From Petrijevci to Veliškovci and Gat, on a stretch of just 20 kilometres, you’ll find a concentration of some of the finest kulen producers in Croatia. “Valpovo’s kulen makers give each piece their full attention. Before it matures, it passes through their hands several times,” praises Prof. Goran Kušec.

Is there a secret recipe for the best kulen (or kulin)? Do the great masters of this Slavonia, Baranja, and Syrmia delicacy keep their little, closely guarded secrets? That’s a question many lovers of kulen would love to have answered.

We know that making kulen starts with top-quality pork from mature pigs. The meat is minced and mixed with salt, hot and sweet paprika, and garlic, then packed into pork casings. The filled sausage, at this stage still a semi-finished product, is gently smoked and left to age for several months. Only then does it earn the name kulen.

Stacking up the awards

It sounds simple, yet this most prized of pork products hides countless details that determine whether a kulen will be decorated with the epithet good, very good, excellent, or truly exceptional. These aren’t exactly trade secrets: most producers are happy to share their know-how with anyone eager to learn. Still, even the greatest masters will tell you – just as top winemakers do – that a perfect kulen, like a perfect wine, simply doesn’t exist.

Yet, according to the country’s leading tasting competitions over the past two decades, there is an area in the east of Croatia where the best kulen is consistently produced year after year,. This region is known as Valpovština. From Petrijevci to Veliškovci and Gat, within a mere 20-kilometre radius, you’ll find around ten of the most awarded producers.

Heading east toward Valpovo, the first stop is Gat, home to perhaps the most decorated producer of them all, Slađan Novosel. The Novosel family has earned over 200 awards at various competitions. Their advantage lies in a fully integrated process: they raise their own pigs and grow their own feed. So when a Kulen Novosel leaves their modern aging chamber, it’s truly a “field-to-table” product.

In Valpovo itself, top-quality producers include Josip Gazdić, Nikola Barišić, and Ivica Brkić, while nearby Vlatko Šovagović and Damir Perak from Ladimirevci, Zvonko Barić from Nard, and Zlatko Birovljević from Petrijevci complete this elite circle.

It’s all about the people

According to Prof. Goran Kušec, PhD, one of Croatia’s leading kulen experts, consultant, and head of judging panels at national kulen competitions, the real secret lies in the people themselves. “I believe the key to successful production is the people,” he says. “I know the kulen makers of Valpovština, they work with incredible love and attention. They possess great knowledge and experience, often built over generations.

They understand that every small detail matters, and they give each kulen personal care. Before it’s fully cured, it passes through their hands several times. Today, there are almost no secrets left in production, and what’s remarkable is how openly these producers share their knowledge with others. They are also deeply rooted in tradition,” explains Prof. Kušec, a former student of the late Professors Antun Petričević and Krsto Benčević, two of the greatest authorities on kulen.

The Valpovo school of kulen

Nikola Barišić, a kulen producer for over 20 years and mentor for the next generation, speaks of a true “Valpovo school of kulen” in Željko Garmaz’s book Kulen – Croatia’s Finest Meat Delicacy. The founders of this “school,” Josip Gazdić and Željko Švajhofer, laid its foundations decades ago within the former Valpovo meat industry.

Today, the alumni of this Valpovo school of kulen, clustered within a 20-kilometre radius, are the driving force behind one of Slavonia’s strongest brands. Kulen remains the most valuable product made from pork and the very pinnacle of traditional meat craftsmanship.

Written by: Igor Mikulić