Dry-cured ham from Dalmatia and Istria, sliced paper-thin. The Dalmatian version is smoked and the Istrian is not, and both are dried in the bura, the cold dry wind that comes down off the mountains to the sea.
Curing a whole leg over a year depends on the bura’s temperature and humidity holding steady, and a fault deep in the muscle is invisible until the ham is opened.
What goes into it
- a whole pork leg, bone in for Dalmatian, boned for Istrian
- coarse sea salt
- beech smoke, for the Dalmatian style
How it is made
The leg is salted and pressed for two to three weeks, the salt drawing water out and penetrating the muscle. It is then hung where the bura reaches it, sometimes with light beech smoke, and dries for a year or more while it loses over a third of its weight. Istrian pršut is rubbed with pepper and herbs and dried without smoke.
How long it takes: twelve to eighteen months
How it is eaten
Shaved thin with Pag cheese, olives and bread, or with figs and melon.
History
Dry-cured ham of Dalmatia and Istria; the Dalmatian version is smoked and the Istrian is not, and both dry in the bura wind.
Frequently asked questions
What is Pršut?
Pršut is a charcuterie & cured from Croatia: bora-dried Dalmatian ham sliced thin. Dry-cured ham of Dalmatia and Istria; the Dalmatian version is smoked and the Istrian is not, and both dry in the bura wind.
How is Pršut made?
The leg is salted and pressed for two to three weeks, the salt drawing water out and penetrating the muscle. It is then hung where the bura reaches it, sometimes with light beech smoke, and dries for a year or more while it loses over a third of its weight. Istrian pršut is rubbed with pepper and herbs and dried without smoke. It takes twelve to eighteen months.
Can I make Pršut at home?
No, and the atlas gives no method for it. Curing a whole leg over a year depends on the bura’s temperature and humidity holding steady, and a fault deep in the muscle is invisible until the ham is opened.
What goes into Pršut?
A whole pork leg, bone in for Dalmatian, boned for Istrian, coarse sea salt, beech smoke, for the Dalmatian style.
How is Pršut eaten?
Shaved thin with Pag cheese, olives and bread, or with figs and melon.
