Afyon Pastırması

Traditionally produced in the Aegean province of Afyonkarahisar, Pastırması is a Halāl certified cured meat product of Anatolian origin. Also known as pastirma, pastourma, bastirma, basterma or basturma (Turkish for 'pressed meat'), the heavily seasoned, spice-coated beef is one of the essential ingredients of Ottoman cuisine.

In fact, in Türkiye alone there are more than twenty different varieties of pastırma. Afyon Pastırması is prepared by salting the beef, then washing it with water and letting it dry. After about two weeks, the blood and excess salt are pressed out of the meat which is, prior to thorough air-drying, thickly coated with çemen, a red spice paste made with garlic, fenugreek, cumin and hot paprika.

Afyon Pastırması is usually served with eggs for breakfast or enjoyed as mezze, thinly sliced and washed down with rakı, an unsweetened, anise-flavored Turkish liqueur.