Traditional Mardin Sucuk with Şirden Sheath

Abstract

Mardin Sucuk, a fermented meat product produced by traditional methods, is widely and fondly consumed by the local people. Traditional Mardin Sucuk is usually made and sold by local butchers or is made by households in homes between November and December. Beef and / or sheep meat is used for sucuk dough. The carcass of the animal is ripened following the slaughtering and the meat from chest region of the ripened carcass is separated and minced. The minced meat is placed in a bag made of material that will allow the blood to drain. Thendry mint, black pepper, pimento, salt and optionally garlic are added into the minced meat. Compare to other spices, more coriander powder is added in order to increase resistance to the degradation, to give a delicious aroma and to suppress the undesirable odors. This mixture is mixed thoroughly to obtain sucuk dough. A standard measure is not used for the mixture it is prepared according to the demand by organoleptic testing. Prepared dough is filled into different sheaths according to consumer preference. Abomasum (Şirden) was mainly used as sucuk sheath until approximately 15-20 years ago, but nowadays natural fabric (mermerşahin fabric) and intestinal sheaths are also used. When the abomasum is used as sheath, the outer surface of the abomasum is covered by powdered coriander in order to protect the sucuk against antimicrobial deterioration and to increase its durability. When other types of sheath are used, there is no application of powdered coriander because of the negative appearance in terms of attractiveness. Prepared sausages are left for fermentation and drying in cool and airy places by avoiding from sun light for 10-12 days.After fermentation and drying, the sucuk are stored and consumed. The sucuk were stored by hiding in the bulgur before deep freezers are widely used, today this method is applied in the rural area and the preservation in deep freezers is preferred in cities. The traditional Mardin Sucuk is still consumed frequently by the people of Mardin and is preferred to industrial production.