Recipe
Ingredients This meat product is obtained by coating carcass-cut meat from male Ankara goats—weighing 25 kg or more, having completed physical development, castrated after one year of age, and aged four years or older—with a mixture of crushed garlic and ground fenugreek seeds, followed by sun-drying under suitable conditions. Distinctive Characteristics Ankara Erkeç Pastırması has four principal distinctive characteristics, as outlined below: The meat used for Ankara Erkeç Pastırması is obtained exclusively from the Ankara goat breed. The animals used are castrated goats whose reproductive capacity has been halted and which are therefore not used for breeding purposes. In Ankara Province, Ankara goats are predominantly raised throughout the year in all districts where the breed is intensively cultivated, feeding mainly on pasturelands and shrubland areas. Consequently, the regional flora imparts a distinctive flavor and aroma to the goat meat and, in turn, to the pastırma produced from it. One of the most significant components of Ankara Erkeç Pastırması, fenugreek (çemen), is preferably obtained from fenugreek seeds cultivated in Ayaş and surrounding districts, particularly Sinanlı Village. Fenugreek sourced from this region gives Ankara Erkeç Pastırması its characteristic fragrance and taste.