Food Commodities 36

Merguez

A North African and Spanish sausage made from beef and mutton, seasoned and colored with red chilles or red pepper. Sometimes used to garnish couscous.

History of Merguez Sausage

These two preserved meats from North Africa, or sausage in the case of merguez, were made by the Bedouin as well as the population at large. Merguez sausage, as it is now known, is a fresh or dried lamb sausage, also made with veal, usually formed in thin 4-inch links, highly spiced, and used in a variety of Tunisian preparations. Tunisians prefer the dried variety that is stored in olive oil-filled earthenware containers.  This enticing lamb sausage comes from North Africa where it was the sausage of choice among the Bedouin and the larger population of that region. Because of the Islamic prohibition on eating pork, there is not much sausage in the culinary history of the Middle East. But if lamb merguez was their only sausage contribution to international cuisine, it would be enough. Merguez, for which there are several spellings even in Arabic (mirkas (ﻤﺮﻛﺲ), pl. marākis (ﻤﺮﺍﻛﺲ), mirkās (ﻤﺮﻛﺎﺱ), markas (ﻤﺭﻛﺲ) and mirqāz (ﻤﺮﻗﺲ) is famous in the Maghrib and perhaps is a derivation from the Greek mazes kreas (μάζης κρέας) which has the same sense. The first written recipe for merguez (mirqāz) sausage is in an anonymous thirteenth-century Hispano-Muslim cookery book. Today there are several varieties, such as mirqaz kibda bi’l-liyya, made in the ratio of two thirds mutton liver to one third fat (liyya) and seasoned with harīsa, tābil, and salt. Mirqaz sayim is a sun-dried sausage preserved in olive oil after frying and is made with two parts lamb or mutton meat to one part fat and seasoned with harīsa, cinnamon, dried rose petals, salt, and black pepper. Mirqaz baqri is sun-dried veal sausage seasoned with preserved lemon, aniseed, harīsa, tābil, salt, and black pepper. Mirqaz dawwara is a sun-dried veal offal sausage preserved in olive oil after frying. It is made with coarsely chopped veal kidneys, tripe, heart, lung, and liver and seasoned with preserved lemon, harīsa, tābil, aniseed, salt, and black pepper.

Types of Merguez

Traditional merguez is a fresh sausage and usually eaten grilled. Dried merguez is used to add flavor to tagines.

Fresh Merguez

Dried Merguez

How to Make Merguez

To make merguez, lamb shoulder is ground, spiced, mixed with a little fat, and stuffed into sheep casings. This forms a small sausage, usually about 4 inches long and less than an inch in diameter. Lamb merguez is commonly available as a fresh sausage, though there are sun–dried versions in North Africa. While there are several types of merguez in Tunisia and Morocco, the common denominator flavoring agent is harissa.

Harissa is a Tunisian chili sauce, made differently from family to family, but always containing a cocktail of potent hot peppers. Harissa can be made of Serrano peppers, bird’s eye chili peppers, garlic paste, coriander, caraway, red peppers, lemon juice, cumin, sumac, fennel, and can sometimes have a smoky flavor. Harissa is a standard ingredient in North African cooking, and prepared harissa is readily available in specialty or Middle Eastern stores in the United States. All this harissa gives lamb merguez its characteristic red color as well as a dose of heat. Merguez is sometimes made with beef or veal, but the most prevalent type is made from lamb, which makes sense when you consider that the sheep population is many times the cattle population in North Africa.

How to Keep Merguez

Hard or dry sausage , whole and unopened, can be stored indefinitely in the refrigerator or up to 6 weeks in the pantry. After opening, refrigerate for up to 3 weeks. Hard or dry sausages will not have the phrase "Keep refrigerated" printed on the package

How to Cook Merguez

 Usually eaten grilled, as an accompaniment to couscous, or in tagines, the merguez sausage has become street food in France, served much like hotdogs are in the United States. The French did put a signature twist on the merguez sandwich. They serve grilled merguez on a fresh baguette that has been smeared with a healthy dose of Dijon mustard or mayonnaise, and then right on top, a serving of French fries. The combination of spicy sausage and salty fries makes for an exciting sandwich, and is so popular that the French consider this sausage their own.

Sources

@ Webster's New World Dictionary of Culinary Arts by Steven Labensky, Gaye G.Ingram, Sarah R.Labensky
@ Larouss'e Gastronomique by Prosper Montagne
@ http://www.cliffordawright.com/caw/food/entries/display.php/topic_id/3/id/41/

@ http://www.myfitnesspal.com/food/calories/whole-foods-merguez-sausage-324348209

@ http://www.dartagnan.com/lamb-merguez-sausage-recipes-and-uses.html