Sujuk

Sujukorsucuk(/suːˈd͡ʒʊk/) is a dry, spicy and fermentedsausagewhich is consumed in severalTurkish,Balkan,Middle EasternandCentral Asian cuisines. Sujuk mainly consists ofground meatandanimal fatusually obtained frombeeforlamb, but beef is mainly used inTurkey,Bosnia and Herzegovina,Albania,Armenia,Georgia,Bulgaria,Kazakhstan, andKyrgyzstan.
Sucukwas first mentioned in the 11th century byMahmud al-Kashgariin hisDīwān Lughāt al-Turkassuɣut. Another mention was made byAbu Hayyan al-Gharnatiin his early 14th century work titledKitab al-'idrak li-lisan al-'atrak(كتاب الإدراك للسان الأتراك). The word "suɣut" itself means "sujuk, or dried thing" and derived from Turkic root -suɣur meaning to dry or to drain off and the suffix "-çïk/-çuk" is Turkic diminutive suffix (Suɣutçuk => Sucuk).But according to some sources, this word evolved from aMiddle Iranianword attested in EarlyNew Persianaszīç(زيچ) andziwīdj(زویج) (meaning "stretching, strip, cord" and "sausage" respectively) which later took the form ofzīçak(زیچک),Cognate names are also present in otherTurkic languages, e.g.Kazakh:шұжық,shujyq;Kyrgyz:чучук,chuchuk.Franciscus a Mesgnien Meninskiin hisThesaurusrecorded the word sucuk (سجوق) for the first time inOttoman Turkishin late 17th century.
TheTurkishnamesucukhas been adopted largely unmodified by other languages in the region, including:Gagauz:sucuk;Albanian:suxhuk;Arabic:سُجُق,romanized:sujuq;Armenian:սուջուխ,romanized:suǰux;Bosnian:sudžuk or sudžuka;Bulgarian:суджук,romanized:sudzhuk;Greek:σουτζούκι,romanized:sutzúki;Macedonian:суџук,romanized:sudzhuk;Azerbaijani:sucuq;Romanian:sugiuc or ghiuden;Russian:суджук,romanized:sudzhuk;Serbo-Croatian:sudžuk/cyџyк;Kurdish:benî, sicûq.
In Turkey,beefis the main raw material for sucuk production. At the beginning of the process the meat is preground in 14–16-millimetre (0.55–0.63 in) plates and tested for its fat content. Afterwards the meat is mixed withcuring salt, which contains 0.5%sodium nitrite, and stored for 8–16 hours in 8–12 °C (46–54 °F) for further processing. Later the preground meat is mixed with frozen and groundtail fat, beeftallow,suetand additives like spices,ascorbate,dextroseandstarter culture. The mixture is ground again in 1.6–5-millimetre (0.063–0.197 in) plates, which forms the mosaic structure of sucuk. Thenceforth the product is filled in casings made of collagen or fiber and these casings are twisted or tied to portionize sucuk.
Sucuk is then prepared for ripening process, which consists of fermentation and post-fermentation stages. In the first day of fermentation stage the product is left in a highrelative humidity(RH) environment around 22–23 °C (72–73 °F). After that the RH and the temperature is gradually dropped each day, resulting to 18 °C (64 °F) and 88% RH in the last and third day of fermentation. At the end of the stage pH of the product must be dropped to 4.9–5.0. In the post-fermentation stage sucuk is matured and dried until the moisture content of the sausage is under 40%.
It was reported that sucuk from Turkey on average contained 24.5% protein, 31.5% fat, 35.65% moisture and 3.80% salt. Fat content of sucuk is highly variable; some sucuk brands tested contained only 23% fat, meanwhile others exceeded 42%.
While sujuk can be eaten raw, it is typically cooked before consumption.Thin slices of sujuk can be pan-fried in a bit of butter, while larger pieces may be grilled.Sucuklu yumurta, which literally means "eggs with sujuk", is commonly served as aTurkish breakfastdish.Sucuklu yumurtais a simple dish of fried eggs cooked together with sujuk,but sujuk may also be added to other egg dishes likemenemen(which is similar toshakshoukabut with scrambled eggs instead of poached).
Sujuk can be added to many dishes including bean stew (kuru fasulye), filledphyllodoughpastries(burek) and as a topping for pizza orpide.