Chicken breast basturma is an excellent spicy appetizer

What is basturma?

Basturma is a cold appetizer that was prepared everywhere in the Ottoman Empire and was considered a folk dish.

In hot climates and the absence of refrigeration chambers, there was an urgent need to preserve meat for a long time and to store it for future use. Traditionally, preparation was based on the process of brining and drying beef tenderloin with herbs.

Many recipes have been invented for making chicken basturma, which we will talk about in the article, but first we will list general recommendations.

How many calories are in chicken basturma

• Classic dried chicken basturma does not have a very high calorie content - 220-240 kcal per 100 grams.
• And its baked analogue, the recipe for which we will present step by step in this article, is even less - only 150-170 kcal.

Preparing basturma from chicken fillet is a delicate process that requires maximum attention and patience.

It will last about 20 days, but on your table you will have a delicious and delicate delicacy - chicken basturma.

This is dried meat, which is very popular in the Caucasus and Turkey.

It is prepared traditionally, but chicken fillet turns out just as good.

Ingredients:

• 2 pieces of fresh, not frozen, bone-in breast – 1.5 kg
• coarse or sea salt
• ground garlic
• ground red and black pepper
• sweet ground paprika
• dried parsley
• pepper mixture
• chaman (fenugreek)

Useful tips

• Chicken fillet is tender meat. Significantly reduces cooking time compared to beef or pork.
• Installing a press is an important process when cooking. The fillet can be infused under pressure from one day to several days, depending on the recipe.
• Don't be afraid to leave the chicken out for a few days. When dried with a lot of spices, it will not go rotten. The only problem with over-aging chicken is excessive dryness.
• To prevent insects from getting to the tasty morsels, use gauze.
• Never dry chicken breasts in direct sunlight. This will lead to product damage.
• Know when to use spices. Food that is too spicy can harm your stomach.

Homemade chicken breast basturma in the oven

Ingredients:

• Chicken breast – 800 g,
• Garlic – 3 cloves,
• Water – 600 ml,
• Salt – 2 tablespoons,
• Sugar – 2 tablespoons,
• Honey – 2 tablespoons,
• Bay leaf - 2 pieces,
• Black pepper – 8 peas,
• Soy sauce – 25 ml,
• Olive oil – 50 ml,
• Paprika – 1 tablespoon.

How to cook:

1. Wash the chicken breasts thoroughly and cut them into halves.
2. I pour water into a large glass bowl. I stir sugar and salt. I throw in peppercorns (half a portion) and bay leaves.
3. I put the chicken in the prepared marinade. I close the top with a tight lid or cover with cling film. Place in the refrigerator for 24 hours.
4. I take the breasts out of the refrigerator. I rinse it in water several times. Dry with kitchen towels.
5. In a clean bowl, mix honey with olive oil. I add finely chopped garlic, pepper and paprika. I pour soy sauce.
6. I dip the chicken breasts into the dish. I carefully lubricate with a thick mixture. I leave it to marinate for 3 hours.
7. Then I wrap the breasts into neat rolls. I tie it tightly with thread. I put it in the refrigerator for 12-14 hours.
8. I preheat the oven to 160 degrees. I put food foil on the bottom of the baking sheet. I set the breast to cook for 40 minutes. Then I increase the temperature to 180 degrees. I cook for another 20 minutes.
9. I take out the basturma. I cut into thin slices. I serve chilled.

Chicken basturma “Yummy”

1. Pour sea salt into the bottom of the bowl and place the chicken fillet on it, and also cover it with salt on top. Place in the refrigerator for 24 hours, drain the resulting brine every 3-4 hours.
2. Prepare paste for grating (per 1 kg) of meat, for which we take:

• 2 tsp chamana
• 2 tsp sumac
• 2 tsp pepper mixtures
• 6 cloves garlic, crushed
• 3 tbsp. salt
• some water

3. Coat the washed and dried carcasses with this paste, make a loop out of thread and hang it in the refrigerator for 1.5-2 weeks.

Ingredients

• 500 g chicken fillet;
• 50 ml cognac;
• 1 tsp Sahara;
• 1 tsp salt;
• ½ tsp. ground sweet paprika;
• ½ tsp. ground red pepper;
• ½ tsp. ground black pepper;
• 1 tsp seasoning mixtures for meat;
• dry Provençal herbs (oregano, rosemary)

Cooking time 10 minutes + 2 days for marinating and 4-7 days for drying.

Yield: 8 servings.

