by MrsWheelbarrow
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A&M's Testing Notes:
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1 tablespoon
coriander seed, dry toasted
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1 tablespoon
cumin seed, dry toasted
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1 tablespoon
anise seed, or fennel seed, in a pinch, dry toasted
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1 tablespoon
cinnamon, I like Ceylon
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1/2-1 teaspoon
cayenne, depending on your harissa
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2 teaspoons
turmeric
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1 pound
fresh ground lamb shoulder
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2
garlic cloves, minced fine
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1 teaspoon
grated fresh ginger
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1 tablespoon
spice mix
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2 tablespoons
harissa
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1 tablespoon
tomato paste
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1/4-1/2 teaspoon
Salt, to taste
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iced water, as needed
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Combine the spice mix ingredients and grind fine using a spice grinder or a mortar and pestle. The extra can be stored in a glass jar.
Ask the hotline about this step!Using a mixer, combine all the sausage ingredients. Add the ice water, a tablespoon at a time until the mixture is well combined. If you have ground the meat yourself, you probably won't need much ice water.
Ask the hotline about this step!Form a little patty and cook it off, taste and adjust the seasoning as you see fit.
Ask the hotline about this step!Cover and chill this mixture overnight if you can. This will help the flavors develop. If overnight is impossible, chill at least an hour.
Ask the hotline about this step!Dip your hands in ice water as you form the sausage patties. Chill the patties again if you are not going to cook them right away. Grill the merguez coils for 10-12 minutes, total, turning once.
Ask the hotline about this step!I make large coils to serve four. They make a spectacular dinner party offering with lentils du puy, crusty bread, and a green salad with figs and marcona almonds.
Ask the hotline about this step!Yeah, I saw that, too. Meant to say something, but got sidetracked.
This was really wonderful! I am so looking forward to having the Merguez again tonight. You really do need to let it sit for a day to let the flavors infuse. We made a sample patty the day that we ground the lamb and mixed everything together. I thought that I would need to up the seasoning when we were going to cook the sausage for dinner. The next day we cooked another sample, and we found that we did not need to add anything else. On recommendations here, I did go to Whole Foods to buy the harissa. I did not know have anything to compare it to, because I never had harissa to try on its own. They had 2 different brands at the Whole Foods that I went to. I bought Shiloh's Harissa. Is that the brand you folks liked?
In DC, WF has a harissa from CAVA, a local company. I prefer a fresh harissa, as opposed to what is available in a can on in a tube.
Glad you like the idea of sundried tomatoes. Please let me know how it comes out. - I'm curious - have you used the spice mix for other dishes?
No, I haven't. But that's another great idea! :)
For years and years, I have been craving merguez like the ones my Tunisian grandmother made. But I never made them. The merguez recipe in Ommok Sannafa (the Tunisian equivalent of The Joy of Cooking) uses only garlic, fennel seeds, harissa and paprika and just didn’t convince me. But this recipe is a different story! Realizing that I had run out of tomato paste, I improvised with 2 tablespoons sundried tomatoes packed in oil from my own garden, which I chopped finely and ground with the other ingredients in the food processor. Unlike me, who grew up with spicy foods, my eaters here don’t like it too spicy, so I went easy on the cayenne, just a pinch. Also, I only had the very basic harissa, the type sold in small tin cans, of which I used 2 teaspoons. It did not matter, the test patty was fabulous. Boy, do I look forward to dinner tonight. Thank you MrsWheelbarrow!
I've saved this recipe. How awesome to know this is the "real deal" before purchasing all the ingredients and going to the trouble of making it. We love Merguez, and I'll be trying this soon.
I love your swap of sundried tomatoes and just might do the same thing here!
Took me a couple days to get all the ingredients but it was sooo worth it. This recipe is off the hook! I had a hard time stopping myself from eating it all after I made the first sample patty, okay I did make a second one. But I saved the rest to make the Moroccan Merguez Ragout with Poached Eggs and had one of the best breakfasts of my life. Thank you MrsWheelbarrow for introducing me to merguez!
You're so welcome! Those eggs are so amazing!! Agreed! Glad you are a convert to merguez!
Just made this - swapped muhammara (a red pepper dip - see http://www.food52.com/recipes/6492_how_do_i_love_thee_muhammara) for the harissa, added 3 tablespoons of finely chopped coriander leaves, and a touch more aleppo pepper than the recipe called for and omitted the tomato paste. The 'test patty' was STUNNING - tender and tasty.
