Lamb Merguez Sausage
This Merguez Sausage recipe is relatively easy to make and it tastes so good that it renewed my appreciation of lamb. I like to serve my merguez grilled alongside a salad of homegrown lettuce, parsley, cilantro, and sliced grilled peaches. I also like to mix up some harissa chili pepper paste with yogurt and olive oil to use as a salad dressing/dipping sauce for the merguez. Adapted from The New York Times.
Servings: 0
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tsp fennel seeds
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp sumac
- 3 tsp paprika
- 2 tsp cayenne pepper or even more for a spicier sausage
- 2 lbs lamb shoulder pastured, if possible, ground and chilled (I used my food processor, but you can also use a Kitchen Aid attachment to grind the meat)
- 1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro
- 4 garlic cloves medium-large, minced
- 1 tbsp Kosher salt
Instructions
- In a cast-iron skillet over low heat, toast cumin and fennel seeds until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer warm spices to a spice grinder or use a mortar and pestle to pound them until fine. Combine with the ground coriander, cinnamon, sumac, paprika, and cayenne pepper.
- In a bowl, beat the chilled ground lamb with the spices, cilantro, and salt. Pinch off a little of the mixture, form into a patty, and fry in olive oil to see if you like the sausage. Adjust the seasonings, if necessary.
- Form sausages into patties to cook immediately or for storing in the refrigerator or freezer, or proceed to stuff the mixture into casings. Chill well before stuffing into casings if going that route.
- Serve Merguez Sausage with a fresh salad and a dipping sauce made from harissa chili pepper paste and yogurt.