Preparing chicken basturma will save you a lot of money, since such exquisite dried meat is very expensive in markets and stores. Kefir marinade can make the chicken breast more tender in this recipe, but even without it you will be surprised at the taste of chicken basturma. Her recipe with photos step by step at home is given below.

Recipe in a slow cooker

Cooking chicken basturma in a slow cooker at home allows you to get the most tender meat with a slightly “dulled” taste.

Ingredients:

• Fillet – 700 g,
• Salt – 4 tablespoons,
• Sugar – 5 tablespoons,
• Garlic – 3 cloves,
• Vegetable oil – 10 g,
• Dried garlic – 10 g,
• Spices - to taste.

Preparation:

1. For cooking, I take chicken fillet. I cut it into several large pieces.
2. I pour sugar and salt into a plate. I stir. I coat the bird on all sides with the mixture. I put it in the refrigerator for 3 days under oppression.
3. I put the spices on a plate (I prefer suneli hops and ground red pepper). I stir it with vegetable oil to form a paste.
4. I generously coat the fillet pieces with the paste mixture. Sprinkle dried garlic on top.
5. I put the chicken with spices in a special baking bag. I wrap it tightly, but make a few holes.
6. I put the bag in the slow cooker. I turn on the “Extinguishing” mode. Cooking time for basturma is 60-75 minutes.

It will turn out incredibly tasty. Be sure to try it!

Chicken basturma recipe

1. Remove the breast fillet from the bones; if there is fat, cut it off too; you won’t need it to make basturma.

During the salting process, the meat will take shape, so whatever form you put it in, that’s how it will remain.

2. Prepare a container for basturma - you can take a plastic one. Sprinkle salt on the bottom, sparingly.

During the dehydration process, you will have to add more salt.

3. Roll the fillet tightly into a ball, place it in a container and generously sprinkle with salt. The workpieces must be completely covered with it, you will see all this in the video below.

In the process, liquid will appear, the chicken’s own juice, which will begin to salt the fillet, and it may turn out to be over-salted. Therefore, every 3-4 hours the brine will need to be drained and new, dry salt added.

4. The approximate salting time is 1-2 days. Depends on the temperature of the refrigerator and the mineral composition of the salt.

The meat should be much tougher than it was originally and a nice reddish color.

5. Quickly rinse off any excess salt on the surface of the chicken fillet to prevent water from getting back into the meat cells.

6. Dry with a waffle towel and leave to dry on it for 2-3 hours.

7. Wrap in a towel and refrigerate for 3-4 hours.

8. Prepare the coating. Mix spices with boiled water until the consistency of liquid sour cream and put in the refrigerator for an hour.

This way they will “open up” and all the essential oils will become active and tasty.

9. Apply the spices in thin 3-4 layers, allowing each to dry so that the spices do not fall off during the cutting process.

10. Take gauze and wrap the pieces of meat in it. Tie with threads, leaving the ends for hanging.

11. Place in the refrigerator for 14 days or on the balcony if it’s winter outside. It should be 5-10 degrees Celsius.

There is no need to keep it outside at sub-zero temperatures, otherwise the drying process will slow down.

12. Then, for about a week, the basturma should be hung simply in a cool room, for example, in a pantry.

From time to time you need to taste the chicken basturma.

You can watch all the details of the fillet basturma recipe in the video.

You have made a wonderful balyk - chicken basturma, spicy, spicy, the most beautiful meat with spices, which is not always possible to buy in the store.

Did you like the recipe? Then try the recipe from the old book.

Bon appetit!

What's a New Year's table without cold cuts? And one of the components of this dish can be basturma made from chicken, or rather from the brisket.

There are many recipes for making basturma, I have made a selection of the most delicious and easy to prepare.

And these are the following recipes:

Cooking chicken basturma, according to any recipe, begins with preparing the meat.

We cut off the fillet from the chicken breast, and then the film, skin, fat deposits, we also cut off a small part of the fillet, it can be used separately, or you can leave it as is.

Wash the meat and dry it on a paper towel.

Preparing basturma by drying

Ingredients:

• Fillet – 700 g,
• Salt – 2 tablespoons,
• Ground coriander - 1 tablespoon,
• Ground black pepper – 1 tablespoon,
• Khmeli-suneli - 2 tablespoons,
• Vodka – 40 ml.