Thank you for helping me out of the 'sausages-are-difficult-to-make' boat. Though I feel as though I need to go further and learn to case!
With soft white bread.....especially for my husband/father's day brekkie. I plan on serving a batch of the other parties this weekend with a yogurt coriander chutney and some flatbread,,
So glad you got over your fears and gave the Merguez a whirl. What did you serve the sausages with? Next up casing, right? Check out my May 15 Charcutepalooza post for tips and tricks. I'm delighted you enjoyed the recipe mostly because I so enjoy all of yours!
Will you share your recipe for the yogurt coriander chutney? Sounds delicious!
Thanks Annemax, the coriander chutney is already on food52, see http://www.food52.com/recipes/6379_coriander_chutney; BTW the herb paste is great rubbed into mangoes, sweetcorn etc (sans yogurt). See http://www.food52.com/recipes/12532_spiced_simple_mango_slaw
I made this for a luncheon yesterday and it was a big hit. Seasoned with Aleppo pepper instead of cayennne. Cooked it up as small patties to serve layered over a baby lettuce salad with grainy mustard vinaigrette and a room-temp lentil salad. One guest couldn't stop eating them! Fortunately there are 2 left over for a midnight nibble--don't tell.
So glad you liked them!
So glad to get a chance to try these at the potluck today - they are better than advertised!! Can't wait to make them for the meeting I'm catering. Thanks for bringing them, and it was delightful to meet you and the rest of the Food52 DC gang. What a great group of people!
This was a great recipe. The merguez came out great, I made them into links and then used the rest to make sliders with chevre: http://www.accidental-locavore.com/?p=721
I just made this with lamb and harissa from my local halal butcher. He ground the lamb shoulder for me while I waited. It was a big hit. Thanks Mrs. W!
I'm thrilled! Thank you so much.
I saw this and thought it was a Charcutepalooza challenge. But even more excited to see that it's a food52 winner! i can't wait to try this.
So glad to see this great recipe picked! I have to say I've been greatly disappointed when I've tasted other merguez. This one has spoiled me forever! Congrats!
Thank you monkeymom!
Congratulations! I've been waiting for the Charcutepalooza sausage month because lamb merguez will be the first sausage I make. I love it! And our lamb meat comes from a friend! Sausage, I have to confess, is my "junk" food...it must have been that year in Germany.
Prairie Chef - ground elk is very dry. I always add fat to it, or ground pork with its fat.
Congratulations, this recipe makes my mouth water!
While I am new to "Charcuterie" techniques, I am learning as I am going. I learned to make sausage from my Spanish grandmother, recipes which I hold dear to this day. I am thrilled to find this site and your Merquez recipe which I will try!
I hope you'll share some of those sausage recipes!
Won't you please share those Spanish sausage recipes?
Could ground elk be substituted for the lamb? Would additional fat need to be added?
I just picked up some venison (fallow) which is very low in fat, and I will be making this next week... so I don't have answers yet, but I will check back after my experimentation! Lamb shoulder is quite lean, and that's what I like so much about this sausage recipe - it's very meaty, not fatty.
I made the venison merguez recently and will add pork fat to the recipe the next time - ratio would be 3# venison to 1# pork back fat. WIthout the fat, it was delicious, but slightly dry, and wouldn't hold together. Please let us know how the elk turned out?
Well deserved! I can't wait to try this as I LOVE lamb...
Congratulations - will have to give this a go!
Nice wildcard win Cathy! I will definitely make this. I looooooooove lamb!
Congratulations, MrsWheelbarrow ;)
I've eaten this and it is FABulous!!! Congrats, Cathy.
Verklempt. Totally verklempt. Thank you A&M and all of you for the nice words. I'm so looking forward to hearing how you like making merguez. It was my gateway sausage... the first I made on my own after taking a class, and a staple, now. Having some merguez in the freezer is my secret weapon for quick lunches or fast appetizers.
This sounds amazing! Congrats on a terrific wildcard win.
Oh WOW! I am so excited about this! Definitely making this to go with eggs. Congrats on the wildcard.
WOW! I am DEFinitely going to make this. My FPTCF loves lamb, and I've been dying to make sausage.
Congrats!!! You are definitely an inspiration to many...including me!
Congrats! One of my friends just started into the adventures of sausage making, so I've sent him a link to your recipe. With any luck he'll make some and invite me to dinner.
