Sucuklu Yumurta (Fried Eggs with Turkish Sucuk)
Spicy garlicky sucuk crisped in its own paprika-red oil, with eggs fried right on top — the five-ingredient Turkish breakfast that disappears from the pan in minutes.
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Ingredients
200g Turkish sucuk, sliced into thin rounds (about 5mm)
4 medium eggs
1 tsp butter (optional, for extra richness)
A pinch of salt (sucuk is already well seasoned)
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/4 tsp pul biber (Turkish red pepper flakes), to finish
30g kashkaval cheese, grated, to melt on top (optional)
2 sivri peppers, to fry alongside (optional)
Fresh bread or simit, to serve
Instructions
- 1
Arrange the sucuk slices in a single layer in a cold frying pan or sahan — no oil needed — and place over medium heat.
- 2
Cook for 2-3 minutes per side until the slices curl up and release their red oil, and the edges are lightly crisped. Add the butter and the sivri peppers, if using.
- 3
Push the sucuk slightly towards the edges and crack the eggs into the gaps, straight into the spiced oil.
- 4
Season the eggs with a pinch of salt and the black pepper, then cover the pan with a lid.
- 5
Cook for 2-3 minutes, until the whites are just set and the yolks are still runny. If using kashkaval, scatter it over for the last minute so it melts.
- 6
Sprinkle with pul biber and bring the pan straight to the table, sizzling, with fresh bread or simit for dipping.
If menemen is the Sunday project, sucuklu yumurta is the weekday hero: one pan, one sausage, a couple of eggs, done in ten minutes. Sucuk — Turkey's beloved fermented beef sausage, heavy with garlic, cumin and red pepper — needs no oil at all. Slice it thinly, lay it in a cold pan and let the heat coax out its brick-red fat, which then fries the eggs and flavours everything it touches.
Timing is the only skill involved. Let the sucuk slices curl and crisp lightly at the edges — overcook them and they turn hard and chewy. Then crack the eggs into the gaps between the slices, cover the pan, and cook just until the whites are set while the yolks stay gloriously runny. In Turkey this is cooked and served in a small two-handled sahan pan, brought to the table still sizzling.
Eat it the traditional way: tear off pieces of fresh bread or simit and dip straight into the yolk and spiced oil. With black olives, white cheese and a glass of strong Turkish tea alongside, it's a complete breakfast. Turkish Online Market stocks a full range of sucuk — finger, kangal and ready-sliced — delivered anywhere in the UK.
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