Pork, beef and poultry are the main meats consumed in Slovakia, with pork being the most popular by a substantial margin. Among poultry, chicken is most common, although duck, goose, and turkey are also well established. Game meats, especially boar, rabbit, and venison, are also widely available throughout the year. Lamb and goat are also available, but for the most part are not very popular. The consumption of horse meat is generally frowned upon. One poultry dish, chicken breast steak with peach,1 originated in the 1990s and is the target of some ridicule.2
Grilled meat is not common in Slovakia. Instead, meat is either breaded and fried in oil (schnitzel), or cooked and served in sauce. Hungarian influences in Slovak cuisine can be seen in popular stews and goulashes. However, these have been given Slovak touches. Chicken paprikash is typically served with halušky and Hungarian goulash (spicy beef stew) is served with slices of a large bread-like steamed dumpling.
Local sausage types include krvavničky, a blood sausage, and jaternice (traditionally called hurky), a sausage with buckwheat containing any and all parts of a butchered pig.
Usually baked at Christmas time, but also all year long, Slovak traditional sweets are usually home baked and harder to find in stores.
Traditionally the main meal of the day is lunch, eaten around noon. However, changing work routine has altered this in the recent decades; today, many Slovaks have their main meal in the evening. Lunch in Slovakia usually consists of soup and a main course. It is customary in Slovakia to bring a bottle of wine or other alcohol as a gift if one is invited to visit someone's home.
"V 90. rokoch sme si prešli gastronomickým stredovekom". Aktuality.sk. 2017-09-27. Retrieved 2023-05-10. https://www.aktuality.sk/clanok/508261/90-roky-gastronomicky-stredovek/ ↩
"Moderné jedlá monarchie: Nebojíme sa ani kuracích pŕs s broskyňou, odkazuje šéfkuchár a žne úspech". HNonline.sk (in Slovak). 2021-08-19. Retrieved 2023-05-11. https://hnonline.sk/style/gastro/7416629-moderne-jedla-monarchie-nebojime-sa-ani-kuracich-prs-s-broskynou-odkazuje-sefkuchar-a-zne-uspech ↩