THE SAVE-FOR-LATER VERSION
INGREDIENTS
1 kilogram of meat
500 grams of the animal’s fat salt
INSTRUCTIONS
Get a steel pot and heat it up before adding the meat. Then braise it until it releases its juices by stirring occasionally. The juices will produce a kind of foam that you’ll want to remove with the help of a spoon or ladle. The more you can remove, the better. Close the lid of the pot and let the meat cook for about 40-45 minutes on low heat to cook down the liquid. If the liquid of the meat is not sufficient to cook it through you might want to add a little water. Add salt to your taste once the meat is done.
In a separate pot melt the fat of the animal slowly. Some people swear by tail fat but that is not necessary. Remove any pieces that are not fat from the pot. Then pour this over the meat and cook it together for about two to three minutes. Turn the heat off and let the meat mix rest for five minutes. Now it is your choice to put it in any container you like. It is preferred to make it round here in Turkey so many cut a plastic bottle’s neck off, add the mix and let it cool to room temperature. Cover it completely with a plastic bag or something similar and let it cool in the fridge overnight. The next day you can remove it from the bottle and cut it into portions to your liking. Pack the portions and keep them in the freezer for however long you like (just not years!).
What to make with the storagefriendly kavurma?
You can put this meat in any dish you like that could go well with meat. One favorite of mine is to get a thin slice of the meat and first melt off the excess fat (to be used in other food) and once the meat is warm, crack a few eggs over it. With minimal effort you get yourself a protein-rich and quite delicious breakfast, especially if you have guests over.
Another favorite is to again unfreeze the meat and warm it up again on a pan and pair it with rice. But to make the presentation really fancy you can wet a small bowl and put a few spoonfuls of the meat into that. Now top that off with some rice and press it down a bit. Turn the bowl upside down and you get yourself a nice and clean presentation.
But why stay limited to that? You can enhance the meat with some other vegetables by roasting some onions, peppers and even tomatoes to get a bit of acidity into the mix. Cooking them in the fat of the meat will give it an extra edge and if seasonings are added to your liking you can serve this pretty much with anything as a side. Not a very Turkish take would be cooked potatoes as they are great to soak up the juices the vegetables will release.
Get your hands on some pizza dough (or if you are in Turkey you can just ask your bakery for one bread dough) roll it out, and with the addition of some onion and your kavurma, you’ll get yourself a pide, or a Turkish pizza of sorts. You can even chop the kavurma a bit smaller to get more out of the meat and mix in other veggies as described beforehand. Adding a bit of cheese can’t hurt either but that depends on your taste as well.