BASEL SPICE RECIPES

Steps:

• Heat olive oil and butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and andouille sausage and cook and stir until the onion starts to brown, about 10 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes.
• Mix in crushed tomatoes, green bell peppers, zucchinis, Cajun seasoning, hot sauce, and chicken broth; bring mixture to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook uncovered until the liquid cooks off and the mixture is thick, about 15 minutes. Stir in chicken and shrimp and simmer until heated through, 1 to 2 minutes.

Steps:

• Trim your filet mignon so that you are left with a whole piece. No flaps or loose pieces should be on your muscle. Remove the silver skin and remove the fat if you want a leaner basturma
• Weigh your filet mignon and enter the weight in grams in the "servings" section of this recipe.
• Combine all of the "cure" ingredients and rub them onto your meat. Be sure to include 100% of all the cure spices. Place the meat in a bag and vacuum seal it (or a zip lock bag and remove as much air as possible).
• Once your meat has been vac sealed place it in a tray with a heavy weight on top (to achieve a flattened look) Place this in your refrigerator for 5 days. Be sure to turn the meat daily.
• After 5 days your beef has been cured and you can remove it from the fridge. Wash off any excess seasonings, liquid, and blot dry with a paper towel. You want the meat to be moist and tacky.
• Place the cured beef onto a collagen sheet and wrap. Prick out any air pockets that might have formed. Secure with elastic netting or butchers twine. Weigh the meat and record the weight.
• Hang in a drying chamber that has a controlled temperature of 55F and a humidity of 80% till 25% of the weight has been lost.
• After 25% weight has been lost it's time to prepare the spice coating. Combine all of the chaman (spice coating) ingredients in a bowl. Slowly add water till you achieve a paste like consistency.
• Remove the casing from the cured beef and with a needle weave some butchers twine through the very top and tie a knot. This is how we will hang our bastura. Next spread a thin layer of the spice paste (⅛ inch) all over your basturma. Try to keep the spice paste as evenly spread as possible.
• Once finished dip your fingers in some water and smooth the spice paste then hang your basturma to finish drying back in a drying chamber set to 55F and 80% rH. In here it will hang for another 2-3 weeks (it really depends on how big your muscle is. If you are using a large cut it may take a little longer). What you are looking for is your spice coating to completely dry out. Once that happens your basturma is ready to eat.. Enjoy.
• Equalizing the basturma (optional)