Whole pork legs salt-cured, wood-smoked and dried in the karst bura wind for 12 to 18 months, then sliced paper-thin and served at room temperature with olive oil, hard cheese and bread.
Where to eat it: 4 restaurants across 1 city.
Dalmatian pršut has been produced in the karst hinterland villages of Drniš, Sinj and Imotski for centuries, distinguished from the Istrian version by its wood-smoke step. Drniš pršut holds protected status. Split konobas serve it as the opening plate of every meal; Sperun Eat and Drink and Bokeria Wine Cellar both run notable boards.
Tip from the editors. Never refrigerate sliced pršut; eat it the same day. Slice across the grain at a slight angle so each slice contains both lean meat and the white fat veins.
Sperun Eat and Drink just below Veli Varos in Split is a small-terrace konoba pouring local wine and grilling Adriatic fish daily, kept open through midnight.
OrderWhole grilled squid with chard and potatoes.
TipClosed Mondays; book ahead for the terrace in July and August or arrive at 19:00 for a walk-up table.
Bokeria's wine room in Split shifts the Old Town restaurant into a wine-bar mood after 22:00, pouring Plavac mali and Posip by the glass into the early hours.
OrderPostup Plavac mali by the glass with the cured-meat board.
DrinkPlavac mali by the glass
FoodCured meats and small plates from the grill
TipSit at the cellar end of the dining room; the by-the-bottle list runs to around 200 Croatian labels.
MoNIKa's Wine Bar on Ban Mladenova in Split's Old Town pours wines from the family's Zrnovnica estate alongside Dalmatian cheese and prsut boards in a small.
OrderMonika's wine flight with the paski sir and prsut board.
DrinkCroatian wine flight by the glass
FoodPaski sir and prsut boards with home-baked bread
TipThe room is small; book ahead for the evening sitting or arrive at 17:00 when the bar opens for the night service.
Konoba Varos in Split's Veli Varos serves a sturdy konoba lunch with pasticada and grilled fish keeping most plates between €12 and €22. At Ban Mladenova 9.
OrderPasticada with gnocchi (marenda special when on).
TipThe marenda lunch board (mid-morning, 10:00-12:00) is the cheapest sitting.
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