The following highlights some of the popular Traditional Montenegrin Foods. If you manage to be in an Montenegrin restaurant or you are visiting Montenegro, I recommend the following:
1. Montenegrin Lamb in Milk
Montenegrin milk lamb is a traditional dish found only in northern Montenegro. The lamb is slow-cooked in milk with potatoes, carrots, fennel, rosemary, garlic, parsley and spices. Traditionally, the meal is cooked in sacks over coals, and the meat becomes tender and tender.
2. Njegusi Prosciutto
The village of Njegusi is the home of Montenegrin ham. Every day, tourists and locals go to the village of Njegusi to taste Njegusi ham along the winding road that winds through 25 forks. The entire hind leg is soaked in salt for three weeks and then dried in the war for another three weeks. The finishing touch is four months of smoking, during which the fire must be constantly lit and tended. The precious fruit is sliced and eaten with local cheese or cooked with cabbage.
3. Skadar Lake Carp
Although food in Montenegro largely follows the seasons and the geography of the country, with fish more present on the coast, the country also has some wonderful inland lakes that provide an additional source of fish. Lake Skadar has delicious freshwater food such as trout or carp, best enjoyed grilled with olive oil and some tomatoes. Find a lakeside restaurant and order this lake delicacy. This is as fresh as fish gets.
4. Buzara
It is a very typical dish and is eaten all along the coast of the country. The dish is made with seafood, usually prawns, but also squid or any other, which is cooked in a sauce. The white buzara version is cooked with white wine, while the red version uses red wine and tomato.
5. Ispod Saca
This is a dish most commonly found in the mountains of Montenegro and much less at sea. It is a heavy meat-based dish cooked in an iron skillet covered with a hollowed-out lid called a sack and hot coals. The meat is cooked slowly until it is so tender that it literally falls off the bone. It’s so delicious that I’m salivating just thinking about it now. You definitely can’t miss this Montenegrin dish. Ispod Saca can be made with various types of meat, but most commonly it is made with lamb, roasted potatoes, onions and maybe some tomatoes.
6. Cevapi
You won’t find western takeaways like McDonald’s in Montenegro. But you will see cevabdzinicas on almost every street corner. Cevabdzinicas sell cevapi, small sausages made from minced pork and beef. These delicious morsels of meat are best served with a cold home-grown tomato and cucumber salad.
7. Burek
If you are in Montenegro and want to have some breakfast, don’t expect to find toast or cereal, but Burek. You can go to the bakery and buy this pastry filled with cheese, meat, spinach or potatoes. An oily, crunchy layer of dough gives way to a delicious filling. Add a bottle of natural yoghurt and you have the best Balkan breakfast.
8. Kacamak
This doughy dish is a meal in itself and is made from wheat, barley, corn or buckwheat flour and served with cheese and sour milk. When cheese is added to this dish it is called ‘wet kacamak’ or simply ‘kajmak’. This dish must be stirred for a long time with a wooden spoon. This makes the dish taste even better. Kacamak is very popular among people living in villages, as it is a good source of energy for the hard work they do.
9. Njeguski Steak
This is a dish that reminds me of French cordon blue. It is a pork steak that is stuffed with kaymak cheese and smoked ham and often breaded and fried. So imagine how indulgent and filling this dish is. The steak is usually served with fries, vegetables or chips. The dish was invented in 1956 by the famous private chef of the former Yugoslav president Milovan Mica Stojanovic and called Karadordeva steak. Today it is one of the most popular dishes in Serbia and also in Montenegro.
10. Black Risotto
Black risotto is very popular at sea. It is cooked with squid ink and other types of seafood, usually shrimp or crab. It is very tasty and creamy, despite the colour which may put some people off, it is popular for leaving the diets completely black.
If you found this list useful, here are some more Traditional European Foods to try out on my Pinterest channel.