Pag lamb - Gastronomy - The Tourist board of the Kolan (Mandre, Kolan, Kolanjski Gajac) - Pag, Croatia

In the land of the Croats, where spit-roasted lamb is considered a national food, every part of Croatia praises its lamb and considers it the best. The Lika people are proud of the Lika lamb, the Dalmatians are especially proud of the lamb from Boraja near Šibenik, the southerners praise the Kliška and Sinj lamb and to the north the Krk people claim that the lamb from Krk is the best and the people from Cres the Cres lamb. All praise their lamb and in a way they are all right. Why? Simply because Croatia is a small country with large geomorphologic, geographic and climate contrasts and this significantly effects the properties of the grass and plants which the animals eat.

Is there however among this quality Croatian lamb a lamb which is better then the rest and the best? Many say it is the Pag lamb! The reasons they are probably right are well known. The Pag lambs never live in closed areas. They spend their entire short life in the open. They nurse on the milk which has all the values summarized in the legendary Pag cheese. Soon after they are born, they feed on combined greenery and young grass which sprouts under the spring rain, under the warmth of the sun which announces the coming of spring and which is temporarily salted under the strikes of the bora. It is well known that Pag lamb was enjoyed by crowned royalty in some European castles.

Well then, if Croatian lamb is excellent, if the Pag lamb is the best, where on Pag is the best? Dear visitors of the island of Pag, you can find out for yourselves! But we will feel free enough to invite you to enjoy the Pag lamb where it is the best on the island of Pag. This is the central part of the island, the area of the Kolan municipality. Therefore, in Kolan and Mandre where the ranchers breed the lamb in the old traditional way, you can enjoy the best of Pag lamb!

Lamb is prepared in several ways on the island of Pag: cooked, grilled, spit-roasted, under a baking lid, in a bread oven, in an ordinary oven. In every way it is special and excellent.