Hey friends, and specifically meat-eaters, I want to get you all hip on something that I’ve enjoyed since I was a kid: soujouk (pron: SOO-zhook), which I don’t think gets a lot of attention. As with a lot of foods from the Middle-Eastern region, it’s hard to pinpoint its origins, but I know it in an Armenian context, as my mum and her fam used to have it around the house and cook it up. It’s super tasty as a snack or as part of a meal.
It’s typically a ground beef sausage that is heavily seasoned with salt, cumin, maybe red pepper and/or allspice. And while laden with spices, it’s mellow and doesn’t usually have any heat. It’s a dense, concentrated flavor. Soujouk is usually fermented and sold dry, like salami. My mom would often chop some up, sauté it \*very briefly\* in butter to warm up the flavors, before adding a little tomato paste, raw onions, maybe mushrooms and scrambled eggs. It can also be warmed up and eaten with bread, or pita and hummus and so forth.
The most common brand you’ll see in markets like Jons or such is [Eureka](https://rednur.com/images/products/1/16721879405593.jpg), which is solid, but a lot of small Armenian markets with butcher counters may have their own styles worth exploring. I like to make the occasional soujouk quesadilla, or breakfast sandwich, and one of these days, I’m going to incorporate some in a giant slow cooker full of chili.
Enjoy! And if this post inspired you to try it, lemme know what you think! Sou-JOUK! Sou-JOUK!
by LeeQuidity
13 Comments
I’ll give it a shot! I think I see it sold at Super King
Cafe Los Feliz has a great soujuk breakfast burrito – I’d argue it is one of the best breakfast burritos in LA.
My favorite soujouk is at Kobee Factory. She makes em from scratch. It’s absolutely amazing. The soujouk sando is epic.
Good shit. My grandma always used to have some on hand. When we visited in the winter she used to make us this chickpea and soujouk stew that was amazing.
alright soujouk man, I’ll give it a try
What is the name of the stuff which is kind of packaged like sausage, but I want to say it’s grape juice resin(?) with walnuts in the middle? Shit is tasty but could never remember the name or where to get it.
Everyone go to Sahags Basturma Sandwich Shop
Great guy. Cures his own sucuk and pastirma.
Oui Melrose has a Soujouk khachapuri that is RIDICULOUS. You can get it with za’atar crust and spicy Adjika sauce. It’s one of my top meals in LA.
When I lived in Michigan the best place I’ve ever had chicken shwarama had a hummus plate that was topped with soujouk and it was amazing. Do you know of any local markets here that make their own?
How very cool! I’m definitely putting this on my radar to try.
I was just checking out one at a SK market last night and telling my wife this looks interesting. Will definitely grab one next time Thank you for the post!
Muffin Can Stop Us in Glendale has a super tasty version in a breakfast sandwich, the Sujoo Muffin.
I think I tried this accidentally, from Valley Marketplace.