A smoked, dry-cured pork leg from the Prekmurje plain, salted and dried in the region’s continental air. It holds EU protected geographical indication status.
Cold smoking holds raw meat for weeks at a temperature too low to kill anything, so the cure carries the whole burden, and this is a PGI made in one defined region.
What goes into it
- a pork leg, trimmed to a pear shape
- coarse salt
- hardwood smoke
How it is made
The leg is trimmed to the characteristic pear shape, dry-salted for two to three weeks and rested cold so the salt equalises, then cold-smoked over hardwood for several weeks. It dries in the continental air of the plain — hot summers, cold winters, unlike the wind-dried Karst hams — for a total of at least six months.
How long it takes: six to twelve months
How it is eaten
Sliced thin with bread, horseradish and pumpkin-seed oil.
History
Salted, smoked over hardwood and dried in the continental air of Prekmurje; it holds EU protected geographical indication status.
Frequently asked questions
What is Prekmurska šunka?
Prekmurska šunka is a charcuterie & cured from Slovenia: smoked, dry-cured pork leg from the Prekmurje plain. Salted, smoked over hardwood and dried in the continental air of Prekmurje; it holds EU protected geographical indication status.
How is Prekmurska šunka made?
The leg is trimmed to the characteristic pear shape, dry-salted for two to three weeks and rested cold so the salt equalises, then cold-smoked over hardwood for several weeks. It dries in the continental air of the plain — hot summers, cold winters, unlike the wind-dried Karst hams — for a total of at least six months. It takes six to twelve months.
Can I make Prekmurska šunka at home?
No, and the atlas gives no method for it. Cold smoking holds raw meat for weeks at a temperature too low to kill anything, so the cure carries the whole burden, and this is a PGI made in one defined region.
What goes into Prekmurska šunka?
A pork leg, trimmed to a pear shape, coarse salt, hardwood smoke.
How is Prekmurska šunka eaten?
Sliced thin with bread, horseradish and pumpkin-seed oil.
