pastrama (NOT pastrami)

[TasunkaWitko]

traditional romanian pastram? is a cured, semi-dry smoked meat, hisorically made from sheep but also made from pork, beef or presumably any other animal that produces sizable cuts of meat. it is not to be confused with pastrami, which is cured and prepared in a very different way and has a very different flavour.

the time-life series, foods of the world," has this to say about pastram?:

romanian pastram? sounds like but has little to do with, the meat known in the united states as pastrami, which is made of highly-spiced beef studded with black peppercorns, and is in fact an invention of the slavic jews. the romanian word pastram?...derives from the turkish; p?stra in turkish means "to keep" or as we would say, to preserve [or] cure....except for lamb, any meat used for pastram? is first heavily salted and then smoked. americans usually steam pastrami to cook it, but pastram? is simply grilled, as are many other meats in romania....

[Broken External Image]:http://www.draculas.info/_img/dictionary/ottoman_empire_12.jpg

the origins of pastram? reach far back into history, when the ottoman empire ruled wallachia and moldavia for hundreds years. the occupying turks imported their own dried meat, called pastirma or basturma, which was made from slabs of beef slabs of beef rubbed in a spice paste and then air dried in high mountain curing houses. this method of preparation was eventually adapted by the local citizenry.

pastram? is traditionally made by employing a dry cure; this is achieved by rubbing a cut of meat with a seasoning mixture consisting of crushed black pepper, nutmeg, sweet red pepper, saltpeter, salt, sugar, crushed allspice and garlic. some forms also include cinnamon, ground cloves and ground coriander seed. the rub is applied consistently over several weeks as the pastram? cures, traditionally in the mountain air. once this process is complete, the pastram? is smoked for flavor and as an aid in preservation.

pastram? is traditionally served sliced very thinly, much the same as spanish serrano ham or italian prosciutto, or grilled as mentioned above. because it is well-preserved, it travels very well can can be employed in a number of ways.

research on pastram? included this interesting account in the 10 may 1921 publication of the wisconsin rapids daily tribune:

an interesting personal experience was an invitation to dinner with a real roumanian family (in bucharest). what seemed to me a countless array of dishes containing most delectable dainties was arranged on a sideboard in the apartment where we were received. first came pastram?, small pieces of mutton grilled with zuika, a kind of native rum. this pastram? has a marvelous flavor. but a person eating it for the first time cannot swallow it. he chews it and chews it like a piece of american gum, first in one cheek and then in the other, without knowing what to do with it. it is an embarrassing situation, because the pastram? is served in the reception room and you are expected to talk while you are eating it. i received my portion in an unguarded moment while conversing with an enchanting girl in a pompadour. then we went into the dining room.

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now, all we need is a recipe for this. if anyone has any romanian contacts and/or can find a recipe and method for pastram? (as opposed to pastrami), please post.

i would very much like to try this with deer!

 

[KittyHawk]

Is this what your looking for?

Mutton Pastrama

a back leg of young sheep
2-3 tbsp course salt
1/2 glass of white dry wine
3 garlic loafs
5 tbsp of savory
2 tsp of sweet paprika
1 tsp of hot paprika
1 tsp of pepper
1 tsp of basil
1 tsp of crushed allspice

Wash the mutton. Cut of the meat from the bones (try to do it in one single piece). In the places where is thicker than 3 cm make some long incisions, then dry it with a cotton towel. Let it rest on a wooden platter.

Prepare the rub. Crush the garlic gloves in a mortar. Rub it to let its juice. Add all the other ingredients (less the salt and the wine) and mix them.

Rub the mutton with the spices' mix. Do it vigorously on all surfaces, inclusive in every incision you made. Salt the interior surface of the leg with a bit more salt than you use for a stake and sprinkle the wine over.

Start rolling tight the mutton with the fat outside. Salt the exterior surface of the leg, bit by bit, while you roll it. Put it in a covered vase in the fridge for 4 days. The mutton will let a juice. So, turn the whole surface of the meat through that juice once a day, and then roll it back.

When done, hang it in a cool, dry place for a night.

Romanians eat the pastrami the way it is, as an appetizer or added to the omelet, or in any other dish based on meat.

Also, for long time keeping, you need to smoke the pastrami. It has to be cold smoke, made from hardwood sawdust and kept for long time (3-4 weeks).
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Darlene
First of all, this is a traditional recipe that I never tried. I took it from an old Romanian cookbook (1841). In fact this is the first cookbook printed in Romania.

Second... yes, you red it right. It's about whole veal. As I know, the meat from a veal has to weigh about. So, you'll have to adjust everything to your needs.




You can also cook it on the grill. Try it with mamaliga, branza de burduf (what I think you won't find, but you can replace it with feta) and pickled hot peppers. And a glass of red wine, too. In fact, we love it with unfermented wine.

 

[KittyHawk]

Veal Pastrama

a whole veal, without bones
course salt
1 liter of red old wine
15 tbsp saltpeter
20 garlic loafs
10 tbsp cumin powder
5 dried hot peppers

First of all, this is a traditional recipe that I never tried. I took it from an old Romanian cookbook (1841). In fact this is the first cookbook printed in Romania.

Second... yes, you red it right. It's about whole veal. As I know, the meat from a veal has to weigh about. So, you'll have to adjust everything to your needs.

Cut the meat in 3-5 cm thick pieces.

Give them plenty of salt and leave them in a trough for 8-10 days. Turn them upside-down 2-3 times a day.

Then wash the meat in three water and put it under press: one cotton towel at the bottom, then the meat pieces one next to the other, another towel, a wooden platter (or more, to cover them all) and a big heavy rock . Keep them this way for 24 hours.

Mix in the wine the saltpeter (Potassium nitrate), the cumin powder, the garlic (crushed ) and the hot peppers (made powder).

Rub the pastrami with this paste and then let it to take a good whiff for 2-3 days, in the trough. Turn it over and over again on both sides.

Drain it and place it in wind to dry well (for one day), then hung it in a dry and cool place.

Darlene

 

[TasunkaWitko]

kitty hawk - thanks for these posts!

if you don't mind, i will copy/paste them to my pastrama research at my site!

i intend to try a version of this this coming fall with some deer. will report on results.