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Sucuk

Meat · Cured & processed meats

Sucuk

Spicy, garlicky dry-fermented beef sausage from Turkey and the Balkans, sliced and fried with eggs.

Also called: sujuk, soujouk, spicy beef sausage, turkish sausage

Around the world: sucuk (tr) · sujuk (ar) · sujukh (hy)

A kind of beef

1 recipe with it

Photo: Rainer Zenz, via Wikimedia Commons (CC-BY-SA-3.0)

What it is

Sucuk is a dry, fermented sausage made from minced beef (sometimes with lamb) and beef fat, seasoned with garlic, cumin, red pepper and other spices. It is firm, dark red and horseshoe-shaped. Unlike Spanish chorizo it contains no pork, so it suits halal diets when certified.

How it’s used

  • Sucuklu yumurta (fried with eggs)
  • Grilled in sandwiches and toasties
  • Topping pide
  • Added to beans and stews

Characteristics

Taste
Spicy, garlicky, salty and tangy.
Texture
Firm and chewy; crisp at the edges when fried.
When cooked
Releases a lot of spiced fat when fried; slice thinly and fry without added oil.
Sold as
cured
Cooking uses
Commonly cooked, Suitable for frying, Suitable for grilling

Storage

Refrigerated. Keep wrapped in the fridge after opening; whole sticks keep for weeks.

Diet, allergens and safety

No major allergens in typical versions. May contain Mustard — check the label.

  • Vegetarian
  • Vegan
  • Dairy-free
  • Egg-free
  • Gluten-free
  • Nut-free
  • Soy-free
  • Caffeine-free
  • Processed meat, high in salt; may contain mustard.

Nutrition per 100 g

Energy
312 kcal
Protein
14.11 g
Carbohydrate
2.42 g
Fat
26.91 g
Fibre
0 g
Sugars
— g

USDA FoodData Central: Sausage, beef, cured, cooked, smoked (a close stand-in).

Substitutes

Optional — what works if you don’t have it, and how it changes the dish.

  • Chorizo — Cured Spanish chorizo for non-halal cooking; smokier.

Related ingredients

Recipes with sucuk

More cured & processed meats