Easy Homemade Lamb Merguez Sausage

5 from 1 vote

A classic sausage from North Africa loved by the French

Prep Time10

Cook Time5

Total Time15

Course: Appetizer, Main Course, Snack

Cuisine: French

Keyword: Lamb Sausage, Merguez

Servings: servings

Calories: 526kcal

Cost: 10

Roast the bell pepper on a burner until charred all over, then put in a plastic bag, seal and allow to cool, then peel, de-seed, and coarsely chop.
Combine the pepper with the garlic, oil, cumin, cayenne and the smoked paprika in a blender or food processor and puree until very smooth. Transfer the puree to a small pan and cook on medium heat, stirring constantly for 15 minutes, or until the mixture is deeply caramelized, it’s orange color will change to a deep red.
Alternately, the pepper paste can be baked in a 350 degree oven for 20-30 minutes being stirred occasionally, until deeply colored. Reserve the harissa, you should have about 3 tablespoons of paste.
Meanwhile, put the lamb in the freezer for 15 minutes while you allow the paste to cool. The harissa can be made ahead of time and refrigerated.

Combine the ground lamb with the harissa, the paprika and the salt in the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, and blend on low speed until tacky, about 2 minutes, drizzling in the red wine vinegar as it blends. You can also wear gloves and mash the meat around with your hands if you don't have a mixer.
Cook a small piece of the sausage and taste to see if you like the heat/spiciness, adjust as needed, traditionally merguez is very spicy. I like to chill the sausage overnight before cooking, but it can be cooked straight away in a pinch.
From here, the sausages can be formed into hand rolled sausages and cooked, or put into sheep casings, which is more traditional. When cooking the sausages, brown them well on high heat quickly, but don’t overcook as they're best eaten pink or medium rare.
Serve the merguez with rice, cooked greens, as part of a mixed grill, or a lunch as pictured here with fresh butter lettuce, winter radishes, greek yogurt with a sprinkle of sumac and quinoa with crunchy walnuts.

Ground lamb shoulder will make the best version of this recipe and will be the most juicy, but regular ground lamb can also be used.