Sujuk, sugou or sucuk (/suːˈd͡ʒʊk/) is a dry, spicy and fermented sausage which is consumed in several Anatolian, Balkan, Middle Eastern and Central Asian cuisines. Sujuk mainly consists of ground meat and animal fat usually obtained from beef or lamb, but beef is mainly used in Turkey, Egypt, Sudan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania, Georgia, Bulgaria, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan.

Etymology

The Turkish word sucuk is derived from Old Turkic suğut or sugut, a term attested in medieval Turkic sources. Cognate names are also present in other Turkic languages, e.g. , shujyq; , chuchuk. Franciscus a Mesgnien Meninski in his Thesaurus recorded the word sucuk () in Ottoman Turkish in late 17th century.

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 high relative humidity (RH) environment around . After that the RH and the temperature is gradually dropped each day, resulting to 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%.

Dishes prepared with sujuk

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 a Turkish breakfast dish. Sucuklu yumurta is a simple dish of fried eggs cooked together with sujuk, but sujuk may also be added to other egg dishes like menemen (which is similar to shakshouka but with scrambled eggs instead of poached).

Sujuk can be added to many dishes including bean stew (kuru fasulye), filled phyllo dough pastries (burek) and as a topping for pizza or pide.

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File:Turkish sausage & egg - Simit Palace 2024-04-01.jpg|Eggs with sujuk

File:Samuna me suxhuk.JPG|Bread with sujuk

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Geographical indication

In 2025, Armenia applied for geographical indication (GI) registration for Armenian sujukh.

See also

  • Bresaola
  • Lukanka
  • , a horsemeat sausage
  • Qazı
  • Salami
  • Soutzoukakia, spicy meatballs in sauce whose name means literally "little sucuk"

References