Pastourmas Loucanico (Beef and Garlic Sausages) is a traditional Cypriot recipe for a classic starter or cold mezze dish of air-dried beef sausages flavoured with garlic, cumin seeds and cayenne pepper. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Cypriot version of: Beef and Garlic Sausages (Pastourmas Loucanico).
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These sausages are direct descendants of the lucaniae (Lucanian sausages) of the ancient Romans. Today, in Cyprus they are traditionally served as zesti mezedhes (hot mezzes) in bars and tavernas to accompany drinks. Interestingly, pastourmas are Armenian in origin, but the Cypriots love them so much that they have been married with the earlier classical sausage to yield something that is uniquely and quintessentially Cypriot.
Ingredients
1.5m length of beef intestines
1kg minced (ground) beef
1 whole head of garlic, cloves separated and crushed
1 tbsp cumin seeds, toasted and finely crushed
1 tbsp salt
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp freshly-ground black pepper
Method:
Wash the intestines then turn inside out and wash them thoroughly in plenty of water. Finally, rinse with 250ml of vinegar. After this hang the intestines up to dry.
In the meantime, turn the meat into a bowl and add the garlic, cumin seeds, salt, cayenne pepper and black pepper. Mix thoroughly to combine then set aside to infuse for 30 minutes.
After this time, pack the meat mixture into the beef intestines. Now fold the intestines over to form two parallel lines. Tie the free ends of the intestines tightly with string then tie the fold in the middle. Now tie off individual sausages at 10cm lengths all the way along the beef intestines.
Using a sharp fork, pierce all the way along the intestines. Cover with a thick towel then place on a wooden board and set another wooden board on top. Set weights on top of this and press the pastourmas so that the excess moisture drains out of the sausages. Leave in the refrigerator for between 6 and 8 days to drain.
After this time, hang the sausages out in the sun to air dry for between 4 and 5 days. After this time store in a cool place.
To cook, cut off a sausage, make a slit in the skin with a sharp knife then cook whole on a barbecue. Alternatively, slice into thin rounds and fry in a pan with scrambled eggs.
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