Mmmm... lamb.

[madbaker]

Lamb Merguez Sausage

2 cups chopped onions
2.5 lbs ground lamb
1/4 cup chopped parsley
8 or so cloves garlic, crushed
2 T paprika
2 T salt
2 T olive oil
2 T chopped mint
1 T tomato paste
1 T lemon juice
2 t fennel seeds, ground
1 T cumin
2 t black pepper
1 t sugar
1/2 t allspice
1 t chili powder (the original called for cayenne, but I don't keep that)

Mix meat and onions, then rest. Blend thoroughly with your hands. Yes, it's a mess. It won't blend any other way. Let flavors blend for 30 minutes to 1 hour. Stuff into casings and tie off at 6" links, or make patties if you're too much of a wuss to deal with intestines.

Comments: that last bit was my addition. Yum! Not spicy enough for me - I remember merguez as being pretty hot, but maybe that's just the harissa we always slathered on it...

I chopped the onions finely, but they were still a pain to deal with in the sausage funnel. I'll use the food processor next time. The ground lamb was from our local German deli and sausage place; it had a nice fat content and I didn't need to add any beef fat. They actually sweated out quite a bit when I cooked them.

The wife thought this was a bit salty, but grilling them (rather than pan-frying) would help that. They went very well with flatbread, yogurt, cucumber and dill.

Comments

[madbaker.livejournal.com]

So try it! It's not difficult to do.
(But if you're ever coming to SF, you're welcome to visit!)