Awesome Armenian-style beef and lamb salami made in Atlanta
One of the best tasting and unique new additions to our list of cured meats! The folks who make it at Spotted Trotter down in Atlanta say the Sujuk is based on an Armenian tradition, but we’ve also heard from other customers that it tastes like what they grew up with in their Albanian, Serbian, Bulgarian, and Turkish families too. Pretty clearly, Sujuk has a wealth of deep Balkan roots! Wherever you prefer to trace its origins to, what I can tell you with certainty is the stuff from Spotted Trotter is terrifically tasty!
The flavor of the Sujuk is as rich and complex as Armenian history and culture. It’s made with a blend of beef and lamb, spiced with organic garlic, sumac from Georgia (the country), and toasted cumin. It’s really unlike anything else we have on the counter. I brought some home the other evening and Tammie, who has been working with fine food her whole adult life, and who doesn’t eat much meat, couldn’t stop eating it! Best I can recall, her response was something along the lines of “Wow! That’s incredible! I’ve never tasted anything like that! Wow! That’s great!”
Connor Valone, cured-meat master at the Deli, says:
Owner and head charcutier of the Spotted Trotter, Kevin Ouzts, is using his extensive culinary background (a Le Cordon Blue/ Fatted Calf/ French Laundry alum) to lend a chef-driven spirit to their offerings by “Making food the right way,” utilizing as humanely-raised and processed animals as he can source, and as many local ingredients as he can for spice blends and such. Really just a delightful product I’m super proud to carry, and it’s the #1 salami I’m excited about right now.
Steve Mangigian, longtime managing partner and roaster of the excellent new Ethiopian Guji coffee is of Armenian heritage and is a lifelong lover of Sujuk. His favorite way to eat it, he says, is simply to cut it into small pieces for Armenian salami and scrambled eggs. You can also pan-fry slices in the same pan as fried eggs—the flavors meld beautifully. Sprinkle with a bit more sumac and/or Maras red pepper flakes, or those great smoked red pepper flakes we get from Daphnis and Chloe in Greece. Or eat slices of Sujuk with a good sheep cheese like feta. It is surprisingly tasty paired with fresh orange slices, and also with the delicious dried dates we get from Rancho Meladuco out in California. Or, of course, you can just cut off thin slices and eat as is!
Anese reminds her clients regularly that the quality of what they eat contributes significantly to their energetic presence. Savoring a slice of the Sujuk the other evening certainly improved mine! Swing by the Deli soon and ask for a taste!