Congrats!! I may not be quite ready to make my own sausage, but I bet this would be great fried up with a can of fire roasted tomatoes, some eggplant and poured over pasta or couscous.
I like the way you think.
YAAAAAAAYYYY!!!!
I made sausage! Didn't do the casings. I loved these, they were so tasty. I did make an addition of pine nuts following SueVT's recipe from her blog as well. I think I'll have to try turkey/chicken next time as lamb is more challenging to my husband. Thanks for the inspiration to try something very new.
WooHoo!! I'm so delighted I've turned you into a sausage-maker. I'm adding pine nuts the next time, too.
OK, this will be my first try at sausage - a big step in my cooking...Everyone seems to add some great tips to your wonderful recipe.
You're proficient in charcuterie too? Is there anything you can't do?
I love all these spices and very much want to give this a try, but I am actually not a lamb fan...could I make this with another meat? Or is it always made with lamb?
Haha Winnie! Well, I can't play tennis. At all. As for charcuterie, I took a wonderful class last fall and have been obsessed ever since. Merguez is traditionally made with lamb. More specifically, it's made without added fat, so it's the leanest sausage I know. I did try making it with goat and thought it was great. Not sure about other meats.
Clearly this is not a recipe for macarons. Could someone over there at Food52 please help me get this into the lamb contest recipes? So sorry.
I'm so intrigued now. I'm a newbie to this...if you make coils I assume you need casings? Where do you get them?
To make coils, yes, you need casings. I get my casings from the same farm where I buy the meat, but I've also sourced them at Whole Foods by ordering ahead. In my charcuterie class, we were encouraged to use lamb casings (smaller, more traditional) but I'm only able to get hog casings. (Seems weird, as the farm raises & butchers lamb, too, but... whatever... )
I think I'll give it a go patty style first. Looking forward to the spice!
Very nice!
I like to use this in choucroute garni, as it adds spice and interest. Also wonderful used with ricotta..
Also, rather than harissa, I use smoked paprika and spice... rather than anise, I use fennel and sambuca..
http://knowwhey.blogspot.com/2010/02/sauerkraut-and-vermont-choucroute-garni.html
Nice! Do you add the sambuca where I add ice water?
The Sambuca is to add anise-like flavor in a way that I think is a little more subtle. It's not to extend the mixture or keep it cold, if that's what you mean?
The usual problem with Merguez is that they can be dry... which is why I put in pine nuts, etc.
cheers,
Sue
So excited to try this! Love the touch of ginger in the meat.
Thanks, Sasha - and thank you for the encouragement to post the recipe!
Really liking the photo. I like Ruhlman, a lot, but truth be told a fair of the stuff they do comes from an old copy of CIA's garde manger text book. Never the less doing charcuterie at home is such a great thing and a lot of it is really simple to do at home and so much better than anything you can buy outside big cities and, even sometimes better. Kudos to MrsWheelbarrow
Thanks go out to two friends (you know who you are) for help with photo cropping.
We used to made sausages when I was in school, but not since then. I need to correct this post-haste with this recipe. It looks great!!!!
I should add that I'm a fan of the harissa at my Whole Foods too. I've tried several and it's got the balance I like. I use it as a marinade for lamb shoulder before preparing it, so I know this recipe is one I would LOVE.
That is looking good!!!!! We make all kinds of homemade sausages but I have not made merguez yet.
What kind do you make? Recipes, please?
Kielbasa, thuringer, venison, venison summer sausage, pheasant, blood, boudin, and these great breakfast rooster sausages. We do a lot of butchering and we like our sausage, bacon and anything cured.
I've been curing bacon recently and I'm delighted with the results. I'd like to start doing some smoked sausage this summer. Up to now, I've made breakfast links, hot Italian sausage and boudin blanc, none smoked. Please post a kielbasa recipe!
Maybe we should suggest a "your best charcuterie" theme? :D
Great idea LND. I order 5 lb increments of pork belly with the skin on (which is all I can get into my frig for the curing), cure it and smoke it for our bacon. Do this once, and you'll never turn back from doing your own. I'd love to see other cured meats our F52 community does.
Oh, what fun. I would love to see a charcuterie theme!
You've answered my prayers :) Merguez is actually the first sausage I hope to tackle when I start making my own in the coming months. This sounds fabulous.
So glad! It's a great "first sausage." In the meantime, starting checking out harissas.
What "coils"? I thought they were (and in the photo, are) patties.
This is coming up as entered in "Your Best Almond Macaroon" contest. Really???