Meat that was cooked under saddle. Fragrant spicy basturma or how to make homemade jerky with your own hands. What kind of people are these?

This dish is loved by gourmets and is served in elite restaurants all over the world. And many chefs create original recipes for its preparation. We are talking about a meat dish - steak tartare. We will not delve into the intricacies of preparing this nutritious meat dish, but will dwell on the history of its origin. Oddly enough, the authorship is attributed to the ancient Pechenegs.

What kind of people are these?

It is known that these steppe peoples of Central Asia waged many merciless military campaigns. But they did this not for the sake of conquering lands, but solely for profit. They ravaged the territory, killed its inhabitants, filled their bags with loot and disappeared.

First, the Pechenegs attacked the Byzantine lands, and in the middle of the 11th century they went beyond the Danube.

Food of the Mongols

The main food of the Pechenegs was rice and millet; they cooked cereals in milk and did not add salt. The nomads milked their horses and drank their milk instead of water. Raw meat was not fried. Instead of heat treatment, they placed pieces of meat under the saddle, where they warmed up. I must say, the recipe is not very appetizing.

However, this method of preparation was forced. The conquerors could not afford to light fires in the steppe, because the fire could easily be noticed by the opponents of the Pechenegs. Therefore, they had to warm raw pieces of meat under the saddle, from where the Mongols took them out, sprinkled them with seasonings and ate them.

The Pechenegs were treated with herbs. They knew well which plant helped with what. Thus, with the help of herbs, the Pechenegs could improve the quality of vision, and shooting a bird in flight the first time was not a problem for them.

Where did the Pechenegs go?

By the 14th century, the nation practically ceased to exist, dividing into several small tribes. The Pechenegs disperse to different territories, where they absorb the customs and beliefs of other nationalities. Gradually, this strong tribe, which made many raids on Rus', completely disappeared from the face of the earth.

Many dishes, now considered delicacies, at one time served as a kind of dry ration for soldiers going on long campaigns. And we owe the origin of these dishes precisely to these ancient warriors, who came up with various ways to keep food, if not fresh, then usable for a long time. Most likely, the basturma that we will talk about today appeared precisely in such field conditions. According to legend, Genghis Khan's warriors cut pieces of meat into thin layers and secured them under the saddle of a horse. Under the weight of the rider, excess moisture came out of it, and the animal’s sweat salted the meat through and through over time, which made it possible to keep it edible for a long time. Of course now basturma They cook it completely differently, and who can you force to swallow even a piece of the “delicacy” on horse sweat?

For several centuries, basturma has been a traditional snack on the Armenian table, and its original taste has also appealed to many other peoples, so it is prepared everywhere. Of course, this takes not an hour, not two, but at least three weeks, but this does not stop lovers of dried meat. The process itself is not so much complicated and troublesome as it is drawn out over time, so the only thing that is required of you is patience. And, of course, meat and all the necessary spices, the most important and irreplaceable of which is chaman.

Chaman is a spice mixture that can be bought at the market. Its basis is ground fenugreek seeds, which swell in water and form a thick, mushy mass. Don’t bother yourself with unnecessary knowledge, just tell the spice merchants what exactly you need, they know exactly what it is. Well, since you are already at the market, then buy fresh beef tenderloin. All ingredients are given per 1 kg of meat. So let's get started.

The Pechenegs' tactics are simple. They quickly attacked villages, created panic, killed the defenders, filled their bags with loot and disappeared. They never had the task of settling the occupied territories.

The Pechenegs first attacked Byzantium, and then crossed the Danube around the second half of the 11th century. This became the great transition of the Pecheneg Horde, which had a significant impact on the development of history.

The Pechenegs were pagans. Bon, a religion of Tibetan origin, was native to them. They didn't like to wash themselves. They did not cut their hair; they braided it in long black braids. A hat was placed on top of the head.

They are melted across rivers using specially made leather bags. All the necessary ammunition is placed inside, and then it is all sewn together so tightly that not a single drop of water can pass through. Their horses were famous for their speed. They covered large spaces with ease. Arrows soaked in snake venom led to inevitable death even with a slight scratch.

Exotic food

The main food is millet and rice. Pechenegs boil cereals in milk. No salt. They milked the horses and drank mare's milk instead of water; they did not fry the raw meat, but put it under the saddle, so it warmed up. If hunger was completely unbearable, they did not disdain cats and steppe animals. They were treated with infusions of various steppe herbs. They knew what herbal infusion to drink to increase their range of vision. Many of them could shoot a bird on the fly the first time. They swore an oath of allegiance to each other by piercing their finger and took turns drinking drops of blood. The nomadic tribes of the Pechenegs lived in the Trans-Volga steppes, then began to inhabit the territory beyond the Volga and the Urals, from where they left to the west.

War with Russian princes

In the Nikon Chronicle you can find a story about the first summer clash between the troops of the Kyiv princes Askold and Dir with the Pechenegs in Transnistria.

Igor Rurikovich, who ascended the throne, was able to make peace with the Pechenegs, but they, despising such treaties, no longer carried out a short-term raid, but marched on a wide march through Rus'. Therefore, Igor Rurikovich again enters into battle with them. The Pechenegs go to the steppe.

