The gazing carnivore

Passport & Plate - Fillet "Elena" and "Pastarma"

Bulgaria | Friday, March 14, 2014 | 4 photos

Ingredients
pork of beef
1 -1.5 kg of sea salt
Garlic, pepper, paprika, savory, fennel, oregano (or any other favorite mixture of herbs)
20-50 ml of vinegar
water (enough to cover the meat)

How to prepare this recipe
Sirloin or tenderloin, cleaned of fat and well aligned. Put it in a bowl and cover generously with salt. Let sit 1-2 days in the fridge.
Wash the salt away and put it in water with vinegar - enough to cover the meat, for at least 4 hours. Wash and place in a well ventilated spot. After one hour, rub plenty of crushed garlic in the meat.
Mix pepper, paprika and savory (and other spices if you wish) in the bag (the ratio is to taste) and shake it to mix the herbs well. Then pour the mixture over the meat.
Cut a hole through the meat and pass a string through it, then hang it in a cool, dry, ventilated and secure (from cats and other animals) place. After 10 days to 3 weeks it should be ready (depending on how soft you like them and the humidity).
Once the meat is ready, put it in bags and store in the freezer. Taken out of the freezer 15-20 minutes before serving.

The story behind this recipe
You see, I am a carnivore. Now imagine how I felt when I found out you can prepare your own selection of dried meats right at home. Well, on balcony to be precise. I am an American, currently residing in Bulgaria and as of late I have been exposed to and experimented with ingredients that are new to me - such as beef tongue and lamb heads. I'm getting accustomed to the idea that a lot of Bulgarians prepare at home foods that I would usually buy at the store. My first such experiment was making “kiselo zele” (Sauerkraut) - now an annual tradition. My next step up the ladder – curing meat.

I started out a couple of years ago, asking my wife's side of the family for instructions, but somehow kept missing the right season for doing it – the cold months. This year I had my internal reminder set to alarm me that the time has come. With a little assistance from the Internet and Google Translate I embarked on the journey.

The first batch was two different types of dry cured meat - “Pastarma” (beef) and Filet “Elena” (pork). I had the meat hung outside of my office window, so I can keep a watchful eye on the progress.

Once it was ready and tasted, I held a Homemade Rakia Party. The guests brought some of their homemade spirits and I provided the mezze. The star of the evening were the delicious slices of meat. It does go perfect with a glass of rakia (which, by the way, is my next project).

Now I cannot be stopped! The meat-curing process is in full blast, I have developed a routine with a carefully designed schedule of events: fridge-balcony-freezer-belly. Next season I will expand my operations with different styles of curing meats and maybe... sausages.