The rising fame of the flat sausage ironed with a glass bottle

Описание: (20 Feb 2026)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Pirot, Serbia - 13 February 2026

1. Various of Misa Rajic, a producer of the ironed sausage, as he inspects a batch of sausages in storage
2. Various of sausages hanging to dry
3. Various of Rajic preparing and cutting thin slices of sausage
4. SOUNDBITE (Serbian) Misa Rajic, producer of ironed sausage:
“I’ve known the ironed sausage since childhood. My grandfather used to make it, so I grew up by his side and in the winter months, with the ironed sausage too. And ever since I got married, I started making small amounts of it together with my father-in-law, but then considering the rising interest and the quality of the ironed sausage, it evolved into a serious business.”

5. Various of Savic cutting slices of sausage
6. SOUNDBITE (Serbian) Misa Rajic, producer of ironed sausage:
“Only the highest quality of meat goes into the ironed sausage. All fat and tendons are removed, then it’s hung to dry. It takes about a month to get a dry, dehydrated product that is ready for consumption.”

7. Various of cut slices of sausage
8. SOUNDBITE (Serbian) Misa Rajic, producer of ironed sausage:
“Ironing helps further mix the meat inside the sausage, and it helps with the drying because it extracts the moisture. It is being ironed from here (the middle) outwards, so the moisture goes out and the drying process is accelerated.”

9. Knives inside Rajic’s manufacturing unit
10. Various of trophies won by Rajic in food competitions
11. Sausage laid out on a cutting board
12. Rajic going up the stairs to his attic while carrying sausages ready for ironing
13. Various of Rajic entering attic space and inspecting other sausages hung out to dry
14. Rajic ironing sausages while narrating the process; UPSOUND: “Here’s what the ironing process looks like. They are taken down each day from their drying, then with a bottle or a rolling pin, starting from the middle, you push the air and moisture out so the sausage is dried faster.”

15. Various of Rajic ironing his sausages
16. Houses on the outskirts of Pirot, Serbia
17. Clouds over a hilltop
18. Man riding bicycle passes by a house where ironed sausages are being made
19. Marjan Savic, president of a local association of ironed sausage producers, left, sits with Rajic
20. SOUNDBITE (Serbian) Marjan Savic, president of a local association of ironed sausage producers:
“What we are proud of when it comes to the ironed sausage, are the words of the director of the Institute (Veterinary Institute in Belgrade, which gives certification labels for agricultural products) that she said when we were awarded the certificate, that the Pirot ironed sausage is one of the best, if not the best, meat products.”

21. Savic and Rajic sitting
22. SOUNDBITE (Serbian) Marjan Savic, president of a local association of ironed sausage producers:
“First and foremost, the meat used to make the ironed sausage must be fully cleared of all fat and connecting tissue, which is probably the hardest part of the job.”

23. Close-up of Savic
24. SOUNDBITE (Serbian) Marjan Savic, president of a local association of ironed sausage producers:
“If anyone had tried it, and if it bore results, it probably is true. We have an older producer who's been doing this (making sausages) for years and who had a child at 55 years of age while eating the ironed sausage. He himself claims that the Pirot ironed sausage had a decisive role in that.”

25. Houses on the side of a road
26. Various of two women walking down a street
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Rows of ironed sausages are being dried.










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