A blog about cured meats
We answer the questions we get asked most: how to choose, how to store, what makes one thing different from another. No sales talk — only what is useful before you buy and at the table.
Explained
Kazy or sujuk: what is the difference
Kazy is made from horse rib meat left whole, sujuk from minced beef with mutton fat. We look at what goes in, how they taste and how to serve them.
How to
How to choose basturma and not pay for water
Four things to check: the cut, the fenugreek crust, how it springs back and how it smells. What a pale centre means and why it should not be there.
Explained
Air-dried, cold-smoked, cooked and smoked: the difference
Three ways of curing meat, three textures and three price levels. Which to take for a platter, which for sandwiches and which for every day.
How to
How to store cured meats so they last
Why cling film ruins them, how long a whole piece keeps compared with slices, whether they can be frozen and when to throw them out.
Practical
Putting a meat platter together
How much to buy per person, how many kinds to take, how to lay them out and what to put alongside so the board looks right.
Explained
What pastrami is and how it differs from roast beef
Brine, a pepper and coriander crust, smoke and slow cooking. What the pink ring under the crust means and how to serve it.
How to
How to read a sausage label
What the order of ingredients tells you, why soy and starch appear at all, whether nitrite salt is a problem and the napkin test.
Explained
Halal production: what it actually means
Not only the slaughter. Separated production lines, ingredients people forget about, and the one question worth asking a producer.
Practical
Cured meats and wine: what goes with what
Three rules that cover most pairings, specific matches for basturma, pastrami and salami, and what to pour for guests who do not drink.
Practical
Cured meat delivery in Astana: how it works
Why the cold chain decides everything, how long delivery should take, what marks an honest seller and how the cashback works.