Mar-Apr

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Herder’s Kitchen
Herder’s Kitchen
By Aamera Jiwaji
Madagascar’s
Kitoza
In Madagascar, the kitoza is one tasty
traditional meat product which is widely
appreciated by both locals and foreigners.
H
olidaymakers enjoy having fun, and for
many, the holidays mean copious meals
and a lot of drinking beyond cultural and
religious norms. In Madagascar, the kitoza
is one tasty traditional meat product
which is widely appreciated by both locals
and foreigners.
It is made of beef or pork strips, 20 to
50 cm long and 2 to 4 cm wide, prepared
from fillet or thin slices. Strips of beef or
pork are cut from various pieces of meat,
added with ingredients and preservatives,
macerated (1 to 5 hours) and hung above
the fire for smoking (45 minutes to 2
hours).
The meat strips are salted then sundried
and/or smoked and are sold in
butcheries and markets. Smoked kitoza is
a tasty product, well accepted by Malagasy
people of different social classes and even
visiting tourists. Despite being very simple
(though time-consuming) to make, it is
delicious. If you want to dry the beef in
the sun, start in the morning so as to have
the maximum amount of sunlight. Kitoza
is served at breakfast with a cornmeal
porridge similar to ugali, or at dinner with
rice and a main dish.
What you need
• lean beef (round steak, chuck roast,
or flank steak), cut to a thickness of
1/4 to 1/2 inch (the thinner, the
better)
What you do
• Make sure all work surfaces and
tools are very clean. Remove any fat
or membranes from the meat.
• Cut the meat into strips, one to
two inches wide and four to six
inches long. (The meat will be easier
to cut if it is slightly frozen.)
• If it is a warm sunny day:
String the beef strips onto a clean
cord, making sure the beef strips to
not touch one another. (You might
use a very large sewing needle.)
• Hang the threaded beef in a sunny
location. Indoors in front of a sunny
window is ideal. Make sure there is
plenty of air circulation.
• After several hours the meat should
be completely dry, and dark in
color, but still pliable. If sun drying
is not possible: Place the meat on
lightly-oiled metal racks, making
sure the meat strips do not overlap
or touch one another.
• Place in an oven heated to 130
degree (F). (A smoker or dehydrator
can also be used.) Leave the oven
door open a crack. Turn strips
after three or four hours. Oven
dry for several hours, checking for
doneness as described above.
• Remove from oven and allow to
cool in a well ventilated area. (The
oven method can be used to finish
partially sun-dried meat.)
• Place the kitoza in a clean, dry,
airtight jar or container until ready
to serve. (For best results and safety,
store in the refrigerator and serve
within a day or two.)
• To serve: Briefly heat the kitoza over
a very low fire on an outdoor grill
or in a skillet, do not allow it to burn.
Serve hot, with a cornmeal porridge
(i.e., ugali, thinned with water), or
rice. Can also be served as an
appetizer.
32 Livestock East Africa March - April 2016
Learn • Breed • Earn
Learn • Breed • Earn March - April 2016 Livestock East Africa
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