Popular souvenirs from Montenegro are the national dishes of the country. Traditionally, locals prefer meat delicacies, especially prosciutto. This is smoked meat, which is served finely chopped along with herbs and cheese. You can learn how prosciutto is made from Montenegrins, but each village has its own nuances of cooking.
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Ingredients for Montenegrin prosciutto
According to classical technology, you need a pork ham. Instead, lamb or beef is suitable. The cutting of the carcass begins with the separation of the hind leg, the hoof is cut out. The rest of the fat will flow out of this place. Leave an open bone for hanging during smoking. The meat should be a little tough, with a specific pungent smell.
Before making prosciutto, you need to prepare the following products:
- Pork – 2 kg. The meat is low fat.
- Salt rock – 3 tbsp. spoons. The amount is approximate, depending on the size and volume of the ham.
- A mixture of peppers – red black.
- Whole mustard seed – 1 tbsp. the spoon.weet pepper – 1 pc.
Put the pork leg in a closed container and rub the entire surface with salt. According to the classic recipe for prosciutto, you cannot use a saline solution, the meat will be saturated with water and will not have the desired taste.
Instead of a long salting, you can put the meat under the press. The preparation time will be 2 days. After that, the ham is tied with twine and hung out in a dark room. Time – 2 weeks. The temperature does not rise above +10°C.
What is needed for cooking
And now we will find out how prshut is made in Negush, a village in Montenegro. The name of this dish is Prosciutt, such signs can be seen on the slopes and in tourist areas. You can get to Njegusi from Lovcen, Kotor or Cetinje. This village is famous for its cheeses. Each house has a smokehouse for cooking prosciutto. She is the main component and the reason for the taste of this meat dish.
The smokehouse consists of the following elements:
- the main room without an attic, where meat is hung;
- ventilation holes on the roof to remove excess smoke;
- an oven located next to the smokehouse;
- Pipes run from the stove into the room, through which smoke enters.
The composition of the fuel is kept secret; firewood from fruit trees and some coal are used for smoking. This is how the taste of prosciutto is formed. The smokehouse is open from March to May and from September to November.
How Montenegrin prosciutto is made
For real Negush prosciutto, only homemade pork is used. Meat with a small amount of fat, which is achieved by a special diet. After processing, the hams are sorted by weight and size. The larger the piece, the longer the preparatory stage. How prshut is made in a particular house is a secret. It is mandatory to have a sealed container on top of which the load is placed.
Further cooking prosciutto is done according to the following technology:
- when pressing, the open part of the ham should be at the bottom;
- liquid is removed once a week;
- pressing without adding salt, lasts two weeks;
- meat drying, temperature up to +10°С;
- hanging blanks under the ceiling of the smokehouse, they should not touch each other;
- during smoking, the smoke is mixed with air.
How is prosciutto made in wet weather? Smoking does not stop if the air humidity is normal – filling the room takes two hours. The processing time is 2-12 months. Special varieties of prosciutto are made for 2 years.
To protect against insects, the surface is rubbed with a layer of red pepper. Before use, it must be removed if the ham was in long-term storage – a thin layer of meat is removed from the surface.
Prosciutto prices in Montenegro
The cost of Negush prosciutto is 3-4 times higher than the price of pork. The reason is the duration of cooking; during salting and smoking, the meat loses up to 40% of its mass. For shopping, you can visit the markets in the resorts, but the price of prosciutto is high there. Bargaining in Montenegro is not accepted, so it is better to buy a meat delicacy in a village or town, away from the resort areas.
In supermarkets and large shops, cuts cost 3-4 euros per 100 gr. In the market for 1 kg, the merchant will ask for 11-13 Euros. It is advantageous to take a whole ham. Its weight is up to 5 kg, the price is 8 € per 1 kg. You can not buy a product in sealed packaging, you need to try the meat. If the product is taken as a gift, it can be packed before departure from Montenegro.
Transportation and storage of prosciutto
Considering how prosciutto is made and its composition, you need to prepare for the transportation of the national dish of Montenegro. The ham is placed in luggage, bag or suitcase. Before that, it is wrapped in a sealed bag of food foil or film. The smell should not penetrate outside. After arrival, it is unpacked and left for airing to remove excess moisture.
How to store:
- In the fridge. Only in food paper, the ham should “breathe”.
- There is moisture. Hang in a dark and cool place for 2-3 days. The room must be ventilated.
- Cut into thin slices before use. They do not do this in reserve, they dry quickly and lose their taste.
Since prosciutto is made for a long time, its taste and composition may vary. Two identical hams from the same smokehouse can have different tastes. Therefore, before buying this national dish of Montenegro, you need to try it.
Reviews about Montenegrin prosciutto
We decided to go to the village of Negushi and see how prosciutto is made in Montenegro. The village is clean, old houses, there are smokehouses everywhere. In every yard you can buy a national delicacy. But after an hour of walking it becomes boring.
You can go to Neshugi to taste meat or local cheese. Entertainment and attractions are not here. Prices for prosciutto are more expensive than in Budva or Kotor.
Ivan
We drove to Njegusi along the serpentine, from Kotor. The road took 45 minutes, our group was greeted warmly, they showed how the prosciutto is made, we tried different varieties. There was nothing unusual, the same can be bought at the resort.
More information about the traditions and national dishes of Montenegro is in the museum in Cetinje. We first went there, had a short tour. Then we went to Negushi.
Ludmila