Fresh Merguez Sausage

Ridiculous, I know, but still funny!

Sometimes when I'm looking at recipes, I run across an unfamiliar seasoning. Keep in mind that I am a Caucasian living in a very Caucasian part of the greater Seattle area, so while I'm conversant with specific ingredients, there are many, many more which are truly foreign to me. Merguez sausage was one of them. It sounded intriguing so I followed the link (pun intended). The list of hers and spices which make up this particular recipe are all well known to me and sounded delicious, and are all common enough ingredients found at any grocery store. 

So, what exactly is Merguez? Found mainly in North African cuisine, Merguez is also popular in the Middle East and in parts of Europe, particularly France. Like a lot of foods, it has more than one specific iteration. It's primarily a fresh, spicy and red-hued sausage made from ground lamb. It can also refer to a dried sausage, kind of like andouille or some kinds of chorizo; excellent for slow cooking as it infuses the dish with tons of flavor. Merguez gets its color from a high amount of paprika and its lingering spiciness from cayenne. The thing I like best about Merguez is that you can adjust the seasoning to your specific taste preference. Don't like spicy food? Leave out the cayenne. Prefer a little more sweetness? Use more ground cinnamon. Just make sure you use the same proportions overall.

I like lamb although I don't buy it very often due to its higher price in my part of the world. It runs about $8 per pound but I think it makes a nice change from ground beef. You can certainly use any ground meat you prefer; beef, turkey, chicken, pork, or a combination of any of them. The original recipe used ground lamb and called for making sliders topped with tzatziki sauce on brioche buns. The brioche adds a nice sweet, buttery flavor and the tzatziki sauce balances out the heat with the cooling effect of cucumber and sour cream.

**Yields enough to season one pound of ground meat

Ingredients:

1 TBSP paprika

2 tsps salt

2 tsps ground cumin

1 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp whole fennel seeds

1 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp cayenne

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl or container and use a fork to whisk together. 

Add the entire amount to a pound of ground meat and use your hands to work the seasoning thoroughly into the meat. The resulting mix should be a uniform reddish color. 

Form into whatever shape you prefer: patties, meatballs, or elongated and slightly flattened meatballs like a kebab. You can bake, grill, or fry the Merguez. Serve with fresh tzatziki sauce, shredded lettuce, chopped tomatoes, and flatbread or pita for a delicious meal.

Cook's Notes:

1. The original recipe called for fresh garlic which is all well and good except that I made the seasoning blend up a few days before I was able to actually make and cook the sausages. I simply substituted garlic powder and I think it works even better than fresh garlic because garlic powder blends more easily into the overall flavor. I like garlic, don't get me wrong, but I don't like getting a mouthful in one bite and none in another.
2. The sausages turned out more dense than I expected, which is not a bad thing, but I think next time I'll include a panade. Such a fancy word! Basically, it's soft white bread that been cubed, soaked in a mixture of cream and eggs, and then incorporated with the ground meat. It binds the ingredients without soaking up the fats like plain ol' breadcrumbs do and traps and enhances the flavors of the seasoning. Panades are used in any ground meat dishes, such as meatloaf and meatballs. We can discuss panades further in another post.
3. I've been eating the Merguez in whole wheat tortillas with tzatziki sauce. They're surprisingly filling; I can eat two for a late lunch and just have an apple for dinner.

If you try Merguez this summer at a barbecue, let me know what you think! They would add some great variety to the usual grill offerings in either patties or formed around skewers for a kebab.

Quick update or, why I haven't posted in the past couple months

Well, so much for my plan to make up to eight new dishes each month and blog about them. The weird thing about life is that life gets in the way, right? Some days I just don't have enough energy or drive or passion left to make myself dinner, let alone be creative in making dinner. It's hummus and pita chips for me! 

I've started catering on the occasional weekend this spring for a local production company shooting an indie film. I've found the most difficult part of any catering job is both coming up with menu ideas and whittling down all the ideas to a balanced and manageable amount of food. My fear (unfounded to date) is that there won't be enough food and that someone will feel left out due to food allergies or intolerances. 

Plus, I have a baby shower coming up next weekend which I'm really excited about. I've known her and her family for close to 30 years. The baby mama is vegetarian and her sister who is hosting the shower has various food restrictions and needs to be gluten free, egg free, and cow's milk free. I enjoy the challenge of planning and making a variety of delicious foods for people who have allergies and/or restrictions. 

I've been slacking on a cookbook project with a girlfriend who lives in a different state. While she and I have compiled a number of recipes I think will fit our criteria, we need to whittle them down, categorize them, test them, and have volunteers also test them out.

And on top of all that, I'm working with a girlfriend to come up with ideas of items we can make and offer for sale around Christmas. So many people love the concept of a homemade gift and yet they run out of time to make stuff. I'm hoping to partner with an urban beekeeper I know in Seattle and sell some of our products at her holiday bazaar later in the year.

Part of my problem is (and this is purely my fault) that I don't set aside a specific time each and every day to write. I need to make writing a priority and write each and every day, even if it's by hand. Which I don't mind doing but sometimes the stupid carpal tunnel flares up and makes it very uncomfortable. I also need to be more adaptable in my choice of "office". I love love love my local coffee shop for many reasons but a quiet working environment is not one of them. Same goes for my local library; too noisy and no carrels. I wish I could work at home, however, I get distracted too easily and I don't have the quietest housemates. All of these are excuses, though, because if I truly want to write, I will find time to write.

So, cheer me on, my faithful readers--I'll take all the encouragement I can get!