Bulgarian Sudzhuk Image Used Under Creative Commons License From inlife.bg
My Citizens, now that we are entering the Autumnal season I am gratified to feel the chill return to the air and the leaves enrobing themselves anew in the noble colors of scarlet and gold! TFD – the Pasha of Preservation Himself! – must now turn his all-seeing eye towards the traditional activity of the season in generations past: sausage making!
Few recipes delight the palate more than this delicious version of a sausage enjoyed throughout the Balkans region but with a specific recipe to Bulgaria – sudzhuk!
As noted in an article from inlife.bg on the subject:
The first evidence of the mass production of this delicate product is from the year 1538 during the reign of Sultan Suleiman I the Magnificent, who granted the Pasha of Rustem the right to own lands and collect taxes on the production of sujuci in Rahovich-i-gebra, the present-day city of Gorna Oryahovitz.
In 1861, sudzhuk from the region was awarded a medal at the International Exhibition in the Italian city of Turin. Strong local traditions in the production of dried sausages and appetizers are also noted by the well-known Austro-Hungarian ethnologist and traveler Felix Kanitz, who did not fail to reflect on this in his book “Danube Bulgaria and the Balkans” in 1882.
An advertisement from the 1911 of the works of the upper-Aryakh family, Nedev Sudzhuk, was found in the Bulgarian Almanac, which speaks about the popularity of the product from time to time. Thus, unnoticed over the years, a food product has become in a unique way a symbol not only of Gorna Oryahovitsa, but also of the region around it.
There are many different versions of this sausage on the market, but the most delicious is the home-made sausage made from fresh meat at home, according to old recipes.
Since Bulgaria is in the crossroad between Europe and Asia, their cuisine has been influenced by different cultures and empires that have passed and stayed in this fertile lands for thousands of years, and all of them have left their mark in the culinary history of Bulgaria.
Bulgaria has a centuries-long culinary tradition, and a good part of it is because of the delicious sausages and cold cuts that are prepared there. Foreigner.bg lists at least 13 of the hundreds of different varieties of Bulgarian cold cuts and sausage, and that literally is just the beginning!
Citizens, if you want to get your start with home curing, I strongly recommend you invest in a good digital hygrometer to properly measure humidity and moisture levels – this is an excellent one. A full and outstanding primer on how to make salami at home is required reading before you begin – this tutorial is excellent.
The traditional sudzhuk is not inoculated with any starter cultures as it simply uses the endemic and unique blend of different molds that exist solely in the Gorna Oryahovitsa region (Penicillinum and Aspergillus).
To replicate that microbiome, we will use a starter culture in this version, one that closely replicates the microbiome of North Bulgaria – specifically, this one.
Sudzhuk sausage is flavored with a combination of cumin, black pepper and Summer savory. Savory is a strong pepper-flavored herb that plays an important role in Bulgarian cuisine where it is known as chubritsa. You can buy excellent-quality ground Summer savory here. You can purchase the proper casings for the sausage here. Dextrose for sausage making can be bought here.
My version of Sudzhuk sausage is truly delicious and I truly hope you enjoy its delicious flavors and the satisfaction of making your own! 🙂 Enjoy it with a starter of Bulgarian ‘snow-white’ salad!
6.6 g LC-007 starter culture (activated in 264 ml distilled water)
30 g dextrose
25 g freshly-ground black pepper
25 g freshly-ground cumin
10 g ground dried Summer savory
Instructions
Partially freeze the beef before processing to make sure it stays cold.
Cut the meat into 100-150 g pieces, remove sinew. Grind through a medium size plate (3/16″ or 4.5 mm).
Mix the ground meat, spices, dextrose, and the starter culture and allow to stand overnight or up to 24 hours, stirring every 6 hours.
Stuff into 28-32mm hog casings, making 18″ (45 cm) links, and tie with twine.
Ferment at 71-77F (22-25C), 85-100% RH for about 48 hours in an area with good ventilation, until the meat firms up and turns dark red.
Dry at 59-64F (15-18C), 75-85% RH for 10-20 days (or up to 30, if needed to reach target weight loss) with good ventilation, until target weight loss of about 55% is achieved. Ideally, dry in a horseshoe shape to match the traditional method of presentation.
Starting on day two of the drying stage, flatten sudzhuk by gently rolling it with a rolling pin. Do not press too hard otherwise the casings may burst. Continue doing this once a day for about 5-6 days.
Once the proper weight loss has been achieved, enjoy with a fruity red wine and full satisfaction of a job well-done!
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