Mongolian cured meat — borts

During summer and autumn mongolians are preparing for the arrival of a long and cold winter. They insulate the ger, provide supply of food for livestock and, of course, food for themselves. The most important and favourite dishes are still dishes with meat, so preparing for a winter season you need to keep meat from spoiling.

At every mongolian supermarket you can find different packages with the same label «borts».  No, it’s not a mistake, not a typo and not the name of the traditional Ukranian soup «borscht», this is dried meat. The word «borts» comes from the Mongolian «bortslokh» — «dry meat». This dried beef or lamb (sometimes camel meat is used), cut into long stripes. Before preparing, a layer of fat is removed from the meat, since fat deteriorates during drying, and tendons. Then the stripes are hung on ropes in a well-ventilated area. In this case, the distance between the blanks should be 15-20 cm.

There are two types of borts: made in winter by drying in dry cold air and dried in the summer in the sun. Before eating, such meat must be soaked in water for 1-3 hours (see the exact time on the package), and then cooked. By the way, the Mongols advise giving wrestlers as a souvenir.