Lamb Merguez Sausage

July 8, 2013  •  Appetizers, Meat & Poultry

merguez sausage sliderDo you ever just crave something and you simply must figure out a recipe for it and make it? I don’t think that just people who cook for a living like me think like this, but perhaps it’s easier for someone who is cooking and making up recipes every day to figure it out. Well, don’t fret – even if you aren’t comfortable making up your own recipes, the internet is a vast source of information. Just search for a few things and see what makes sense and what looks doable and then adapt from there. That’s exactly what I did to figure out how to make the spicy Moroccan lamb sausage known as merguez sausage.merguez sausage patty cookingI found a recipe for the spices on about.com and started from there. I only had smoked paprika so used that instead of sweet. I had anise seeds but not fennel seeds – and I’m not even sure if there is a difference but they smell so similar I went with what I had.merguez sausage slider 2I also followed the general ingredients of the sausage recipe on about.com but I definitely adjusted things a bit. I ground my own meat – not because I love doing that, but because when you buy a whole lamb, you might end up with a bunch of weird cuts like I did after you eat all the fabulous chops and roasts. I had scraps of meat and fat left from trimming chops for a party and the meat from about 6 neck bones – when it was all ground together it was the perfect balance of bits of fat and meat and miraculously yielded exactly a pound.

You can make the merguez sausage into patties (either sliders or burgers), fill casings for sausage links, or fry it ground up and use in a dish that way. It’s easy to make, packed with incredible flavor, and delicious on a little seeded slider bun with some harissa mayo. By the way, when people ask what kind of cooking I do, I call it global improv and this is a perfect example. I’m not trained in Moroccan cuisine, but this tastes good enough that it will transport you pretty quickly after the first bite!

Lamb Merguez Sausage
 
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Author:
Recipe type: Appetizer, Entree
Serves: 4
Ingredients
  • ¼ cup smoked or sweet paprika
  • 2 tablespoons ground fennel or anise seeds
  • 2 tablespoons ground cumin
  • 1 tablespoon ground coriander seeds
  • 2 tablespoons salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 lb. ground lamb (not too lean)
  • 4 cloves garlic, finely minced
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
  • 1 teaspoon sriracha sauce
  • Sriracha mayo, for garnish
Instructions
  1. Combine the paprika, fennel, cumin, coriander, salt, cinnamon, cayenne, and pepper together in a small container and stir until well mixed. Add 2 tablespoons of this mixture to the ground lamb along with the garlic, cilantro, and sriracha; stir together with a fork and then form into sliders, burgers, or fill into sausage casings. Cook until desired temperature and serve with Sriracha mayo.

 

Comments

2 Comments  •  Comments Feed

  1. Janine says:

    Yum, why do you always make such scrumptious stuff when I am out of town?!?! xoxo

  2. charlotte says:

    My husband introduced me to Merguez. Unlike anything else!

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