Messinian Smoked Pork (Gournopoula)

Name: Messinian Smoked Pork (Gournopoula)
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 3 h 30 min
Total time: 4 h
Cuisine: Greece
Ingredients: 2 1/2 lb (1.1 kg) boneless pork leg (fresh ham), with a thin cap of fat, tied; 3 tbsp (45 g) coarse sea salt; 2 tbsp (14 g) coarsely cracked black pepper; 2 dried bay leaves, finely crumbled; 1 tsp (2 g) dried oregano; 2 cups (about 4 oz / 120 g) olive wood or other hardwood smoking chips, soaked in water for 30 minutes

Γουρνοπούλα GournopoulaSay it: goor-no-POO-lah

By the Passport Plate editors. Published November 8, 2026.

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Gournopoula is Messinia's traditional smoked pork, made in the villages of the southern Peloponnese when families cure the winter pig. A boneless leg is rubbed with coarse salt, cracked pepper, bay and oregano, left to cure for days, then smoked slowly over olive wood until firm and fragrant. Sliced thin it is deep pink, gently smoky and savoury, with a firm, close bite. It belongs on a meze table with bread, olives and tsipouro, and it is equally good grilled or folded into pies.

Messinian Smoked Pork (Gournopoula)

Γουρνοπούλα, Gournopoula

Pronounced goor-no-POO-lah

Serves: 8
Prep: 30 min
Cook: 3 hr 30 min
Total: 4 hr
Level: Medium

Also nut-free and egg-free.

Allergens: none of the major allergens in the listed ingredients. Check labels on packaged ingredients.

Ingredients

8 servings

For the cure

2 1/2 lb (1.1 kg)1.1 kg (2 1/2 lb) boneless pork leg (fresh ham), with a thin cap of fat, tied
3 tbsp (45 g)45 g (3 tbsp) coarse sea salt
2 tbsp (14 g)14 g (2 tbsp) coarsely cracked black pepper
2 dried bay leaves, finely crumbled
1 tsp (2 g)2 g (1 tsp) dried oregano

For smoking

2 cups (about 4 oz / 120 g)about 4 oz / 120 g (2 cups) olive wood or other hardwood smoking chips, soaked in water for 30 minutes

Method

Pat the pork completely dry with kitchen paper and tie it with string at 1-inch (2.5 cm) intervals so it keeps an even, compact shape.
Mix the coarse salt, cracked pepper, crumbled bay and oregano, then rub the mixture over every surface of the meat, working it into the folds and crevices. Set it in a glass or ceramic dish, cover loosely and refrigerate.
Cure for 4 days, turning the meat each morning and pouring off the liquid that collects; the pork firms up, darkens slightly and feels dense to the touch.
Rinse the meat under cold running water, pat it dry, then set it on a rack and leave it uncovered in the fridge for 12 hours, until the surface is dry and faintly tacky.
Heat a smoker or a covered grill set up for indirect heat to 225°F (110°C). Drain the wood chips and scatter them over the coals or into the smoker box.
Smoke the pork with the lid closed until a probe thermometer in the thickest part reads 150°F (65°C), 3 to 3 1/2 hours, adding a second handful of chips halfway if the smoke dies down.
Rest the meat for 30 minutes, then cool it completely, wrap it and chill for at least 2 hours — cold pork slices far more cleanly.
Slice very thin across the grain with a sharp knife, arrange the slices on a board and finish with a little more cracked pepper.

Regional variants

In the Mani, just south of Messinia, the same cured pork is made as syglino, with grated orange zest, a pinch of cinnamon and a clove or two added to the salt and pepper. Without a smoker, cook the cured meat on a rack in a 225°F (110°C) oven with 1 tsp smoked paprika in the rub, to the same internal temperature.

Cook's notes

Weigh the salt rather than eyeballing it: roughly 4% of the meat's weight, and always rinse it off before smoking so the finished pork is seasoned, not salty.
Keep the smoke low, below 250°F (120°C); at higher heat the fat renders too fast and the outside dries before the centre is cooked.
A boneless leg of even thickness cooks best — ask the butcher to trim it flat and tie it for you.

Serve with

Sliced as meze with country bread, Kalamata olives, ripe tomatoes and a glass of tsipouro or a light red wine.

Make ahead and storage

Keeps wrapped in the fridge for up to 2 weeks, or frozen in slices for 3 months; bring to room temperature before serving.

Messinian Smoked Pork (Gournopoula)