Kavourmas (from Turkish 'kavurma' — to fry slowly) is the Anatolian-Greek confit-pork-or-beef brought to northern Greece by Constantinopolitan refugees in 1922. Cubed pork (sometimes beef, buffalo, lamb or goat) is slowly cooked in its own rendered fat with cinnamon, clove, allspice, and bay until the water cooks off and the meat is preserved by being submerged in fat. Kept in jars for months, fried by the slice with eggs for breakfast or stirred into rice pilafs.
Cured pork preserved in its own fat — slice into the jar, the meat is dense and salty, the fat is white and silken. Eaten on bread with mustard, or melted into eggs for breakfast.
Pork is salt-cured 5 days, then slow-cooked in its own fat at 80°C for 6 hours — the same confit technique used in Gascony. The fat creates an oxygen-free seal that lets the meat keep for months without refrigeration.
Variations
Pontic kavourmas uses pork; Anatolian version uses lamb; Black Sea Greek refugees brought the technique to Macedonia where it stayed.
On the Palate
Where Kavourmas sits in the Greek flavor cloud
Ingredients
How it's made
5 steps · 6 hours
- 15 min
Cube 1.5 kg beef chuck into 3cm pieces.
- 23 min
In a heavy pot, combine the beef with 500g beef tallow (or lard), 200ml water, 1 cinnamon stick, 6 whole cloves, 8 allspice berries, 3 bay leaves, 2 tbsp salt.
- 3180 min
Simmer uncovered over very low heat 3-4 hours, stirring occasionally — the water evaporates first, then the meat slowly cooks in the rendered fat.
Watch outSimmer very low and uncovered — the water boils off first, then the meat quietly cooks in its own rendered fat; keep it barely bubbling so nothing scorches.
- 45 min
Test: when fat runs clear (no more bubbling water) and meat is fully tender, the kavourmas is done.
Watch outIt's done when the fat runs clear and stops sputtering water and the meat pulls apart tender — cloudy, spitting fat means there's still moisture cooking off.
- 58 min
Pack the meat into a sterilized jar, pouring the fat over to fully submerge it. Refrigerated, keeps 2+ months. To serve, fry sliced kavourmas with eggs or fold into hot rice.
