An annual "Kulenijada" festival is held in many Croatian cities to honor the history and great regional masters of making kulen.
The meat is stuffed and pressed into bags made of pork intestine, generally the colon (because it is wider), and formed into links that are usually around ten centimeters in diameter, and up to three times as long, weighing around a kilogram.
The pieces of kulen are smoked for several months, using certain types of wood. After the smoking they are air-dried for another several months. This process can last up to a year. Although similar to other air-dried procedures, the meat is fermented in addition to the air-drying. High-grade kulen is sometimes even covered with a thin layer of mold, giving it a distinct aroma.
When the kulen meat is stuffed into the small intestine, it is thinner and requires less smoking and drying, but it also takes less time to prepare. This type of sausage is often referred to as kulenova seka (literally kulen's sis).
Kulen is occasionally produced commercially, but it has not yet become a major product due to the lengthy and somewhat complicated production process. However, it is economically feasible, given that on the Zagreb market even a low-grade kulen can cost much more than other types of sausages and is comparable to smoked ham.
Kulen (before smoking) from Slavonia
The traditional time of producing kulen is during the pig slaughtering done every autumn by most rural households. Kulen matures during the winter; it can be eaten at this time, although not fully dried and cured yet, with very hot taste, but it will develop its full taste by the following summer. Kulen is a shelf-stable meat product, with a shelf life of up to two years when refrigerated or even kept at room temperatures.
Kulen eaten during the winter is not as firm as that left to mature until the summer, but some people prefer this kind of kulen because it is very spicy.
In parts of Slavonia, kulen is called kulin due to Ikavian speech.
