''Elenski but'' ( or (more precisely but less commonly), , sometimes translated as ''Elena round'' or ''Elena leg'') is a
dry-cured ham
Ham is pork from a leg cut that has been preserved by wet or dry curing, with or without smoking."Bacon: Bacon and Ham Curing" in '' Chambers's Encyclopædia''. London: George Newnes, 1961, Vol. 2, p. 39. As a processed meat, the term '' ...
from the town of
Elena, in northern
Bulgaria
Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...
,
and a popular delicacy throughout the country. The
meat
Meat is animal Tissue (biology), tissue, often muscle, that is eaten as food. Humans have hunted and farmed other animals for meat since prehistory. The Neolithic Revolution allowed the domestication of vertebrates, including chickens, sheep, ...
has a specific taste and can be preserved in the course of several years, owing much to the special process of making and the climatic conditions of the part of
Stara Planina
The Balkan mountain range is located in the eastern part of the Balkan peninsula in Southeastern Europe. It is conventionally taken to begin at the peak of Vrashka Chuka on the border between Bulgaria and Serbia. It then runs for about , first ...
where Elena is located.
Preparation
The legs and quarters of the pig, traditionally singed and scraped, are taken from the body. Later the redundant parts are removed, so that the remaining meat is protected by hide or the skin that surrounds the
muscle tissue
Muscle is a soft tissue, one of the four basic types of animal tissue. There are three types of muscle tissue in vertebrates: skeletal muscle, cardiac muscle, and smooth muscle. Muscle tissue gives skeletal muscles the ability to contract. ...
. After the legs are shaped, they are well salted and put at the bottom of a ''postav'', a special type of barrel designed for the occasion. The delicacy traditionally remains in
salt
In common usage, salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl). When used in food, especially in granulated form, it is more formally called table salt. In the form of a natural crystalline mineral, salt is also known as r ...
for 40 days, then is taken out and left to dry.
Preservation technologies
There are various preservation technologies used to prepare ''elenski'', but these typically vary considerably from family to family, as opposed to regionally. In the past, the rounds were put in well trampled upon
maize
Maize (; ''Zea mays''), also known as corn in North American English, is a tall stout grass that produces cereal grain. It was domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago from wild teosinte. Native American ...
meal or processed with lime milk. The meat could also be stored in specially sewn bags of
cheesecloth
Cheesecloth is a loose-woven gauze-like carded cotton cloth used primarily in cheesemaking and cooking. The fabric has holes large enough to quickly allow liquids (like whey) to percolate through the fabric, but small enough to retain solids lik ...
or wooden containers with thick nets instead of walls (''muharnik''), but as a rule were placed somewhere airy, where the clear mountain air could aid the drying and conservation, and also in order to prevent
houseflies laying eggs on the rounds.
In many of the small towns around Elena, the rounds were in the past left in conservation in the rooms where the daily house fire was lit, so that a certain amount of
smoking
Smoking is a practice in which a substance is combusted, and the resulting smoke is typically inhaled to be tasted and absorbed into the bloodstream of a person. Most commonly, the substance used is the dried leaves of the tobacco plant, whi ...
could be achieved in order to add smoked flavour.
See also
*
Prosciutto
Prosciutto ( ; ), also known as ''prosciutto crudo'', is an uncooked, unsmoked, and dry-cured ham. It is usually served thinly sliced.
Several regions in Italy have their own variations of ''prosciutto crudo'', each with degrees of protected ...
and ''
jamón serrano'' – similar delicacies
*
Bulgarian cuisine
Bulgarian cuisine is part of the cuisine of Eastern Europe, sharing characteristics with other Balkan cuisines. Bulgarian cooking traditions are diverse because of geographical factors such as climatic conditions suitable for a variety of veget ...
*
List of hams
*
List of dried foods
This is a list of dried foods. Food drying is a method of food preservation that works by removing water from the food, which inhibits the growth of bacteria and has been practiced worldwide since ancient times to preserve food. Where or when d ...
*
List of smoked foods
This is a list of smoked foods. Smoking (cooking), Smoking is the process of seasoning, flavoring, cooking, or food preservation, preserving food by exposing it to smoke from burning or smoldering material, most often wood. Foods have been smoke ...
References
External links
Short Journey.bg article on elenski but, featuring a couple of pictures
{{ham
Bulgarian cuisine
Balkan mountains
Ham
Dried meat
Smoked meat