Market Stand · Air-Dried Ham
Istarski Pršut
📷 Closely related photo — Photo: Kraskras / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
Unlike most of the Balkans' smoked hams, Istria's version is never smoked at all — cured with just salt, pepper, and the peninsula's dry Bora wind.
Pork legs are salted, rubbed with pepper and bay, and hung to air-dry for over a year, producing a lighter-colored, milder ham than its smoked Dalmatian cousin. It's sliced paper-thin and sold at Istrian markets alongside local cheese.
Why it's made this way: Istria's dry bura wind suits slow air-curing without smoke, and Istrian pršut is also made from legs with the skin and fat removed, giving it its own distinct style.
More from Croatia
Part of World of Street Food — 3443 dishes from 118 countries.
Something wrong here? Tell us in the comments below.
Photo credits.