The best Pastourmas since 1922

In our store you will find two different types of pastrourma. One is made of pure, lean veal meat, from shank. The other type is made of short loin ribs – steak and it is particularly preferred from the “devotees”.

The pastourma is an oriental delicacy which the Avakian family knows to make with great artistry and a lot of effort for 93 years.
It is a myth that the best pastourma is made from camel meat. We are Armenians and always make it from veal meat.
A good pastourma must be tender, this is why we make it from chosen top quality veal meet.

The manufacturing process of pastourma lasts about one month, it is made according to the traditional method that is aged in air and not in ovens (it is air-cured). This is how we make it. In older times, it was hanged in open air. Now we use special rooms – ripeners and follow very strict hygiene standards, HACCP. After the meats are cut and salted, we leave them for some days and then we wash it several times to completely remove the salt.
Then, we hang them in an airy space in controlled temperature conditions, to dry. Lastly, they are placed in a press, for the extraction of all liquids.

In the last stage they are coated with chemen, which is a paste made from fenougreek flour, garlic, red pepper and cumin. This paste preserves the pastourma and adds the characteristic aroma and the intense flavor.
Its main component is the fenugreek, a very old flavor from the family of fava beans. It is considered to be particularly beneficial to health and in recent years proved to be antidiabetic.

The good pastourma:
Ιs cut into thin slices, that brings out the distinguish flavor.
The best piece of meat and the most expensive is considered to be the “short loin fillet”. There is also another type which is made from shanks.
We understand that a piece of pastourma is made from “short loin” by the intramuscular fat that appears on the long side of a slice.
This fat is absent when it is produced from shanks.