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Merguez
Total Project Time: 4 hours
Merguez is a spicy lamb sausage that originates from northern Africa. It is red in color, thanks to the roasted bell peppers it uses, and is spiced heavily with harissa, paprika and chili pepper flakes. This variant calls for lemon zest, lemon juice and chopped mint to give it high notes that will create what we think is a pretty fantastic balance.
Rumor has it that the Berber, an indigenous people of northern Africa, called this creation Merguez because of its phallic shape. Yes, even our ancestors made sausage jokes at Meat Club.1. Intro
2. Procure Equipment
3. Buy Ingredients
4. Prepare the Casing
5. Dice the Lamb
6. Roast the Bell Peppers
7. Mise-en-Place
8. Zest and Juice the Lemons
9. Dice the Bell Peppers
10. Mix and Grind
11. Taste Test
12. Stuff the Casing
13. Awwwwww Yeah
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2. Procure Equipment
Before Event
Before the event, procure the following equipment:
• Chef's Knife
• Cutting board
• Mixing bowls
• Zester
• Meat Grinder
• Sausage Stuffer
• Baking sheet
• Food preparation gloves
• Butcher Paper or sealable plastic freezer bags
• Sharpie -
3. Buy Ingredients
Before Event
The day before the event, procure the following ingredients:
• 8 lbs. boneless lamb shoulder
• 2 lbs. lamb belly or pork belly
• 6 red bell peppers
• 4 lemons
• 1 head garlic
• ⅓ cup Kosher Salt
• 1 ⅓ tbsp. sugar
• ¼ cup paprika
• 2 tbsp. harissa
• 2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
• 2 tbsp. chopped fresh mint
• 2 tsp. ground sumac
• 2 tsp. ground coriander
• 2 tbsp. white wine vinegar
• 30 ft. Sheep Casing or Hog Casing
Lamb belly and Sheep Casing may be difficult to find, but you can substitute pork belly and Hog Casing, even if they're not quite authentic.
Harissa and sumac can be found at most Middle Eastern grocery stores. -
4. Prepare the Casing
Day 1
At least 30 minutes before using the casing:
Add 4 cups water and 2 tbsp. white wine vinegar to a bowl.
Place the Sheep Casing or Hog Casing in the water / vinegar mixture. -
5. Dice the Lamb
Day 1
Place a baking sheet, 2 large mixing bowls and the Meat Grinder attachment in the freezer.
Dice the lamb shoulder and lamb belly / pork belly into ½ inch pieces and place in the chilled mixing bowls.
Place the diced meat in the freezer during any downtime to keep the meat cold.
Keeping the equipment cold will help the grinding move quickly. Keeping the meat cold will ensure that the it remains at a safe temperature. -
6. Roast the Bell Peppers
Day 1
Turn the broiler on to high heat. Put the 6 red bell peppers on a baking sheet, and place beneath the broiler.
When the top side of the bell pepper blackens, turn the bell pepper. Ensure that all sides of the pepper are fairly black. Remove from the oven and place in a brown paper sack (which will make the peppers easier to peel) for 15 minutes. -
7. Mise-en-Place
Day 1
Measure out the following ingredients. If any ingredients were purchased whole, use a Spice Grinder to pulverize them to the appropriate measurements listed below.
• ⅓ cup Kosher Salt
• 1 ⅓ tbsp. sugar
• ¼ cup paprika
• 2 tbsp. harissa
• 2 tsp. ground sumac
• 2 tsp. ground coriander
• 2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
Place the spice ingredients in a medium mixing bowl.
Peel and mince 1 head of garlic. Chop the 2 tbsp. of fresh mint. Add to the spice mixture and stir together. -
8. Zest and Juice the Lemons
Day 1
Zest the 4 lemons. Mix the lemon zest in with the spice mixture.
Once zested, halve and squeeze the juice from each of the lemons. Mix the lemon juice with ½ cup water.
Place the liquid mixture in the freezer to keep it chilled.
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9. Dice the Bell Peppers
Day 1
Once the bell peppers have cooled, remove the blackened exterior skin from the pepper, keeping the red inner membrane.
Cut the red inner membrane away from the stem and seeds, removing as many of the seeds as you can.
Dice the red inner membrane. Place in the mixing bowl with the rest of the spices and mix together. -
10. Mix and Grind
Day 1
Assemble the Meat Grinder with the small die.
Combine the spices and the diced lamb in a mixing bowl, either by hand or with a wooden paddle.
Grind through the Meat Grinder.
Mix the chilled lemon juice / water mixture into the meat until well incorporated.
Remove enough meat to form a small patty and set aside for the next step. Place the ground lamb in the freezer as soon as it's ground to keep the meat cold. -
11. Taste Test
Day 1
Remove a small portion of meat that is large enough to make a small patty, and saute the sausage. Taste, and adjust the seasoning as needed.
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12. Stuff the Casing
Day 1
Assemble the Sausage Stuffer.
Press the ground meat through the stuffer until the meat just barely pokes through the end of the spout.
Push the open end of the Sheep Casing over the end of the stuffer, and continue to push the casing onto the stuffer until you reach the end of the casing. Tie a knot at the end of the casing.
Stuff the sausage into the Sheep Casing, twisting every 4 inches to make chubbies, and allow the links to fall onto the chilled cookie sheet. -
13. Awwwwww Yeah
Day 1
Place the cased sausages in sealable freezer storage bags. Using a Sharpie, label each package Merguez: made June 19, 2013.
Refrigerate for at least 24 hours before consuming, to allow the flavors to mingle.
The sausage can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 1 week, or in the freezer for up to 1 month.
Sauté or roast the sausage to an internal temperature of 150F before consuming. Serve on a bed of couscous with a side of harissa, or use it to make a to-die-for tagine.
