against the grain with a very sharp knife and serve at room temperature with bread, radishes and arak, or lay the slices over eggs fried in butter.

Dishes with a similar flavor shape

Keep reading: what umami, allium, richness mean in the flavor lexicon · the world's cuisines, by flavor.

See how this dish fits your palate — take the short taste test →

Every number above is Palate's engine-measured estimate, computed from this recipe's ingredients and techniques — not human-tasted ratings or reviews.