Moroccan Style Lamb & Pork Sausage ~ Merguez

[thirdeye]

I've had a leg of yearling lamb in the freezer since July and last week made it into sausage. The ratio was about 75% lamb and 25% pork, I winged the seasonings and amounts after looking at 5 North African sausage recipes. I was pretty lucky as I only had to adjust the cayenne after a test pattie. It's definitely a neat flavor, heat and sweet swimming around all the herbs. I liked the flavor of the dry ingredients so much I made another batch to use as a rub, I'm thinking on pork chops.

Lamb Merguez (Moroccan) Style Sausage

Amounts Ingredients Notes
3.5 pounds Ground lamb Coarse ground (3/16” plate)
1.5 pounds Ground pork butt Coarse ground

4 teaspoons Paprika The dry ingredients can be used as a rub
1 tablespoon Cumin
1/2 tablespoon Coriander
1/2 tablespoon Oregano
1-1/4 teaspoon Cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon Allspice
3 tablespoons Harissa North African spice blend
1 tablespoon Marjoram
1 tablespoon Cayenne
2 teaspoons Black Pepper
1T + 2t Kosher Salt (1 tablespoon + 2 teaspoons)

4 cloves Garlic Chopped fine
1/2 onion Onion Chopped fine
1/2 cup Parsley Chopped fine
2 tablespoons Olive Oil This adds moistness to the sausage
1-1/2 cup Ice Water Added as needed for consistency

​

 

[CharredApron]

Simply delicious looking grub right there!

 

[FatCoyote]

Lamb sausage always makes me smile....

 

[gtr]

Merguez is something I've been wanting to try - I don't think I've ever eaten, let alone made it. It's easy to see that that is some delicious stuff - very nice and thank for putitng up the recipe! :clap2:

For newer folks here - Thirdeye has a really great blog you can check out by clicking on the link in his sig - lots of good stuff there.

 

[joemat]

Is that a lace doily under the ground meat on the tray :heh:

What type of sausage stuffer did you use.

Looks great. Thanks for sharing.

 

[thirdeye]

Is that a lace doily under the ground meat on the tray :heh:

What type of sausage stuffer did you use.

Looks great. Thanks for sharing.

You have a keen eye.... I think that is the look they were after, but the doily pattern is in the tray. I have a 5lb vertical stuffer I got from The Sausage Maker about 20 years ago. Mine has the metal.

 

[joemat]

You have a keen eye.... I think that is the look they were after, but the doily pattern is in the tray. I have a 5lb vertical stuffer I got from The Sausage Maker about 20 years ago. Mine has the metal.

Sweet. You have me thinking now -- I better not let the wife know I am eyeing sausage stuffers.

 

[thirdeye]

Sweet. You have me thinking now -- I better not let the wife know I am eyeing sausage stuffers.

Why not grind (or purchase) 4 or 5 pounds of ground butt and make at least two home made recipes for sausage, like maybe a Farm and an Italian, or maybe some bulk Kielbasa. You don't need to stuff them, you can roll them into "skinnies" and grill them to eat on a hot dog bun, or just make patties and eat them on hamburger buns, or make sausage meatballs. Bottom line is for you to see the huge difference in quality and flavor when you make it yourself...... then, mention to the wife how convenient a stuffer would be.

 

[plakers]

Looks great. I'll try your recipe(or at least a close variation), I've made similar lamb sausage before but never added on the pork butt. They tend to be a bit dry.

My guess is the pork butt softens the lamb flavor and makes for a moister sausage?
If my analysis is wrong please clue me in.

 

[thirdeye]

Looks great. I'll try your recipe(or at least a close variation), I've made similar lamb sausage before but never added on the pork butt. They tend to be a bit dry.

My guess is the pork butt softens the lamb flavor and makes for a moister sausage?
If my analysis is wrong please clue me in.

You are correct, lamb is lean and if you use too much lamb fat the flavor can be too strong. So, a little pork helps out, and it still allows the lamb flavor to come through. (The same goes for mixing pork into wild game sausage). This recipe also has olive oil added, also for moisture. Next the fresh onions, parsley and garlic add moistness. And lastly the iced water also adds moistness.

This recipe has no curing agents and fresh sausage needs to be cooked to 165°, so I really keep an eye on it so I don't overcook at all. Another trick for keeping any beef, lamb or wild game sausage moist is to add some Tenderquick (and cut back on the salt).... this way you could get away with cooking it to about 155°.

 

[CharredApron]

Thanks Thirdeye, Last time I tried the Lamb Snags was for a throw down "Let's do it Aussie Style" I withdrew my entry because they came out too finely ground and dry as the Sahara. The pork makes perfect sense to me now! Time to get grinding again. Once again thanks for your willingness to share your knowledge. Thanks to you, my Wok and I are very good friends!

 

[buccaneer]

Those are just spectacular!!

 

[sliding_billy]

Hell yeah!

 

[caliking]

Those sound and look like they're gonna be tasty.

 

[Big George's BBQ]

Those look great Thanks for the write ups

 

[PaulieG]

Great write-up

Harissa is wonderful with lamb I make my own into a paste and rub it on lamb.

10- dried red chili peppers ( I use ancho chilies)
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground caraway seeds
1 teaspoon cumin

Soak the dried chilies in hot water for 30 minutes. Drain. Remove stems and seeds.

In a food processor combine chili peppers, garlic, salt, and olive oil. Blend.

Add remaining spices and blend to form a smooth paste.
Pour a small amount of olive oil on top to keep fresh; it will keep in an air tight container for abut a month