A dried, spiced sausage descended from the Ottoman sucuk, pressed flat and often smoked. The Gorna Oryahovitsa version is a protected Bulgarian speciality made with beef and buffalo meat, and it is sliced thin as meze or fried with eggs.
It is a fermented raw-meat cure that depends on hitting a pH and water-activity target in the first days; without measurement there is no way to know whether it worked until someone is ill.
What goes into it
- beef and buffalo meat
- beef fat
- salt and curing salt
- cumin
- black pepper
- garlic
- beef casing
How it is made
Minced meat is mixed with salt, curing salt and spices, left overnight to bind, then stuffed into casings and hung in cold air. As it dries over weeks it is pressed flat between boards. The fermentation that drops the pH in the first days is what protects it, and it is driven by a starter culture or by a resident house culture in traditional workshops.
How long it takes: three to six weeks
How it is eaten
Sliced thin with rakia, fried with eggs, or cut into bean stew.
History
From the Ottoman sucuk; the Gorna Oryahovitsa version is a protected Bulgarian speciality made with beef and buffalo meat.
Frequently asked questions
What is Sudzhuk?
Sudzhuk is a charcuterie & cured from Bulgaria: dried spiced sausage, pressed flat and often smoked. From the Ottoman sucuk; the Gorna Oryahovitsa version is a protected Bulgarian speciality made with beef and buffalo meat.
How is Sudzhuk made?
Minced meat is mixed with salt, curing salt and spices, left overnight to bind, then stuffed into casings and hung in cold air. As it dries over weeks it is pressed flat between boards. The fermentation that drops the pH in the first days is what protects it, and it is driven by a starter culture or by a resident house culture in traditional workshops. It takes three to six weeks.
Can I make Sudzhuk at home?
No, and the atlas gives no method for it. It is a fermented raw-meat cure that depends on hitting a pH and water-activity target in the first days; without measurement there is no way to know whether it worked until someone is ill.
What goes into Sudzhuk?
Beef and buffalo meat, beef fat, salt and curing salt, cumin, black pepper, garlic, beef casing.
How is Sudzhuk eaten?
Sliced thin with rakia, fried with eggs, or cut into bean stew.
