Cured pork tenderloin

Spain

In Spanish cuisine, lomo embuchado is a dry-cured meat made from pork tenderloin, sometimes called caña de lomo or just lomo. It is similar to cecina, but with pork instead of beef.

Italy

In Italian cuisine, there are many variants of lonza stagionata. Capocolla is very similar, but made from the neck muscle rather than the tenderloin, and often stuffed into a casing.

Cyprus

In Cypriot cuisine, lountza (Greek: λούντζα) is made of pork tenderloin, which is first brined and marinated in red wine, then dried and smoked.

It may be sold immediately after smoking, or aged. As it ages, it becomes harder and more strongly flavored. It may be spiced with coriander.

Lountza may be served cooked or uncooked with alcoholic drinks such as zivania or wine. Grilled lountza served with other Cypriot foods such as halloumi and kefalotyri cheese often appears in meze platters. Sandwiches made out of grilled lountza and halloumi are favorite fast food snacks in Cyprus.

Greece

In the northern Cyclades islands of Greece (Mykonos, Syros, Andros, Tinos), louza is preserved pork loin.

Bosnia, Croatia, Serbia and Montenegro

In Bosnia, Croatia, Serbia and Montenegro smoked, cured loins, tenderloins and shoulder blade are called "pečenica" (literally "that which is baked") and/or "vješalica" (literally "that which is hung"). They are commonly made of pork but beef varieties are also not uncommon. The terms (respectively) refer to the process of smoking over heat and being hung on hooks above the source of the smoke while they're left to cure. The cuts are universally prepared only during the winter and are considered winter food. The latter of two terms is more commonly used for the shoulder blade cut, whereas the tenderloin cut is sometimes also called "slatka (sweet) pečenica".

Unlike Mediterranean-style cured meats like prosciutto, pancetta and buđola (capocolla) traditionally made in dryer, littoral and near-littoral southern parts of these countries, smoke-cured loins are traditionally cured meats from the inner continental regions and harsh, freezing continental winters are a big part of curing specifics and flavor.

The cuts are first brined in solution of salt and garlic (locally "salamura"), to enhance flavor and help preservation, commonly together with continental-style bacon ("slanina" locally), lardon (also called "slanina", sometimes "white bacon" or "soap bacon") and ribs. Then they are cured by hanging them in freezing winter winds, over a smoldering lumber (smoke being essential part of the flavor) for typically up to two months, because the freezing continental temperatures and lack of insects in the winter help curing and preservation. The smolder is occasionally extinguished completely to expose the meat fully to the freezing wind.

The flavor is, as a consequence, much more intensely smoked and garlic tinged than is the case with Mediterranean-style cured meat and the cuts are typically dryer and harder. They are typically served as cold cuts, as part of traditional meze, but are also used as flavoring for various cooked dishes.

Etymology

All of the names above come directly or indirectly from Latin lumbus 'loin', apart from the Slavic terms from Balkans region which are derived from the actual preparation/curing method.