Dzverski Sudzhuk (Dry-Cured Sausage)
This is the base recipe for a home-made dry-cured sudzhuk. Both the spices and some additions are a matter of preference. The author deliberately gives the quantities per kilogram, though it is not worth starting a batch of less than 5 kg. Notes: Sometimes she adds vitamin C — about 5-6 crushed tablets per kg of meat — which acts as a preservative. Sometimes she also adds leek, which yields a home-style sausage that she leaves to dry without hanging it like a horseshoe, so it does not flatten as much. A very good result also comes from adding good red wine (Merlot, Cabernet or Mavrud) to the meat — about 50 ml per kg. (A note in the source jokes that vodka and an ashtray are mandatory for the master sausage-maker.)
Ingredients
| 0.350 kg | Veal (from the leg) | |
| 0.350 kg | Pork (leg or shoulder) | |
| 0.300 kg | Pork belly (preferably with the ribs, which are removed and used for roasting) | |
| — | Pork casings (dried, salted or frozen — whatever is available) | |
| 18-22 g | Salt | |
| 5 g | Fructose or brown sugar | |
| 5 g | Black pepper | |
| 7 g | Cumin | |
| 1 g | Ground cardamom | |
| 1 tsp | 5 ml | Dried savory (chubritsa) |
| 1 tsp | 5 ml | Thyme |
| 1 tsp | 5 ml | Hot red pepper or chili (optional, for a spicier version) |
Instructions
- Cut the meat into small random pieces and, in a suitable vessel, mix it with all the spices.
- Leave it to rest in a cool place for at least 24 hours (the author keeps large batches, e.g. 10 kg, in a big plastic tub covered with cling film).
- The next day, grind the meat with a meat grinder (on a coarse or fine plate, a matter of preference). For sudzhuk it is generally recommended to grind first on the coarse plate and then again on the fine one. The author, however, prefers not to grind the meat at all but to chop it very finely with a cleaver, using a good heavy cleaver and a suitable thick board (a whole log).
- Knead the finely chopped (or ground) meat once more and leave it to rest again for at least 12 to 24 hours.
- Prepare the pork casings by washing them and soaking them in lukewarm water (about 40°C) for 20-30 minutes.
- Using the meat grinder with the stuffing attachment, fill the casings with the mixture and tie them off every 20-25 cm or to the desired length.
- The finished product can rest for a while before being hung up to dry — a matter of preference.
- Dry in an airy place; each evening roll them with a rolling pin or a bottle so they take on a flattened shape. Usually within 2 to 3 weeks they dry out and are ready to eat.
- If using a ready-made spice mix, dissolve the stabilizer in 50 ml of wine.