Sucuk or Sudzhuk dried sausage from central Asia and the Mediterranean

Sucuk, sujuk or sudzhuk is a cured (dried) sausage, spicy and with a lot of garlic, consumed in the Balkan region, the Middle East and Central Asia, that is, in countries that were part of the Ottoman Empire. The name comes from Persian and means “full gut”.

It is usually made with beef or sheep meat, but there are versions with horse meat. It is well seasoned with a variety of spices, including cumin, aleppo pepper, sumac, garlic and salt. Built in natural casing and air dried for several weeks. It has a high fat content.

There are several ways to consume sucuk, it can be eaten raw, fried or cooked. It can be cut into slices and cooked without adding oil, as it is already fatty. In some countries it is eaten for breakfast, fried with eggs and served with a cup of tea. Sucuk is also used in bean meals. It is also cooked and cut to be used in sandwiches with garlic and tomato sauce.

Sucuk is also commonly used in pies in Iraq, Syria, Israel and Lebanon. Shawarma sucuk can also be found.

The name sucuk comes from Turkish but is known by different names in the various regions where it is consumed.

Albania: suxhuk;
Armenian: սուջուխ, suǰux;
Bulgaria: суджук, sudzhuk;
Greece: σουτζούκι, sutzúki;
Macedonia: суџук, sudžuk;
Romania: sugiuc;
Russia: суджук, sudzhuk;
Serbia/Croatia/Bosnia: sudžuk, cyџyk.

Ingredients

• beef – 1 kg;
• Cognac – 85 ml;
• salt – 20g;
• fresh garlic – 30g;
• black pepper – 2g;
• aleppo or pepperoni pepper – 3g;
• cumin – 1g;
• thyme – 1g;
• juniper – 1g;
• curing salt 2 (6% of nitrite, 3% of nitrate and 93,75% of salt) – 3g.

*Aleppo pepper can be replaced with Calabrian pepper.

Preparation

1. Clean and cut the meat, keeping as much fat as possible;
2. Grind or cut the meat and fat finely (half a cm) with a knife;
3. Mix all dry ingredients;
4. Peel the garlic and process it, forming a paste, together with the other dry ingredients and brandy;
5. Mix the seasoning paste with the meat and fat and mix well until you obtain a sticky dough;
6. Let the dough rest for 12 to 24 hours in the refrigerator;
7. Embed in natural bovine casing or 40/45 gauge collagen casing;
8. Apply a bacterial starter culture and/or a mold culture to the outside to help protect the product during the process;
9. Hang in a cold, humid and ventilated environment;
10. In the first few days, if you want an oval shape, apply a weight to the sausages for 15 minutes. Repeat until the sausage forms an oval shape.
11. It will be ready in 15 to 30 days, depending on the desired point. The longer it takes, the firmer and more pierceable the sausage will be.

Result

Sucuk sausage has a peppery and intense garlic flavor. It is very tasty and recommended for those who enjoy products with stronger flavors.