Merguez sausage recipe

I’ve tried a number of Merguez recipes, from a variety of sources and largely I’ve wanted a little more poke! The following recipe is based upon many others but I’ve altered it to include a lot more garlic and harissa and also some sweetness with the sugar and cinnamon.

Please take a look at how-to-make-sausages, how-to-cook-sausages and the-science-of-great-sausages. These guides will apply to all the sausage recipes on this site and will provide you with a great primer!

• 150 g lamb fat
• 250 g pork fat
• 1.5 kg diced lamb
• 2 tsp cumin
• 2 tsp coriander
• 8 cloves garlic crushed
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tsp fennel
• 4 tsp fiery Harrisa
• 4 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• 2 tsp pepper
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 handful coriander chopper
• 250 ml iced water
• 3 meter lamb casings soaked in warm water

• Place the fat in the freezer well ahead of time
• Place the diced lamb in the freezer about an hour ahead of time
• Soak about 3 meters of lamb casings in warm water
• Cool the metal parts of your grinder and stuffer before use, if possible
• Remove the diced lamb from the freezer when its got a frozen crust to it
• Remove the fat and chop roughly so that it will go into the grinder
• Grind the lamb and the fat into a bowl. Keep the bowl chilled whilst you prepare the spices
• Roast and grind to a coarse powder, the cumin, coriander and fennel
• Mix all the spice mix ingredients together in a bowl
• Add the spice mix and water to the ground lamb, lamb fat and pork fat and mix thoroughly, then chill in the fridge for 30 mins.
• Re-grind the mixture into a chilled bowl
• Stuff into casings, taking care – lamb casings are more delicate that hog casings and will burst more easily if over stuffed
• Cook under a medium grill for 15 mins on a foil lined tray – watch out for the odd flare up!