Tsamarella is the Cypriot sun-dried goat meat — lean goat leg heavily salted, then sun-dried for days into a dense, intensely savory, jerky-like cured meat. A Slow Food Presidium product, it is made for centuries in the Troodos mountain villages and eaten as a meze, alongside lountza and halloumi. The use of goat (not pork) makes it shared across the island's Greek and Turkish communities.
Tsamarella is a Slow Food Presidium product — officially recognized as a Cypriot tradition made 'for centuries' in the Troodos mountain villages. It is made from lean goat meat (leg or round), heavily salted and sun-dried for 5-10 days until dense and hard. Unlike lountza and hiromeri (which are pork, smoked, and wine-cured), tsamarella uses goat, making it acceptable to both Greek-Cypriot and Turkish-Cypriot communities (the Turkish name is samarella). A related product, apohtin, is the same method with the bones left in. Tsamarella was historically a way to preserve meat through the hot Cypriot summer without refrigeration; today it is a prized meze delicacy.
A thin slice of dark, dense, intensely savory dried goat meat — like a concentrated jerky, with a deep mineral goat flavor and a heavy salt edge. The texture is chewy, almost leathery; a small piece goes a long way. Eaten with halloumi, olives, and a glass of red wine, it is the most ancient preserved meat of Cyprus.
The goat meat must be very lean (fat goes rancid in drying); the leg or round is deboned, cut into manageable pieces, and rubbed heavily with coarse salt. The salt draws out moisture (the first preservation stage) and seasons. After 24 hours of salting, the meat is rinsed, then sun-dried in the dry, hot Cypriot mountain air for 5-10 days, turning daily, until it is dense and hard. The sun + wind + salt combination preserves it indefinitely. Eaten thin-sliced, raw.
Variations
The related apohtin leaves the bones in; some add oregano to the salt; the drying time varies by season; some lightly smoke it.
On the Palate
Where Tsamarella sits in the Cypriot flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 10How it's made
8 steps · 1 hour active + 6 days 23 hours waiting
- 18 min
Take a 1.5 kg lean goat leg; bone it; cut into 3 pieces.
- 25 min
Rub heavily with 150 g coarse salt, ensuring all surfaces are covered.
Watch outRub coarse salt over every surface — the salt pulls the moisture out; miss a spot and it can rot in drying.
- 31440 min
Place on a rack; refrigerate 24 hours, turning once.
- 45 min
Rinse the salt off; pat dry.
- 55 min
Hang the pieces in direct sun and wind in a dry, ventilated place (or use a food dehydrator at 50°C).
- 67200 min
Dry 5-10 days, turning daily, until the meat is dense, hard, and dark.
Watch outDry until the meat is dense, hard, and dark all the way through — any soft, moist patch will spoil.
- 71 min
Store in a cool dry place; it keeps for months.
- 82 min
To serve: slice paper-thin against the grain; eat with halloumi, olives, and bread.
Watch outSlice paper-thin against the grain — cut thick or with the grain and it's too tough to chew.