Preparation:

1. Wash the chicken fillet thoroughly and cut it into large pieces. I wipe with a paper towel.
2. I transfer it to a deep cup. Sprinkle generously with salt. Cover with a lid and place in the refrigerator overnight (12 hours).
3. I rinse the bird of salt. I rub it on all sides with vodka. I roll the chicken in a mixture of hop-suneli, coriander and pepper.
4. I wrap it in gauze. I press down on top with a weight and put it in the refrigerator for 24 hours.
5. After applying the press, you will get flat pieces of meat.
6. I pierce the breasts. Using a needle and thick thread I make simple hanging devices. I place the chicken over the kitchen hood. Drying time – from 3 days. The longer the period, the drier and denser the meat.

After drying, I put the basturma in the refrigerator. I cut into thin slices and serve.

Video recipe

Chicken basturma classic recipe

1. We take a plastic container, pour coarse salt into the bottom and put 3 large chicken breasts, you can take more, you need to take into account that the meat dries out, and cover the meat well with salt.

Sprinkle each layer of meat with salt.

You need to make sure that the meat does not touch the walls of the container; if the salt does not cover it somewhere, add more.

2. Cover the container with meat with a lid and put it in the refrigerator for a day, at least 12 hours.

3. After 24 hours, remove the container from the refrigerator, rinse the fillet under cold water and dry with paper towels.

We won't need the salt anymore; we can throw it away.

If we have kept the meat in salt for more than a day, you can soak it in cold water for an hour.

4. Let the fillet dry for 15-20 minutes.

5. Prepare the sprinkles.

• 2 tsp ground black pepper
• 0.5 tsp. provencal herbs
• a little turmeric
• a little coriander
• 0.5 tsp ground red pepper
• 0.5 tsp ground white pepper

6. Pour a little sprinkle into a plastic bag, place the fillets one at a time, and sprinkle each one with this mixture.

Then we clamp the neck of the bag and shake it, this way all the pieces of meat will be processed.

If you add 50 g of cognac to the mixture, you will get a paste with which you can coat the fillet.

8. After this time, the basturma is ready, you can cut it and serve it.

Chicken fillet basturma with nutmeg

Ingredients:

• Chicken – 800 g,
• Salt – 400 g,
• Black pepper – 6 peas,
• Bay leaf - 2 pieces,
• Cumin - half a teaspoon,
• Nutmeg - half a teaspoon,
• Spices - to taste.

Preparation:

1. I wash the breast thoroughly and wipe it dry.
2. I take a deep pan, put salt on the bottom, and put chicken on top. I add black peppercorns and bay leaves. I carefully coat the meat.
3. I put it in the refrigerator overnight (10-14 hours).
4. I take it out in the morning and wash it. I rub it with a mixture of spices (you can take ground peppers or suneli hops). I definitely add nutmeg.
5. I put the chicken in the dryer for 6-8 hours. The optimal temperature for preparing basturma is 30-40 degrees.

You can replace the dryer with an ordinary oven. Leave the door of a preheated appliance ajar.

Turkey recipe with wine and cognac

Ingredients:

• Turkey (breast) – 1 kg,
• Sugar – 20 g,
• Salt – 500 g,
• Chaman – 5 large spoons,
• Garlic – 4 cloves,
• Chili – 1 piece,
• Bay leaf – 1 piece,
• Coriander - half a teaspoon,
• Cloves – 1 piece,
• Wine – 25 ml,
• Cognac – 25 ml.

Preparation:

1. I rinse the turkey breasts under running water. I remove the film. I cut it into pieces.
2. In a deep food container (bowl) I mix a large amount of salt (not all) with seasonings. I pour cognac and wine.
3. I debone the turkey and sprinkle salt on all sides.
4. I close the lid tightly and leave it in the kitchen at room temperature for 12 hours.
5. I take out the meat, wash it several times and dry it with kitchen towels.
6. I wrap the fillet pieces in gauze. I put it on a plate and put it in the refrigerator for 24 hours.
7. Severely wet gauze must be replaced promptly. I turn the turkey pieces several times during cooking.

I serve the tasty and juicy turkey chilled and sliced.

Video cooking

Basturma and pastrami

Pastrama is a dish similar in name to basturma, but has fundamental differences in the preparation process. The dish is common in Moldova and Romania. When cooking, beef or pork is used.

The main differences from basturma are the smoking and baking processes. Pastrami undergoes special heat treatment. According to the traditional recipe, basturma is rubbed with spices, kept under pressure, then hung and left in a well-ventilated area from several days to three weeks.

Prepare basturma at home, because at home it will turn out tastier and more nutritious than a store-bought product.