Merguez is a red, spicy sausage made from ground beef or mutton stuffed into a sheep’s gut casing. It is commonly grilled or served dried and flavored with garlic, fennel, pepper, harisa, sumac, cumin, and coriander. Merguez is a common ingredient in Tunisia and Algeria and is used similarly to chorizo but is denser, tougher, and lower in fat. When making homemade merguez, it is important to wash the lamb casings to avoid unwanted smells or tastes.
Merguez, also called mirquaz, is a markedly red spiced sausage. It is made from beef or mutton that has been ground and stuffed into a sheep’s gut casing. Merguez is usually grilled, but can also be served dried, especially sun-dried. This sausage is most common in areas around Tunisia and Algeria, but is eaten in many parts of the world, including France and parts of the United States. It is sometimes called Tunisian-style spicy lamb sausage.
This sausage is used similarly to chorizo and adds flavor to a variety of meals, but is denser, tougher, and lower in fat than chorizo, which is often served in a paste. Conversely, merguez is often sliced or chopped into small pieces before going to the plate. Some burgers, usually called fusion burgers, are as spicy as fusion, but contain only beef and have no wrapper. It can also be filled with vegetables, such as peppers.
Merquez is flavored with garlic, fennel and pepper. It also contains a Tunisian olive oil and a chili paste called harisa, as well as sumac, cumin and coriander. The sumac gives it a tangy, tart flavor while the coriander adds a citrus essence to the mix. The cumin contributes an earthy note to the spicy sausage.
When using packaged lamb casings to make a homemade melt, it is important to wash the casings, even if the packaged casings claim they are ready to use. This is not only because cleaning them at home guarantees a neat job, but also because the casings can grow bacteria in the package that can give an unwanted smell or taste to the melt. There are also preservatives on packaged wrappers that need to be washed off before use.
An easy way to clean the wraps is to place them over a faucet in a clean kitchen sink and rinse them off. When rinsing the wraps, turn on the water slowly to avoid breaking the wraps with too much water pressure. Rinse both the insides and outsides of the wraps before setting them aside for use.
Compared to other types of sausages, merguez is hotter, thinner and less fatty. It is heavily spiced with red hot chili peppers, which give it a red color and a markedly spicy flavor. When used in dishes, this ingredient is commonly used in small quantities, almost like a condiment. It is made with leaner meat than most other types of sausage and is about the width of a chubby index finger.
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