Eat like a local
Imagine yourself on the mountain slopes where heart villagers collect skorup, a deliciously creamy treat, and let it slowly curdle to make cheese, or by the fireplace in the house where villagers carefully prepare raštan (greens) or pogača iz crepulje, a special bread cooked in the ashes of the fire. As you read this, can you begin to sniff the aromas coming from our grandmothers’ kitchens? Come and enjoy all of Montenegro's aromas and flavors!
Eat like a local
Quick overview:
Seasons
Top activities
Best fit
Facts:
Nature's wealth:
- Montenegro's ecosystems provide ideal conditions for the breeding of high-quality goat, lamb, veal, and river/lake fish (bleak, carp, trout, eel and others).
- The Zeta plain has red soil, which is ideal for growing fruits and vegetables. Vine cultivation is successful in this area, as evidenced by Europe's largest "one-piece" vineyard, located in Ćemovsko Field.
Don’t miss it!
On Skadar Lake, how do you prepare smoked dried carp?
Allow the cleaned carp to marinate in salt for 24h. Wash the carp the next day to remove larger grains of sea salt. After that, smoke it for another 24h. Preferably, use a light wild pomegranate wood or willow wood for the fire under the carp to achieve a reddish meat color and tantalizing aroma. Smoked carp is cooked in fresh water with laurel leaf and pepper, then topped with a special marinade before serving.
Traditional Montenegrin dishes from rivers and lakes
Plums, quinces, and apples baked with carp on a bed of onions...hungry yet, as you imagine the flavor of this dish, popularly known as "carp in a pan"? Don't miss the smoked dried carp, tossed in an olive oil marinade with garlic, parsley, and fresh lemon juice.
Which fish is small, endemic to Skadar Lake, and a real treat when eaten dried and smoked? It's the famous common bleak! You don't have to clean the fish when you fry it, and you can eat it with your favorite homemade salad.
Additional freshwater dishes
One signature dish freshwater fish lovers are sure to go for is baked eel over rice. This dish turns into a true delicacy when combined with onions, carrots, prunes, and hot peppers.
Have you heard about the delicious Montenegrin trout? This fish, fried the perfection and topped a parsley, garlic, and olive oil sauce, has long assumed a prominent position on the Montenegrin plate.
Meat specialties smoked with beech wood and dried in an interplay of mountain and sea air
For all meat lovers, we highly recommend Njeguški pršut, made from quality pork ham; Njeguški sausage, made from pork and hard, back-fat bacon; košet, or dried mutton leg, and kastradina or dried mutton.
Want to uncover the secret to the unbelievable flavours of these iconic foods? It’s in the climate, a unique duet between sea and mountain air that gives the meat its signature aroma, along with the production site’s elevation - between 500 to 1,500 meters above sea level.
Don't forget to try mouth-watering lamb steaks simmered in milk or roasted under the sač (special iron lid), if you find yourself in the Montenegro. This is a special treat.
Unmissable Montenegrin specialties - cheeses
Who could say no to Montenegrin cheeses, especially since their recipes have been a closely guarded secret for a long time? Pljevlja, Njeguški, and lisnati - or layered - cheese, as well as prljo cheese and skorup, will delight you.
Have you tried honey wine? The drink that Montenegrins are proud of, medovina (mead), is not to be missed. Other must-try treats include red wine, homemade brandy, dried figs, blueberries, cherries, olives, and other delicious treats.
See what other flavors and aromas Montenegro has to offer:
Culinarics
Food routes
Want to try cheeses such as smoked Njeguški, aged Pljevaljski, masni kučki, Kolašin’s famous lisnati (layered), and krajinski fresh goat cheese, and walk through some of Montenegro's most beautiful regions? Do you want to finish the story with literal liquid gold - honey? Then set off on your food journey along well-known Montenegrin roads.
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Culinarics
Wine roads
The wine cellar 30 meters below ground in a 356-meter-long tunnel, or the rustic atmosphere of old stone houses and inherited traditions, will surely captivate you. Find out more.
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