Njeguši prosciutto and Montenegrin cured meats

Njeguši prosciutto exists because of one specific geographic accident: the village sits on a saddle between the Bay of Kotor and Mount Lovćen, where sea air and mountain air trade places every day. That daily swing in humidity dries the leg evenly, and beechwood smoke does the rest. It matures for twelve months upwards and does not tolerate shortcuts.

Alongside prosciutto you will find dry-cured bacon, pečenica, sausages, sudžuk and stelja — dried mutton from the north of the country. Ask how long it was cured, which wood was used for smoking, and whether anything beyond salt went into it. A serious producer will also tell you which farm the meat came from.