Petrohan Tandem 0.58 lbs.

Among all the Tandem dry-cured meats, Petrohan is the one that stands apart on the board — round where everything else is flat, lightly smoked where everything else is air-dried, and scented with chubritsa, the herb Bulgarians call the Queen of their spices. It is the salami that smells unmistakably Bulgarian from the moment you open the package.

About Petrohan

Petrohan is a traditional Bulgarian dry-cured salami named after the Petrohan mountain pass in the Western Balkans, an area with a strong dry-cured meat tradition. Made by Tandem in the USA in the authentic Bulgarian style, it is produced from a blend of pork and beef (approximately 2 parts pork to 1 part beef), seasoned with a traditional spice profile built around summer savory (chubritsa — чубрица), alongside black pepper, red smoked paprika, cumin, and garlic. The mixture is stuffed into natural casing, briefly cold-smoked over hardwood, and then air-dried until firm and concentrated.

The result is a cylindrical salami — the only fully round product in the Tandem dry-cured range — with a deep reddish-brown color from the paprika and smoke, a dense, sliceable interior, and a flavor profile that leads with the distinctive herbal warmth of chubritsa before the pepper and smoke finish. Ingredients are pork, beef, salt, natural spices (including summer savory), dextrose, sugar, potassium nitrate, sodium ascorbate, and starter culture.

Chubritsa — The Queen of Bulgarian Spices

Summer savory (Satureja hortensis) — called chubritsa in Bulgarian — is the herb that defines Bulgarian meat cookery more than any other. Where an Italian table has salt and pepper, a Bulgarian table traditionally has salt, paprika, and chubritsa. It has a sharp, peppery, slightly thyme-like character that intensifies dramatically through drying, making it the ideal seasoning for long-cured meats. In the USA it is rarely used in commercial charcuterie, which is precisely what makes Petrohan’s flavor immediately recognizable to anyone who has eaten Bulgarian food — and completely unexpected to anyone who has not.

How to Enjoy It

Slice thin and serve cold on a meze board alongside white cheese, olives, and roasted peppers. The herbal, smoky character pairs especially well with mild cow sirene — the creaminess of the cheese balances the assertive chubritsa. Petrohan also works well in a warm sandwich on crusty bread with roasted red peppers and a smear of Lutenitsa, or as a pizza topping in the final minutes of baking where the heat blooms the paprika aroma. Its affordable price and compact size make it the natural choice for building a sampler board alongside other Tandem products.

What Makes It Special

Petrohan is the only lightly smoked product in the Tandem dry-cured range — a cold-smoking step that adds a layer of aromatic depth not present in the flat-pressed lukankas and sujuk. Combined with the chubritsa, this gives Petrohan a warm, herbal-smoky character that occupies a completely different flavor register from its range-mates: less spice-heat than the sujuks, less cumin than the lukankas, more herbal fragrance than any of them. At ~0.58 lbs and $6.08, it is also the most affordable entry point into the Tandem charcuterie range.

Quick Facts

✓  Brand: Tandem
✓  Type: Dry-cured, lightly smoked salami — cylindrical (round) form
✓  Meat: Pork + beef (~2:1 ratio)
✓  Signature spice: Summer savory (chubritsa — чубрица), black pepper, red smoked paprika, cumin, garlic
✓  Smoking: Light cold smoke over hardwood
✓  Form: Cylindrical natural casing — the only round salami in the Tandem dry-cured range
✓  Ingredients: Pork, beef, salt, natural spices, dextrose, sugar, potassium nitrate, sodium ascorbate, starter culture
✓  Ready to eat: Yes — slice thin and serve cold
✓  Storage: Keep refrigerated
✓  Net Weight: ~0.5 lbs (~263g), sold by lbs
✓  Country of Manufacture: United States (authentic Bulgarian tradition)
✓  SKU: TM37

Bulgarian Meze Serving Tip

On a full Tandem meze board, Petrohan earns its place as the aromatic contrast — the one piece your guests pick up and immediately ask about. Slice it into rounds rather than the thin ovals you’d cut from a flat sujuk, and arrange alongside BULGAREVO Cow Sirene (SKU: C01bul) and a spoonful of Lutenitsa spread. The chubritsa and smoke in Petrohan play beautifully against the clean tang of sirene and the sweet pepper heat of Lutenitsa — three Bulgarian flavors that have been eaten together for generations. Pour a cold Rakia and let everything sit at room temperature for 10 minutes before serving.

Build the complete Tandem meze board: Panagyurska Lukanka (SKU: TM362), Smyadovska Lukanka (SKU: TM361), Beef Sujuk (SKU: TM33), Pastarma with Paprika (SKU: TM35), and BULGAREVO Cow Sirene (SKU: C01bul) — all at Malincho.com.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is chubritsa and why does it matter in Petrohan?

Chubritsa is the Bulgarian word for summer savory (Satureja hortensis), an annual herb with a sharp, peppery, slightly thyme-like flavor. It is arguably the most important spice in Bulgarian cooking — used in meat dishes, bean soups, the Bulgarian spice blend sharena sol, and dry-cured meats. In a dry salami, the drying process concentrates its flavor significantly; a properly made Petrohan should have a noticeable, pleasant herbal warmth that distinguishes it immediately from any salami made without it. In the USA, summer savory is rarely used in commercial charcuterie, making Petrohan’s flavor profile genuinely distinctive.

How is Petrohan different from the lukanka and sujuk in the Tandem range?

Petrohan is cylindrical — all the lukankas and sujuk are pressed flat. It is lightly cold-smoked — all the others are unsmoked air-dried. Its signature herb is chubritsa (summer savory) — the lukankas use cumin and pepper (Karlovska, Panagyurska) or cardamom (Smyadovska), while the sujuks use cumin and cayenne. Petrohan is the aromatic, herbal member of the range; the lukankas and sujuks are the spice-heat members.

Is Petrohan safe to eat without cooking?

Yes. Petrohan is a fully cured, ready-to-eat product. The combination of salt-curing, fermentation, cold smoking, and air-drying makes it safe for direct consumption with no cooking required. Slice it cold and serve immediately for the best flavor and texture.

How should I slice and store Petrohan?

Slice into thin rounds — its cylindrical shape makes it easy to cut even circles that present well on a board. Keep refrigerated at all times. After opening, wrap the cut end tightly in parchment or wax paper and return to the refrigerator; consume within 7–10 days for best quality. Allow 10 minutes at room temperature before serving to let the herbal and smoky aromas fully develop.

Can Petrohan be used in cooking as well as eaten cold?

Yes. Thin slices fry quickly in a dry pan, crisping at the edges while releasing the paprika and chubritsa aromas into the fat — excellent with scrambled eggs or on a warm flatbread. Diced Petrohan also works as a flavor base in bean soups and stews, where its herbal smokiness enriches the broth. The light cold smoke makes it particularly well-suited to cooking applications compared to unsmoked salami styles.