Croatian Meat

Peka

Name: Peka
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 2 h 30 min
Total time: 3 h
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: Croatian
Ingredients: 1.5kg (3.3 lbs) bone-in lamb shoulder or veal, cut into large pieces; 800g (1.75 lbs) waxy potatoes, halved or quartered; 2 bell peppers (one red, one yellow), roughly chopped; 3 medium tomatoes, quartered; 2 medium onions, cut into wedges; 6 cloves garlic, unpeeled; 200ml (¾ cup) dry white wine; 80ml (⅓ cup) extra-virgin olive oil; 3 sprigs fresh rosemary; 4 sprigs fresh thyme; 2 bay leaves; 1 tsp sweet paprika; Salt and coarsely ground black pepper; Fresh parsley, chopped, for serving

Slow-cooked lamb and vegetables under a heavy iron bell — Croatia's oldest cooking method, unchanged for centuries.

Taught to us by Captain Marko, Brač🇭🇷 Dalmatia

[ Peka lifted at the table, steam rising, Dalmatian coast evening ]

DifficultyIntermediate

Serves6

Prep30 min

Cook2 hr 30 min

Total3 hr

The Story

The Story Behind This Recipe

Captain Marko grew up on the island of Brač, where peka is not a recipe but a practice — something you prepare in the morning and return to at dusk, something that requires patience and fire and the right equipment. The peka (the word means both the dish and the dome-shaped iron lid) traps the heat from the embers piled on top, creating a sealed environment where everything cooks in its own juices for two to three hours. Nothing else does quite what peka does.

We eat peka on the boat deck as the sun goes down over the Dalmatian coast. Captain Marko prepares it hours in advance in the stone kitchen at his family's farmhouse on Brač, then brings it on board, the cast-iron lid still warm. When he lifts the bell at dinner, the steam rises and the smell arrives before the food does — lamb, wine, herbs, and thirty years of seasoning in the iron itself.

You can replicate peka in a home oven with a heavy Dutch oven or a large clay pot with a tight lid, and the result is genuinely excellent, even without the embers. What you cannot replicate is the context: the sound of the Adriatic, the warmth of a Croatian summer evening, the way Captain Marko says "sit, sit" in the same tone his father used. But you can have the flavor, and that's where it starts.

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Ingredients

Serves 6

1.5kg (3.3 lbs) bone-in lamb shoulder or veal, cut into large pieces
800g (1.75 lbs) waxy potatoes, halved or quartered
2 bell peppers (one red, one yellow), roughly chopped
3 medium tomatoes, quartered
2 medium onions, cut into wedges
6 cloves garlic, unpeeled
200ml (¾ cup) dry white wine
80ml (⅓ cup) extra-virgin olive oil
3 sprigs fresh rosemary
4 sprigs fresh thyme
2 bay leaves
1 tsp sweet paprika
Salt and coarsely ground black pepper
Fresh parsley, chopped, for serving

Directions

1
Preheat your oven to 180°C (350°F). If you have a traditional peka, prepare your embers. Otherwise, a large heavy Dutch oven (at least 5 liters) with a tight-fitting lid is your best friend here.
2
Pat the meat dry with paper towels and season generously with salt and pepper on all sides. Let it sit at room temperature for 20 minutes while you prepare the vegetables.
3
In the bottom of the Dutch oven or peka dish, arrange the potatoes in a single layer. Season them with salt and drizzle with half the olive oil. Layer the onion wedges, bell peppers, and tomatoes over the potatoes. Tuck the unpeeled garlic cloves into the vegetables.
Tip: Captain Marko says the vegetables at the bottom will absorb all the cooking juices from the meat above. They're often better than the meat.
4
Place the meat pieces on top of the vegetables, skin or fat side up if applicable. Lay the rosemary sprigs, thyme, and bay leaves over and around the meat. Dust the paprika over everything.
5
Pour the white wine over the meat, then drizzle the remaining olive oil over everything. The liquid should come up about 2–3cm in the pot — add a splash of water if needed.
6
Cover tightly with the lid. If using a Dutch oven, place in the oven and cook for 2 hours without lifting the lid. If using a peka with embers, pile embers on top and cook for 2.5–3 hours.
Tip: Do not lift the lid during cooking. The steam trapped inside is doing the work. Every time you lift the lid, you add 15 minutes to the cooking time.
7
After 2 hours, remove the lid carefully (steam will be intense). The meat should be fall-off-the-bone tender and deeply browned. If it needs more color, return to the oven uncovered for 10–15 more minutes. Squeeze the soft garlic from its skins, stir it into the juices, and scatter fresh parsley over everything. Serve directly from the pot with crusty bread to soak up the juices.