How to Make Sudzhuk — Bulgarian Dry-Cured Sausage

Use fresh pork shoulder and beef trimmings. The meat must be thoroughly chilled. Mince it using a grinder plate with 6 mm holes.

Combine and mix the two minced meats. Add savory, sweet paprika, hot paprika, cumin, black pepper and salt. Knead in a meat mixer to distribute the seasonings evenly.

Leave the meat mixture in a cold room at 0–4°C for 24 hours. This resting period allows the meat to absorb the spices and develop the characteristic flavor of sudzhuk.

Stuff the sausages the following day. Place the rested mixture in the sausage stuffer.

Soak the casings in lukewarm water to make them pliable and easier to fill.

Slide the casing onto the stuffer nozzle. Fill it firmly, taking care not to leave any air inside. Air pockets can cause rancidity and spoil the product.

Tie the sudzhuk sausages after filling.

Place the filled and tied sausages on a flat board. Put another board and a weight on top. This serves as a homemade press.

Keep the sausages under the press for 24 hours in the cold, at no more than 4°C, to remove any remaining air. Do not prick the casings with a needle.

After pressing for 24 hours, hang the sausages to dry. The drying temperature should be around 12–13°C.

After another 1–2 days, press the sausages again in the same way for 24 hours, then continue drying.

Continue drying for about 15 days.