Pecheneg reconnaissance worked well

They had well-equipped intelligence. When Svyatoslav Igorevich and his army set off on a campaign against Bulgaria, the Pecheneg hordes unexpectedly besieged Kyiv. Citizens defend their city with all their might in the absence of main combat units. A Russian intelligence officer, who knew the Pecheneg language well, was able to get through their cordons, swim across the Dnieper and call governor Pretich for help. He immediately hurried to the aid of the besieged - the Pechenegs thought that it was the main troops of Svyatoslav Igorevich coming and rushed to escape, but stopped near the Lybid River and sent envoys to the governor to find out if it was really Svyatoslav coming. The voivode answered them that it was his advanced units that were in front, and the main units behind them. The Pecheneg Khan immediately became a friend and offered a gift - a saber and a horse.

While negotiations were ongoing, Svyatoslav was able to direct his troops against the invaders and drive them far back.

Pechenezh Khan Kuryu was defeated by the son of Svyatoslav

The Pechenegs were able to defeat Svyatoslav only when he was returning from the Byzantine campaign. Near the Dnieper rapids, the Pechenegs organized several ambushes and killed all the Russians. The prince died too. The Pecheneg Khan Kurya made a golden cup from his skull and showed off this trophy to other Pechenegs.

Svyastoslav's eldest son, eleven-year-old Yaropolk, under the command of his regent Svenald, avenged his deceased father in 978 and imposed a large tribute on his enemies.

Russian "Snake Shafts"

Large fortifications, the “Snake Ramparts,” were built as protection against attacks by steppe nomads. The Russians organize round-the-clock watch not only on the ramparts, but also send reconnaissance detachments far into the depths.

In 988, Prince Vladimir tries to come to an agreement with the Pechenegs, attracting some princes to his side. But two years later, other Pecheneg princes again raided the territory of Rus', causing enormous harm. The response followed immediately - Vladimir and his army completely defeated the Pechenegs. But two years later the Pechenegs again gathered their army and stood near the Trubezh River. Russian troops, warned by intelligence, were already standing on the opposite side of the river. The Pechenezh fighter challenged the Russian hero Yan to a duel. The Russian won. Then the troops, inspired by this victory, attacked the Pechenegs and put them to flight.

The last raid on Rus' under Yaroslav the Wise

After the death of Vladimir, the Pechenegs supported Svyatopolk, and Yaroslav had to achieve victory on two fronts. In the battle near the city of Lyubech, the Pechenegs did not participate against Yaroslav; they were cut off by the lake and did not want to force it.

After coming to power, Yaroslav spent a lot of time and effort strengthening borders and cities.

Finally, in 1036, the last battle took place. When Yaroslav was in Novgorod, they besieged Kyiv. But the Russian prince was able to return to the battlefield and organize a defense. The Pechenegs attacked first along the entire front. The Russian counterattack came as a surprise to them. The battle lasted the whole day, but Yaroslav was able to win. True, as historians note, with great difficulty.

Where did the Pechenegs disappear?

The remnants of the Pechenegs went deep into the steppes and never again attempted attacks on Rus'. Their leader, Prince Tirah, attacked Bulgaria, then Byzantium, but was exhausted in continuous battles and gradually his army disintegrated. Some went to serve as mercenaries in the Byzantine, Hungarian and Russian troops. Other Pechenegs moved to the southeast, where they merged with other nationalities.

Modern descendants of the Pechenegs

They became the ancestors of the Karapalkaps, Bashkirs, Gagauzes (Turkic people living in Bessarabia, Odessa region of Ukraine, on the territory of Moldova as part of the autonomous territory of Gagauzia). The Kyrgyz large family Bechen trace their origins to the Pechenegs.

Legend has it that Genghis Khan’s warriors took basturma with them on their journeys. Thinly cut slices of our dish were kept by the male warriors under the saddle of the horse, where it was dried and cooked under the weight of the rider.
Basturma recipe
Basturma is truly delicious meat, a real delicacy. But don’t think that it will take a lot of time to prepare this dish - no, half an hour at most. And it will turn out very tasty and healthy - it’s a natural product after all. Our appetizer can be prepared from any meat, but classically it is still prepared from beef. Any festive table will be decorated with basturma - meat in its natural form, without impurities or additives. Is it possible to compare it with store-bought sausages?
Ingredients:
- beef (fillet, long piece) – 300 g;
- water – 100 ml;
- salt – 500g;
- chaman (spice mixture) – 100g;
- sumac (seasoning with fruity sourness) – 50g.
How to cook basturma
So, we present to you a recipe for delicious basturma. Let's cook.
1. A long piece of beef should be cut in half lengthwise if it is thick.
2. Pour a layer of salt into a deep bowl and place the meat on it. Sprinkle salt over the beef so that it is not visible. Place in the refrigerator for 4 days. Every day we pour out the resulting juice.
3. After four days, take the meat out of the refrigerator, rinse it thoroughly under running water, even to the point of keeping it in water for 10 minutes - removing the salt.
4. Wrap the washed meat in a dry cloth and put it under pressure for another 4 days. Store in the refrigerator, change the cloth every day and turn the meat over.
5. Prepare a mixture of spices: pour the seasonings into the water, mix, let it brew for half an hour. The spices will swell and form a fragrant paste. Sumac is very popular in Iran and Turkey - there it is sprinkled on rice and it turns out to be such a popular snack.
6. Spread the prepared mixture of seasonings generously over the beef on all sides. We wrap everything in gauze, twist it with a string and hang the pieces to dry for another 4 days. Hang your basturma in a dry, well-ventilated area, out of the sun. The ideal option is near the stove. Well, in the city - just in the kitchen, just not over the stove.
The aromatic snack is ready. Cut it into thin slices when serving. Enjoy the taste of natural jerky!